Join Our Community as Director of Youth & Teens and Camp Keshet!

Temple Beth Am is seeking a dynamic, organized, and creative professional to serve as the Director of Youth & Teens and Camp Keshet at Temple Beth Am. This full-time role encompasses two essential elements of our community’s programs: our youth programming during the school year and our day camp, Camp Keshet, during the summer. This multifaceted role offers the opportunity to make a lasting impact on the lives of children, teens, and families across multiple levels of our community. In all aspects of the role, the ideal candidate will bring joy, professionalism, creativity, pristine organizational skills, an ability to connect with people of all ages, and the utmost integrity. We’re looking for an energetic, logistically savvy leader who excels at program development, staff supervision, and building relationships with kids and teens, as well as their families. If you're ready to shape the next generation and be a part of a supportive, fun, and committed staff team within an innovative community, we'd love to hear from you.

Key responsibilities include and are not limited to:

Camp Keshet Director: Oversee all aspects of camp during the summer, including daily operations, weekly schedule management, staff supervision, parent communications, and camper care.
Camp Keshet Planning, Programming & Logistics: Supervise financial aspects of camp, including developing and tracking camp budget, overseeing camp registration, and monitoring financial aid processes. Comprehensively plan camp experiences such as weekly field trips and bus coordination, specialist programs, group time activities, all-camp programs, and all other aspects of camp planning.
Director of Youth and Teens: Develop and facilitate programming for Temple Beth Am youth department, including Mahar (2nd-3rd grade), Kadima (4th-6th grade), and TBA Teens (7th-12th grade). This encompasses social programming, Moving Traditions groups, religious/social action opportunities, and all other programming for kids and teens in our community. The position may include leading the madrichim (teen staff) program within our religious school as well.
Staff Supervision & Training: Recruit, hire, train, and supervise staff across department offerings, including all Camp Keshet staff, Moving Traditions group leaders, youth and teens advisor, and other opportunities as needed.
Shabbat and Holiday Youth Programming: Oversee weekly Saturday morning Shabbat Yeladim drop-off programming. Develop and supervise High Holiday youth programming for Temple Beth Am community. Coordinate children's programming, including staffing and program content, for annual Temple Beth Am Family Shabbaton. May include supervision/support of other family event programming (ie annual Purim carnival).
Schedule during the school year will be dictated by responsibilities as agreed upon with supervisor, potentially encompassing some weekend commitments. During the summer, the role will be centered around the camp week, Monday through Friday.

Who We Are:

Camp Gilboa is more than a summer camp. As part of an international youth movement, we are raising the next generation of progressive Jewish leaders dedicated to the principles of collective responsibility, social justice, equality, peace, and coexistence in North America and Israel/Palestine. Our summer camp and year-round programs seek to spark a passion for social justice, develop critical thinking, and encourage youth to see themselves as creators and active participants in their communities.

Our people are idealists, dreamers, and activists. Campers and staff show up to each activity ready to build something new and explore what it means to live according to our values. To us, living Jewishly means building an inclusive and creative community, with opportunities for identity exploration and deep questioning, and always striving to close the gap between the world as it is and the world as it should be.

Youth empowerment and leadership development is an inherent part of our mission. That means that our teen campers and young adult counselors take on major responsibilities in the organization: programmatic, ideological, and directorial. They engage in significant organizational decision making (see, a movement-wide decision to enhance gender-inclusivity of the Hebrew language spoken at camp); they collectively build each summer’s program; they take on roles such as Rosh (Summer Camp Director) and Rosh Chinuch (Educational Director), and much more. Our year-round staff mentor and support these young leaders’ development and ensure safe, meaningful, and successful camp sessions and year-round programs.

Position Summary

The Assistant Director (AD) of Programs & Operations is a key position on the year-round director team. Together, the team is responsible for developing and monitoring the short- and long-term strategic goals for the growth and development of the organization. As part of the leadership team, they implement, evaluate, and adapt programs and operations to provide the best possible programming and services to our campers, families, staff, alumni, and volunteers.

As the position responsible for all year-round youth movement programming, the AD of Programs & Operations holds core responsibilities in camper and staff recruitment and retention. As a member of the year-round leadership team, the AD provides leadership and support in administration and oversight of summer camp preparations (program and physical campsite), organizational operations, and program evaluation, and they are part of the core summer camp leadership team that ensures safe and successful experiences for campers and their families.

Responsibilities

Year-Round Programming
– Work with the Executive Director (ED) to evaluate, develop, and implement strategies for year-round programming that serves the purposes of meaningful community connection, social action engagement, camper retention, and camper recruitment.
– Support youth leadership to bring their vision for youth movement programming into reality, through mentorship and guidance of program visioning, planning, recruitment, and implementation. Including:
2-4 community events + Tzedek (teen social action programming) events per semester in each of our program geographies: Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and San Diego
– Weekend Seminar for campers over Presidents’ Day Weekend
– West Coast Seminar for teens in April, in collaboration with Habonim Dror Camp Miriam
– Ma’agal (staff retention program) programming & January weekend seminar
– Family Camp in May over Memorial Day Weekend
– Work with youth leaders to ensure that all programs are safe, staffed, and high quality.
– Respond to parent inquiries, questions, and concerns, and support families through the year to camp registration.
– Support outreach programming in collaboration with the AD of Outreach & Recruitment as needed (presence at events, program planning, youth staff recruitment, etc).

Camp Facilities and Rentals
– Serve as a member of committees responsible for site management (Facilities Committee, Master Plan Committee), taking on tasks to move committee work and vision forward in collaboration with lay leadership and the Executive Director.
– Partner with the ED & youth leadership to plan and lead volunteer work weekends in the fall and spring.
– Coordinate vendors and contractors to maintain our camp site.
– Partner with the ED and lay leadership to explore opportunities to bring in extra revenue through camp site rentals.

Summer Camp Planning and Administration
– In conjunction with the ED, administer and ensure adherence to ACA (American Camp Association) standards and other safety and operations best practices.
– Mentor senior youth leadership in planning for camp.
– Bottomline all camp logistics and operations, primarily working with the Techni Team (youth leadership position focused on logistics), including all group transportation, specialty certifications (such as lifeguarding and archery certifications), tiyulim (hiking) planning, program supplies systems, laundry, trash collection, and basic campsite maintenance.

Work Conditions:
– During the school year, this position is hybrid (remote/in-person) in Los Angeles with some travel to cities around California for events. Residents of the Bay Area or a Southern California location other than LA may be considered.
– During the summer, must be willing to live at camp (in Big Bear) in a high-altitude, physically demanding outdoor environment.
– Need flexibility to work irregular hours including frequent weekend hours.
– Physical ability and emotional wisdom to act swiftly and appropriately in a crisis or emergency.

Compensation & Benefits:
– $60,000-70,000 annual salary, commensurate with experience
– This is a full time, exempt position
– Major Jewish holidays & all federal holidays off, plus three weeks paid time off
– In addition to vacation days, the office will be closed for two weeks at the end of summer session
– Health insurance, including dental and vision coverage
– Eligibility to enroll in a 401(k) retirement plan

The summer farm specialists are responsible for the educational content of summer camp. Specialists plan and facilitate 2-3 sessions per day for campers ages 3-14 that bring the magic of the farm to life. The Summer Specialists are responsible for knowing what is happening on the farm and for bringing the campers into that magic through art, storytelling, mindfulness, experimentation, and experiential activities.

ACTIVITY LEADER:
The Summer Specialists are responsible for planning and facilitating 2-3 farm education sessions per day. The blocks should be fun and engaging experiences for the campers and are the core of what makes Urban Adamah Camp such a rich experience for the campers. Specialists are encouraged to be creative and design farm education sessions from a place of their own interests, skills and what they want to learn and teach within this context.

FARM LEARNING:
The Summer Specialists are responsible for working closely with the farm team to work the land, including but not limited to planting, harvesting, weeding, animal chores, watering, and farm maintenance. The farm team will teach and train specialists so that they can meaningfully engage in farm work, as well as lead campers in farm work.

COMMUNAL LIVING:
As a core part of this program, specialists live together on site. Urban Adamah staff provide specialists with frameworks to help them develop a robust Jewish communal life in the time that they are living together on the farm.

JEWISH LEARNING:
There will be opportunities for Jewish learning over the course of the summer with our Ed team staff. We will learn about shabbat and its rituals, the basics of earth-based Judaism, and Jewish meditation practices.

This is a temporary, full-time seasonal position. Specialists will work 35 hours per week (including 20 hours in camp of lesson planning and facilitation, and 10 hours of farm work). Specialists will receive free room and board, programming and learning sessions, and a $2000 stipend. Specialists live on the farm itself in a modern building with a large, well-equipped kitchen and plenty of living space. Specialists may share a room with one other person. Specialists will be in charge of their own food purchasing and meal preparation.

The High School Internship is a unique opportunity to get hands-on job experience working with children on a farm. Interns receive high quality training and mentorship to learn to be great camp counselors. The internship offers a direct path to becoming a counselor down the road.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Group Support: The Camp Counselors and Unit Heads are responsible for creating group culture and for making sure that all of the campers have a good experience. The Intern’s role is to work at a 1:1 level with the campers to help this happen.

Program / Activity Support: The Camp Counselors and Unit Heads create the programming and the Interns support by helping them run it and to inspire the campers to have a great experience. At the beginning of the summer the interns will only be asked to support the programming. As the summer continues they will be offered support in creating their own programming with the campers!

Mentorship: The interns will receive mentorship and training from the Camp Director, camper care coordinator, and from their head counselors.

Safety: All Camp staff ensure that camp is a safe environment for children as well as other staff. Staff make sure that all children are accounted for and within the delineated premises from drop-off to pick-up time. Staff keep a birds-eye-view of potential hazards around the farm, help children use tools safely, are available to administer basic first aid, and support emergency protocols and procedures.


Camp Urban Adamah relies on an experienced and talented group of counselors to create loving, inspiring, memorable, and transformative experiences for children. Our counselors ensure that children of different ages can have wonderful experiences both as part of a large group, and in smaller age-based groups.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Group Leader: Unit heads are responsible for up to 2 chavurah groups. Each chavura group includes 10-15 campers, 2 counselors each, and a varying number of counselors in training and high school interns. The Unit Head sets the tone and supervises the larger group, while the counselor sets the tone of the group through team-building games, fun beginning-of-day and end-of-day rituals, listening circles, and more. They are responsible for supervising the counselors in their unit and for setting and upholding standards of safety and respect within the unit. They are also the first step in behavioral interventions for campers who are having a hard time.

Program/Activity Leader: Unit heads are responsible for making sure that activities are adequately planned and run. They are also expected to create programming and run it themselves. Camp activities are based on skills that counselors bring with them from prior teaching experience, as well as from activities and skills that will be shared and taught during Camp Staff training and throughout the summer. Activities include typical farm tasks such as planting, harvesting, tending to garden beds, and caring for animals; food preparation and cooking; and creative projects involving the arts, music, and drama.

Camp Support: Unit Heads will be asked to support camp in other ways as needed based on their abilities. This may include song-leading, facilitation of camp-wide opening and closing circle, and theatrical performances and storytelling. Unit heads , along with all camp staff, are responsible for daily set-up and clean-up (in general and after specific activities) as well as other tasks related to camp operations on an as-needed basis. We appreciate an overall spirit of flexibility and enthusiasm!

Safety: All Camp staff ensure that camp is a safe environment for children as well as other staff. Staff make sure that all children are accounted for and within the delineated premises from drop-off to pick-up time. Staff keep a birds-eye-view of potential hazards around the farm, help children use tools safely, are available to administer basic first aid, and support emergency protocols and procedures.


Staff Leadership: Unit Heads are responsible for keeping spirits high, and for bringing their team together. They are expected to have a positive attitude and to care deeply for the experience of the campers in their unit, as well as their staff.

The Camper Care Coordinator is responsible for creating an inclusive camp environment for campers of all needs. At Camp Urban Adamah, we have campers with Sensory Processing Disorder, Autism, ADHD, and anxiety. The Camper Care Coordinator will work specifically with campers with special needs and unanticipated behaviors, and will also work with camp counselors to create a more inclusive environment in which all campers can thrive. Camp size ranges from 80-90 campers per session, and the Camper Care Coordinator is responsible for working directly with campers who need extra support.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Individual Camper Support: Camp Urban Adamah is committed to being an inclusive camp for all youth. There are times when campers may need individual time and support away from the rest of the group. The Camper Care Coordinator will make behavioral observations of campers and create a plan to move forward with the camper. The Camper Care Coordinator will make recommendations to the Camp Manager about behavior support and management plans for individual campers.

Group Management Support: The Camper Care Coordinator will work with camp counselors to ensure the cohesion of each group, including identifying possible barriers with special needs camper’s full participation. The Camper Care Coordinator will have access to materials in Urban Adamah’s sensory toolkit, such as fidgets and noise blocking headphones, to support special needs campers’ thriving at camp.

Create Culture of Inclusion: The Camper Care Coordinator is responsible for creating a culture of inclusion. This includes highlighting campers’ unique character, strength, and contributions to the camp community. The Camper Care Coordinator will work with counselors to identify moments of engagement and leadership opportunity for all campers within a group.

Mentor Staff in Childhood Development and Group Management: The Camper Care Coordinator will work with camp staff to develop skills for working with all kinds of children who have differing needs.

Proactive Camper Care: Work in advance with the Camp Manager to plan for accommodating all of our campers, especially those with extra sensory or social needs.

Provide Support to Camp Staff, and Campers: Throughout the camp day, the Camper Care Coordinator will be on-call to assist in any way needed. This may include attending to a sick or injured camper, filling in for a sick counselor, intervening in a behavioral issue with a camper or a group of campers, or providing additional supervision.

Camp Urban Adamah relies on an experienced and talented group of counselors to create loving, inspiring, memorable, and transformative experiences for children. Our counselors ensure that children of different ages can have wonderful experiences both as part of a large group, and in smaller age-based groups.

All counselors are required to attend staff training on June 5–7, 10am-3pm. Camp will include 5 sessions: Session 1 (June 9–20), Session 2 (June 23–July 3), Session 3 (July 7–25), and Session 4 (July 28–August 8), Session 5 (August 11–15). There is no camp on July 4, and counselors will have off that day.

Counselors may work for less than all 4 sessions, however, priority will be given to applicants who can work all 4 sessions. There will also be the opportunity to help with post-camp clean-up from August 12-13 for additional pay, though this additional work is not guaranteed.

RESPOSIBILITIES

• Group Leader: Counselors are responsible for co-leading a chavura, or group, of up to 10-15 children during the camp day (9:00 – 3:00pm) with another counselor. Counselors have the support of their co-counselors and the Camp Manager, as well as an intern and CIT, when applicable. Counselors set the tone of the group through team-building games, fun beginning-of-day and end-of-day rituals, listening circles and more. Counselors are in charge of time and group management for their chavura group and for setting and upholding standards of safety and respect within the group.

• Camp Support: Counselors are responsible for daily set-up and clean-up (in general and after specific activities) as well as other tasks related to camp operations on an as-needed basis. Our younger campers may also need help changing their clothes and using the bathroom (no diaper-changing). We appreciate an overall spirit of flexibility and enthusiasm!

• Safety: All counselors ensure that camp is a safe environment for children, as well as other staff. Counselors make sure that all children are accounted for and within their specified locations from drop-off to pick-up time. Counselors keep a birds-eye-view of potential hazards around the farm, help children use tools safely, are available to administer basic first aid, and support emergency protocols and procedures.

• Program/Activity Leader: Counselors help facilitate activities throughout the program. Activities include typical farm tasks such as planting, harvesting, tending to garden beds, and caring for animals; and creative projects involving the arts, music, dance, and drama. In most cases, counselors are not usually responsible for creating their own programmatic activities, but they provide a critical role in either supporting our summer specialists in leading activities, or at times, leading pre-designed activities.

• Other Responsibilities: Camp Urban Adamah has a small staff. Counselors will be asked to support camp in a variety of ways as needed. This may include song-leading, facilitation of camp-wide opening and closing circle, talent shows. Counselors are encouraged to bring their own creativity to camp. Counselors are expected to lend a hand when needed, which may involve stepping up and/or working with your supervisor to meet unexpected needs.

The Assistant Camp Manager provides programmatic, educational, and behavioral support to campers and staff members throughout the day. The Assistant Camp Manager is responsible for co-facilitating staff training along with the Camp & Educational Programs Manager and cultivating a positive camp culture among campers and staff.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Camp Preparation: This position requires a few days of onboarding in the months leading up to camp, and begins full time two weeks prior to the start of camp so that the Assistant Camp Manager can help with preparing for the summer. Urban Adamah will train the Assistant Camp Manager in our pedagogy, camp culture, music, farm jobs, and camp activities. Camp preparation includes gathering materials, reviewing schedules, reviewing camp systems and protocols, becoming familiar with the campus, preparing for staff training, and more.

• Supervise and Mentor Staff: Along with the Camp Manager, the Assistant Camp Manager is responsible for supervising a staff of 12–25 educators. With guidance from the Camp Manager, the Assistant Camp Manager will give timely and constructive feedback to camp staff. This is done through informal daily check-ins and weekly formal check-ins.

• Conduct Staff Meetings: The Assistant Camp Manager will co-facilitate daily staff meetings along with the Camp Manager. The Assistant Camp Manager will identify issues that need to be addressed among the staff, achievements to celebrate, and ways to promote a healthy and fun environment; build an agenda in collaboration with the Camp Manager in a timely manner; and prepare necessary materials for staff meetings accordingly.

• Provide Support to Camp Manager, Camp Staff, and Campers: Throughout the camp day, the Assistant Camp Manager is on-call to assist in any way needed. This may include attending to a sick or injured camper, filling in for a sick counselor, intervening in a behavioral issue with a camper or a group of campers, or providing additional supervision.

• Quality Assessment: Throughout the day, the Assistant Camp Manager should be assessing our programs. The Assistant Camp Manager should work with camp staff to ensure they are meeting our pedagogical goals, provide feedback and suggestions on how staff can improve their group facilitation and leadership, and make changes to the schedule to meet camp’s needs.

• Create Culture of Inclusion: Assistant Camp Manager is responsible for creating a culture of inclusion. This includes highlighting campers' unique character, strength, and contributions to the camp community. The Assistant Camp Manager will work with counselors to identify moments of engagement and leadership opportunities for all campers within a group.

• Behavior Management: The Assistant Camp Manager will work with the Camp Manager, staff members, and campers’ parents/caretakers to best support campers of all needs. Urban Adamah welcomes a diversity of campers, including those who are neurodivergent, and the Assistant Camp Manager will work with individual campers to make camp an accessible place for them.