Camp and School Age Programs Director

Position Summary:

Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center in Laconia, NH seeks a fun and affable leader to join our leadership team and advance our mission of connecting youth to the natural world through hands-on learning.

The Camp & School-Age Programs Director is responsible for implementing a wide-range of Prescott Farm programs that provide nature-based educational experiences for school-aged children ages five to sixteen years-old. Programs include WildQuest day camps offered during winter, spring, and summer school vacation weeks; the Naturalist in the Classroom program, which fulfills educational contracts in local schools during the school year; school field trips at Prescott Farm; and Community Connections programs designed to appeal to kids and their families year-round.

The successful candidate will be a seasoned environmental educator with experience working in a camp environment and demonstrated enthusiasm for nature, program administration, and elementary education.

Responsibilities:

WildQuest Camp Programs

• Plan and facilitate February, April, and nine summer WildQuest camp sessions.
• Recruit, hire, train and supervise 10-12 seasonal camp staff and volunteer junior counselors.
• Collaborate on and maintain accountability to the annual camp budget.
• Enforce camp safety rules and regulations according to state camp licensing requirements and that meet or exceed industry best practices.
• Apply for annual camp license renewal and meet with state camp inspector during a random visit during the summer to go over the license compliance checklist.
• Work with marketing staff to promote camp and drive enrollment.
• Coordinate online camp-registration.
• Facilitate communications with camp families before, during, and after the camp season.
• Update camp family and staff handbooks annually.
• Manage camp scholarship program. Work with community partners to reach new campers who would utilize existing funds.
• Collaborate with Executive Director on grant applications related to camp programs.
• Coordinate camp supply needs & ordering.
• Conduct evaluations at the end of camp sessions and summer camp season.
• Participate in meetings and trainings provided by professional associations, such as the American Camping Association and NH Camp Directors’ Association, to ensure that Prescott Farm is following best practices.

School-Age Programs

• Train and supervise environmental educators who work with the Naturalist in the Classroom program, providing hands-on, nature-based programs to elementary and middle school-aged children throughout the school year.
• Meet with school administrators to finalize contracts and establish a teaching schedule.
• Track curriculum activity, solicit feedback from teachers, and provide written reports to school administrators.
• Work with the Communications & Events Director to publish a Naturalist in the Classroom newsletter twice per year to be distributed to participating families as well as for promotional use.
• Coordinate and lead school field trips at Prescott Farm and occasionally at other sites.
• Evaluate field trip program and develop programs to meet the interests and needs of area schools and other area youth groups.
• Train and coordinate staff schedules for leading field trips, including full time educators, per diem field teachers, and interns.
• Coordinate and lead Community Connections programs at Prescott Farm designed to appeal to school-aged youth and their families.

Other Responsibilities

• As a member of the Prescott Farm leadership team, look for ways to continually improve and grow programs that are mission-relevant, enticing to participants, and considerate of the budget.
• Develop new or adapt existing programs to address current and changing needs within our community.
• Represent Prescott Farm and our programs at events and other activities both at Prescott Farm and in the larger community throughout the year.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of five to seven years of experience in camps, environmental, wilderness, adventure, or outdoor education.
• Bachelor’s degree minimum, Master’s Degree preferred – in a related field.
• 2  or more years’ experience as a camp director or coordinator in a similar setting.
• High-level first aid training (Wilderness First Responder Certification preferred).
• Ability to do moderate level hiking and snowshoeing on uneven terrain while carrying up to 40 pounds of equipment.
• Must pass criminal background checks as required by camp licensing requirements.
• Strong naturalists’ skills and demonstrated understanding of New England natural history.
• Creative and enthusiastic program development and presentation skills.
• Solid organizational skills with regard to coordinating and scheduling programs, projects, maintaining files, reports and databases.
• Experience and comfort in working with computer programs such as Microsoft Office, Google Suite, registration software, CRMs, etc.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate, supervise, and motivate staff.
• Strong customer service skills.
•  Other experiences and abilities that would enhance the quality of Prescott Farm programming and organization’s culture.

Benefits:

• $50,000 annual salary, paid weekly
• 35-hour work week
• Health insurance
• Retirement plan, up to 3% match
• Life insurance
• Cafeteria plan (health, dependent care FSAs)
• Long-term disability insurance
• 12 paid holidays
• Paid vacations, starting at 10 days per year
• Paid sick leave, 12 days per year
• Paid professional development

Additional benefit details available upon request.