Hiring Now! Summer Program Director

Company: Galileo Learning
Location: Elmhurst
Posted on: October 10, 2021

Job Description:

Galileo is looking for program leaders to direct current or new Camp Galileo sites for the 2022 season. Summer Program Directors (internally referred to as “Camp Directors”) are outstanding leaders who assume overall leadership of a summer day camp location, including staff hiring and management, day-to-day operations, and creating a joy-filled summer camp culture. 

We value divergent thinkers who bring various experiences and viewpoints to the table at Galileo. We strongly encourage members of underrepresented groups and people of diverse backgrounds to apply.

Who are you? 

• You’re inspired by Galileo’s mission and purpose. Innovation education, project-based learning, youth empowerment, and creating safe, inclusive spaces all speak to the very heart of who you are.
• You’re an experienced, creative, fun-loving leader. You’re as comfortable resolving conflict between two campers as you are mentoring your staff or putting your own unique spin on a classic game. 
• You’re communicative and trustworthy. As a relationship-builder and mentor, you measure your own success in large part by the success of those around you, and care deeply about helping them meet professional development goals. 
• You’re an organized, problem-solving manager. You love fine-tuning operational logistics, ensuring program efficiency, and learning new strategies for driving overall performance. 
• You’re ready to grow. You know that true mastery requires commitment, effort, thoughtful feedback, personal reflection, and implementation of lessons learned. 

Who are we?

At Galileo, we believe the world needs innovators and that innovation can be taught. We also think kids who learn to explore and who are willing to tackle challenges despite their fears are happier, more creative, and more confident when faced with life’s challenges. And we think kids with these skills are more likely to change our world and be the masters of their own.

It takes a village to bring best-in-class educational programs to tens of thousands of kids each year online and in-person. Each of our staff brings our values to life and makes our company and culture better. Here, values aren’t just lip service — we aim to be visionary, courageous, collaborative, determined and reflective each day, and back that effort up with structure to ensure our success. People who joyfully work hard together, seek feedback, feel accountable for their work, are mission-driven, and play well with others tend to thrive in our culture. 

We’re a certified B Corp, were recently ranked #1 on the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area (and have been on the list for twelve plus years running), have been named one of Forbes’ Best Small Companies in America, and over 97% of our summer staff say they would recommend working for us. Joining Galileo means joining an organization that is a model of innovative learning, with a company-wide commitment to Inclusion and Diversity, broadening our impact and a stellar staff experience.

Position Description

What’s the job, really?

Camp Directors commit 10-15 hours each week to their Camp Director role pre-camp (January-May/June), with 2 additional weekends of training. As summer rolls around, Directors work 55-65 hours each week during camp (most camps run 6-8 weeks). Hear directly from past and current Camp Directors. Essential responsibilities include:

• You’ll brilliantly build, lead, and maintain your camp community. From mastering operations to nurturing and retaining staff to creating camp culture and traditions, you’ll work to identify and execute on your program vision, ensuring our campers have their most magical summers ever.  

• In collaboration with others, you’ll hire, train, collaborate with, and develop a team of anywhere from 5-50+ summer staff. You’ll be a supportive manager with high expectations, provide feedback on classroom instruction and support,, and thoughtfully push your team to greatness in ways that have a ripple effect.

• You’ll create and build partnerships like a boss. As the face of Galileo in the community you serve, you’ll work closely with your manager on navigating grassroots marketing efforts, local staff recruiting, your host school relationship, and consistently delivering exceptional service to our camper families. 

• You’ll leverage existing (and carefully crafted) training and resources to masterfully manage your time and responsibilities, efficiently tracking your workflow details and calendar in the pre-season.

What are we looking for?

• College graduate or equivalent work experience

• Experience working in schools, afterschool programs or with K-8th grade children in another capacity

• Demonstrated leadership experience (staff hiring and management experience a plus)

• Ability to work part-time end of January through May/June (~15 hours per week), and full-time in summer

• Camp experience is a bonus, though not required 

• Readiness to stick around; we find that our team and team members benefit from a 3 year minimum commitment

Camp Directors start from a wide variety of backgrounds, including but not limited to: school teaching, camp counseling & leadership, after school programming, coaching, museum education and leadership in retail or customer service. In addition, research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the requirements, women and other underrepresented people tend to only apply when they match all criteria. Even if you don't necessarily meet every checkbox in the job description, but you think you have what it takes, we encourage you to still apply. 

We welcome your application, even if you don't feel like you meet all of the requirements listed above.  

Benefits & Compensation

• Financial reward.  Galileo is unusual in that Camp Directors participate in—and benefit from—the financial success of their camps through our bonus program. A first year Camp Director typically earns $10,000-$15,000.

• Lasting positive impact on kids, staff, families, and communities. As a Galileo Camp Director, you’ll develop meaningful, multi-year relationships with staff members, campers and families. You’ll inspire the spark of camp, helping kids see themselves as true innovators.

• Leadership training & professional development. You’ll receive unique and exceptional training including weekend management training retreats, weekly individual coaching throughout the camp season, mentorship, and access to Galileo’s network of prominent educational leaders. Camp Directors are given the tools, framework, community, and support to take ownership of and implement a fully-developed program. 

• Opportunity. As Galileo grows, we’re often looking for Regional Directors, curriculum creators, and other full-time staff. Successful Camp Directors are likely candidates for such opportunities. We also have an extensive list of recruiting partners, which connect our staff with outstanding opportunities outside of Galileo.

• Community. You’ll become part of a current and former Galileo staff network of over 10,000 inspiring changemakers. Former Galileans stay connected, and have even gone on to create successful non-profit organizations together! Learn more about our staff here. 

• Free camp. We offer either free camp sessions or significant camp discounts to all Galileo staff.  

• Early application bonus. If you apply by one of the dates listed below and are hired, you will receive the corresponding early application bonus with your first paycheck. 
• • App submitted by 9/26/21: $1000.00
  • App submitted by 11/21/21: $750.00
  • App submitted by 12/12/21: $500.00

Work Location

January-May/June: With the exception of weekend retreats and occasional marketing/recruiting events, most pre-camp season work is done remotely.

Summer: When it comes to camp assignments, we take your location preferences into consideration, and have ongoing, open dialogue about location options throughout the process. 

COVID-19: As COVID-19 guidelines evolve, some dates may be shifted and in-person work duties may be performed virtually. As always, we'll aim to be transparent and communicative throughout our process if 2021 plans are impacted. 

Keywords: Galileo Learning, Elmhurst , Hiring Now! Summer Program Director, Other , Elmhurst, Illinois