Waterfront Director & Counselor

Conservation Education Waterfront Director/Counselors are counselors with additional waterfront duties and responsibilities. Waterfront Director/Counselor bring a passion for sharing ‘camp magic’ and their love of nature with the next generation. The Waterfront Director/Counselor's primary role is to teach and supervise campers, which makes up about 85% of their duties. Waterfront Director/Counselors also ensure the safe operation of camp’s waterfront and water related activities such as swimming and boating which amounts to about 15% of their time. They live in an assigned cabin that may include another counselor and a small group of campers for whom they are responsible. Waterfront Director/Counselors teach lessons on field, forest, aquatic habitats, and human impacts, often working with a second counselor as co-instructor. Waterfront Director/Counselors do crafts, perform skits, sing songs, and entertain campers throughout the week while ensuring their safety. They are on call 24 hours/day during the camp week, but they get one 4-hour block of time off sometime between Monday-Thursday during camp, and then have Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday morning off. 
 

Waterfront Director/Counselor responsibilities include: 

• Implements/oversees buddy system and board system or other approved bather accountability system 
• Coordinate lifeguard schedule with Camp Director 
• Train and supervise waterfront staff 
• Participate as a member of the camp management team to plan, direct, and supervise evening programs, special events, overnights, and other all-camp activities and camp functions 
• Survey waterfront area daily and keep the area free of hazards and debris. 
• Supervises the campers on a 24-hour basis; are responsible for the wellbeing and health of the campers 
• Teach environmental education lessons, lead trips, programs and assist as needed to fulfill the programmatic needs of the camp program. 
• Supervises the campers on a 24-hour basis; are responsible for the well-being and health of the campers; 
• Instructs the campers in the core environmental science curricula; and 
• Responsible for the planning and conducting of recreational activities, including maintaining camp inventories. 
• Counsel campers who become homesick or disruptive. 
• Assist in the purchasing, inventory and delivery of supplies, materials and equipment. 

For more information, visit the NYSDEC website: https://www.dec.ny.gov/education/1869.html 

How to apply:

Submit a cover letter, resume, and unofficial transcripts to campemploy@dec.ny.gov.