At Caldera, we believe in the power of creativity.  Our mission is to inspire and support youth from underserved rural and urban communities by awakening the potential of their creative voice.  We do this through a unique fusion of art, environment and mentorship.  Our Youth Program provides students from Portland and Central Oregon with long-term relationships with caring adults, which nurtures individual creativity, beginning in sixth grade and continuing into young adulthood.  

As part of Caldera’s summer learning team, you will gain leadership, communication, and collaboration skills and unparalleled resiliency while building meaningful relationships with young learners and adults. You’ll have daily opportunities to expand your own creativity and sense of adventure, upheld in a supportive community full of networking opportunities. During your time off, you’ll be centrally located in Oregon’s playground for play in the Cascade Mountains, sampling local flavor, or simply relaxing on Caldera’s 116 acres of awe-inspiring property.

Position Title: Mental Health Support Specialist

Supervisor: Camp Manager

Compensation:

• Salary/Rate of Pay: $165/day, with 1% increase for each year of experience working at Camp Caldera (not to exceed 7%)
• Training Salary/Rate of Pay: $50-75/day
• Room and board provided during days with programming; room only during non-programming days. A light dinner will be provided on staff arrival days. Brunch is served on the last day of each session.

Location: This is a seasonal position at our Arts Center- 31500 Blue Lake Drive, Sisters, OR 97756 (transportation not provided).  

Choose one or more sessions; placement is dependent on availability & scheduling (must be available for all dates in session(s) chosen). Must be available for training dates and on the following dates and times to start each session:

• PORTLAND Staff Training June 23-26
• SISTERS Staff Training July 1-2 
• Arrive between 1:00-2:00 pm July 6* for the Immersion 1 (High School) session July 7-16
• Arrive between 4:00-5:00 pm July 19* for the immersion 2 (High School) session July 20-28
• Arrive between 4:00-5:00 pm July 31* for the Discovery 1 (Middle School) session Aug 1-8
• Arrive between 4:00-5:00 pm Aug 11* for the Discovery 2 (Middle School) session Aug 12-19

*Indicates Half day compensation 

Sample Daily Schedule:

7:00-7:30 Supervise youth shower time

7:30  Morning wake up bell (Wake up youth up and get ready for the day)

7:45-8:00 Kitchen Prep 

8:00-8:30 Breakfast
8:40-9:15 Community Circle
9:30-12:30  Support during Class Rotation or Break

12:55-1:15 Lunch
1:15-1:45 Staff meeting 

1:45-3:00 Lead Free Time Activity 

3:10-6:10 Support during Class Rotation or Break
6:10-7:00  Dinner
7:00-8:45 Capture the Flag or Other Evening Activity
8:45-9:45  Campfire

9:45-10:00 Youth get ready for bed (brushing teeth etc.) 

10-10:15  Supervise Lantern Time (Time can vary between 10-11pm)

Position Overview: 

The Mental Health Support Specialist works to maintain and improve the social environment for both youth and adults at Camp Caldera. They are adept at boundary setting and can make a clear distinction between providing support vs. therapy while directing participants to resources as needed.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Work with camp leadership to define, communicate, and uphold behavioral norms and agreements among both learners and adults
• Proactively and reactively respond to social-emotional needs of the camp community, completing thorough documentation as needed
• Communicate with learner families when relevant, connecting them to external resources as appropriate
• Initiate proper reporting processes and ensure timely communication with all stakeholders
• Actively participate in pre-camp training and meetings
• Maintain confidentiality (except in the event of specific necessary disclosures)
• Alert supervisor to relevant issues; communicate regularly regarding concerns, updates, and challenges
• Other duties as assigned

General Responsibilities:

• Serve as mandatory reporter, working with Youth Impact Manager to report instances or suspicion of child abuse. Caldera has a zero tolerance policy around child abuse, and any negligence will result in immediate dismissal
• Promote program understanding and involvement through Caldera’s goals and agreements, participation agreement, and responsibility process
• Actively participate in all aspects of camp life including: camper orientation, community meetings, evening activities, campfire, free time, etc.
• Model appropriate camper behavior at all times 
• Perform duties with consistency and integrity
• Set and respect personal boundaries while acting as mentors, guides, and allies to campers
• Oversee health and safety of charges in fire drills and emergency procedures
• Maintain cleanliness of living and common areas and help with clean-up at the end of each session

Required Qualifications:

• At least one year experience working with middle and/or high school youth
• At least one year experience connecting clients to resources
• Knowledge of social services throughout Portland and Central Oregon
• Ability to respond to and absorb a high degree of stress
• Strong communication skills and experience giving constructive feedback to youth and adults
• High degree of flexibility and adaptability to rapidly changing situations
• Ability to understand our racially diverse student population’s perspective, either through lived experience, previous qualifications, or work experience 
• Ability to navigate through potentially triggering and challenging conversations and situations while maintaining focus on the wellbeing of youth
• Ability to discreetly and effectively handle information of a confidential or sensitive nature
• Ability to set appropriate boundaries in a proactive and positive manner
• Must pass a background check. Caldera considers systemic injustices when investigating findings
• Willingness to live in a camp setting and work irregular and long hours. Additionally, you must have the ability to deal with limited cell and internet service and daily exposure to outdoor factors such as sun, heat, bugs, bats, snakes, etc.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Masters of Social Work degree, LCSW, or relevant completed coursework
• Familiarity with culturally responsive and anti-oppression frameworks and experience working with racially and ethnically diverse staff and youth
• Bilingual and/or bicultural skills highly desired

Living Conditions:

• Requires on-site living in shared staff quarters.
• A vegetarian option (that may include eggs and/or dairy) will be available for all meals. We do our best to accommodate other dietary restrictions; however, employees with special dietary needs should plan to bring food to supplement or replace provided meals. Please address specific needs with your supervisor.  
• Typical days are 10+ hours in length, with sessions that make for up to 10 straight days of work without a full day off. Each staff member will have at least 1 night off per session. 
• Alcohol and drugs are not permitted on campus, even in personal living quarters.

Working Conditions: 

• Must be physically able to move around 116 acres of camp property with varied terrain
• Must have visual, perceptual, and cognitive ability to recognize and respond quickly to health and safety concerns of students and appropriately re-direct any behavior that is misaligned with Caldera agreements
• Employee must carry out their duties regardless of inclement weather, which can include but is not limited to, heat, rain, wind, cold, and smoky or dusty conditions.
• Moments of quiet and non-activity are few and spread out
• Creating a cohesive staff environment round the clock can be challenging. It is crucial that staff see youth and adults through a strengths-based lens and prioritize creating the best possible youth experience at all times, despite what challenges may arise at the staff level
• Physical Demands (which can include bending, stooping, hiking, climbing and stretching) are: 5% Sitting, 45% Standing, 30% Walking, 25% Lifting/Carrying/Pushing/Pulling Pounds 5 -80 lbs.

To Apply: 

Complete the application and questions and provide a reference, ideally from each of the following categories: a youth serving organization, a family member, and one other professional reference

Equity & Inclusion 

We recognize that Caldera communities face many societal inequities. We recognize the history and ongoing impacts of racism in our country, state, and institutions. We acknowledge that we will always have room to grow as an organization and as individuals in our understanding of racism and oppression.

We commit to continually examining our role in both perpetuating and combating institutional racism. We also commit to ongoing alignment of our policies and practices to advance racial equity, inclusion, and freedom of expression.

We commit to integrating equity and inclusion into all areas of our work to better serve our mission; when we do, we get closer to the world that we want for our youth. To ensure our own accountability, we will 1) seek deeper relationships with and feedback from our larger community; 2) use our Equity Plan to guide ongoing work; and 3) apply our Equity Lens to decision-making. We will also seek inspiration from artistic and cultural traditions.

Caldera is an equal opportunity employer encouraging applicants of all backgrounds and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. 

We encourage people of color and Caldera community members to apply.