About Summer at St. John’s

Summer at St. John’s gives children the freedom to play, explore, create, compete, and discover on the St. John’s Prep campus. From a first camp experience at age four to sports, adventure, enrichment, and leadership opportunities for older campers, our programs are designed to grow with them.

More than a week of camp, Summer at St. John’s is a place where kids can be kids. Campers make new friends, try new things, become more independent, discover what they enjoy, and build confidence along the way.

At the center of that experience are our people. Our counselors, instructors, coaches, nurses, and leadership team work together to create a community where every camper feels known, supported, and part of something.

Across our programs, we focus on what matters most:

• Caring staff who know and support our campers.
• A strong sense of community and belonging.
• Age-appropriate programs that grow with each camper.
• Opportunities to explore new interests and develop new skills.
• Engaging experiences built around friendship, adventure, creativity, and play.
• A safe and supportive environment that gives families confidence in their child’s summer experience.

With more than 80 years of Camp Chris and the resources of St. John’s Prep’s 150-acre campus, Summer at St. John’s gives campers room to move, create, compete, explore, and discover where they belong.

About St. John’s Prep

St. John’s Prep is an inclusive, Catholic, Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School for young men in grades 6 through 12. Founded on the Xaverian values of compassion, humility, simplicity, trust, and zeal, we educate students to be, do and stand for good in the world. We enroll approximately 1,500 students from more than 90 communities in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Position Overview 

The Assistant Director of Camp Programs and Operations is a twelve-month, full-time position responsible for the planning and delivery of Summer at St. John’s camp programs. Reporting to the Managing Director of Strategic Programs, this position serves as a key member of the Summer at St. John’s leadership team and provides year-round leadership for seasonal staffing, staff development, program design, scheduling, camp readiness, licensing, and summer operations.

The Assistant Director of Camp Programs and Operations  leads the seasonal workforce from recruitment through end-of-season evaluation and oversees the camp leadership team and counselors during the summer. The Assistant Director of Camp Programs and Operations also translates the strategic direction of Summer at St. John’s into detailed staffing plans, activity schedules, training programs, operating procedures, and high-quality camper experiences.

Success in this position requires someone who can move comfortably between long-range planning and daily camp operations. The Assistant Director of Camp Programs and Operations must be highly organized, comfortable supervising a large seasonal workforce, able to manage multiple programs simultaneously, and committed to providing safe and engaging experiences for children and teens.

Primary Responsibilities

Seasonal Staffing and Staff Development:

• Lead the annual recruitment, selection, hiring, process for seasonal camp employees in collaboration with the Managing Director, Auxiliary Office Manager, and Human Resources. Work with the Auxiliary Office Manager to ensure staff are successfully onboarded.
• Develop seasonal staffing plans based on enrollment, program needs, camper ages, staff qualifications, and appropriate supervision levels.
• Coordinate staff assignments and schedules across camp programs and respond to staffing changes throughout the summer.
• Plan and lead pre-season training for camp leadership, counselors, and other assigned seasonal employees.
• Develop training materials and resources that establish clear expectations for camper supervision, safety, behavior management, communication, professionalism, and the Summer at St. John’s culture.
• Provide direct supervision and support to Camp Administrators, Division Leaders, counselors, and other assigned seasonal staff.
• Establish clear performance expectations and provide regular coaching and feedback to seasonal employees.
• Lead and coordinate staff observations, evaluations, performance management, and corrective action in collaboration with the Managing Director and Human Resources when appropriate.
• Identify and develop returning staff members with the potential to take on increased responsibility and future leadership positions.
• Foster a seasonal staff culture centered on camper care, accountability, teamwork, professionalism, and the Summer at St. John’s community values.

Program Design and Scheduling:

• Lead the development of camp programming and activity schedules in collaboration with the Managing Director and camp leadership.
• Develop age-appropriate programming that supports the physical, social, emotional, and developmental needs of campers.
• Create and maintain master program schedules for Camp Chris and other assigned Summer at St. John’s programs.
• Coordinate the use of fields, gyms, pools, classrooms, arts spaces, outdoor areas, and other campus facilities.
• Plan weekly themes, special events, visiting programs, and other activities that enhance the camper experience.
• Review enrollment and program demand and adjust schedules, staffing, spaces, and activities as needed.
• Work with camp leadership to evaluate existing activities and identify opportunities to strengthen or expand programming.
• Support the development and launch of new Summer at St. John’s programs as assigned.

Trips, Vendors, and Special Programming:

• Collaborate with the Managing Director and Auxiliary Office Manager to plan the annual schedule of trips, special events, and visiting programs.
• Assist with researching and selecting trip destinations, program partners, and specialty vendors.
• Coordinate the program requirements, schedules, staffing, transportation needs, supervision plans, and participant logistics associated with trips and special programs.
• Lead the program planning and scheduling for Outbound Tripping Camp, including the development of trip schedules and appropriate staffing and supervision plans.
• Coordinate on-campus vendors and organizations providing specialty or alternate programming.
• Serve as a primary program contact for vendors and partners during summer operations.
• Ensure that trips and vendor programs are appropriate for camper ages and fit within the broader Summer at St. John’s program schedule and expectations.

Camp Readiness and Seasonal Operations:

• Lead the annual camp setup and readiness process to ensure programs, spaces, staff, equipment, and resources are prepared before the opening of camp.
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive pre-camp readiness calendar and track key deadlines and deliverables.
• Coordinate program supplies, equipment, signage, activity areas, staff spaces, and camper spaces.
• Conduct pre-season walkthroughs and readiness checks to identify and resolve operational needs before campers arrive.
• Maintain a visible leadership presence throughout the summer and monitor program quality, staffing, supervision, and the overall camper experience.
• Coordinate operational adjustments resulting from weather, staffing changes, enrollment, facility availability, or other circumstances.
• Support camp leadership with camper behavior, staff concerns, family concerns, and other day-to-day operational issues.
• Escalate significant camper, staff, safety, or operational concerns to the Managing Director as appropriate.
• Lead the end-of-season camp closeout process, including equipment and supply inventory, storage, program documentation, and evaluation.

Licensing, Safety, and Compliance:

• Lead the annual recreational camp licensing process in collaboration with the Managing Director and appropriate School departments.
• Coordinate required licensing documentation, submissions, inspections, and follow-up.
• Maintain familiarity with applicable Massachusetts recreational camp regulations and local requirements.
• Work with camp leadership to ensure required policies, procedures, records, and operating practices are maintained throughout the summer.
• Support the development and execution of procedures related to camper supervision, emergency response, health and safety, staff conduct, and risk management.
• Work with Health Services and other appropriate personnel to ensure staff understand and follow required health and safety procedures.
• Maintain required staff and program records in collaboration with the Auxiliary Office Manager and Human Resources.

Leadership and Program Evaluation:

• Serve as a senior member of the Summer at St. John’s leadership team and contribute to year-round planning and decision-making.
• Meet regularly with the Managing Director to review staffing, programming, operational readiness, risks, and emerging needs.
• Lead regular meetings with camp administrators and other seasonal leadership staff during the summer.
• Build positive working relationships with campers, families, seasonal employees, School colleagues, vendors, and community partners.
• Gather and review feedback from campers, families, and staff to identify opportunities to strengthen future programming.
• Analyze enrollment, staffing, program participation, survey feedback, and other operational information to support program decisions.
• Stay current on recreational camp practices, youth development, staff training, and regulatory requirements.
• Perform other duties related to Summer at St. John’s programs and operations as assigned by the Managing Director of Strategic Programs.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in education, recreation management, youth development, business administration, or a related field required. Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of three years of experience in camp management, youth programming, education, recreation, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience supervising and developing employees. Experience managing a large seasonal workforce is strongly preferred.
• Experience designing and scheduling programs for children or adolescents.
• Experience recruiting, interviewing, hiring, training, and evaluating employees.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple programs, deadlines, and priorities simultaneously.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams, provide constructive feedback, manage conflict, and maintain clear performance expectations.
• Knowledge of recreational camp operations, youth supervision, safety practices, and risk management.
• Familiarity with Massachusetts recreational camp regulations and licensing requirements preferred.
• Ability to work collaboratively across departments and with employees at different levels of an organization.
• Comfort using registration systems, scheduling tools, spreadsheets, and other technology used to manage camp operations.
• Experience working directly with children, adolescents, and families in a camp, school, recreation, or youth development setting.

Schedule Expectations:

This is a twelve-month, full-time position. The annual workload varies based on the Summer at St. John’s operating cycle, with periods of increased activity surrounding registration, seasonal hiring, staff onboarding, camp preparation, and summer operations.

Some evening and weekend work may be required during registration periods, staff preparation, special events, and the summer season.

Regular and consistent on-campus presence is required during summer operations.

Physical Requirements:

• Standing/sitting for long periods of time.
• Bending, lifting, pushing, kneeling, crouching, crawling, stooping.
• Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds.
• Must be able to reach at and above shoulder height to access higher areas of equipment, etc.
• Must be capable of adapting to frequent changes in position throughout the workday.
• Hearing and speaking to exchange information in person or on the telephone.
• Use of hands and fingers for manipulation, and using computer keyboard, educational tools, play equipment, and perform first aid and CPR.
• Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, color vision, and depth perception.

Summer at St. John’s is committed to building a diverse and inclusive community. We welcome applications from underrepresented groups. We seek applicants who demonstrate a commitment to multiculturalism and diversity that is manifested in work with all those who engage with Summer at St. John’s. 

Interested candidates are asked to apply online on the Employment page of stjohnsprep.org. Candidates will need to upload a cover letter and resumé. Please, no phone calls.