Counselor / Staff Job Description

Minimum Qualifications

• • • Desire and ability to work with children outdoors.
    • Ability to relate to one’s peer group.
    • Ability to accept supervision and guidance.
    • Ability to lead activities.
    • Good character, integrity, adaptability, enthusiasm, sense of humor, patience, and self-control.
    • High School graduate or equivalent, or have completed the Tate’s Day Camp CIT program.
    • Ability to fulfill all of the essential functions for the job. (See attached)

Responsible To
Camp Director / Program Directors / Team Leaders

Camp Goals
Meet and exemplify the specific responsibilities of Tate’s Day Camp, reflecting the goals of the camp and camper. (Found in the staff handbook)

General Responsibility
To identify and meet camper needs.

Specific Responsibilities

• • 1. Learn the likes/dislikes of each participant.
    2. Recognize and respond to opportunities for problem solving in the group.
    3. Develop opportunities for interaction between campers and staff.
    4. Provide opportunities for the group so that each individual experiences success during camp.
    5. Provide opportunities for discussion of individual or group problems or concerns.
    6. Help all campers develop confidence in themselves and their abilities while nurturing social development.
    7. Check the medical information of your group and be aware of any allergies or problems.

General Responsibility
To carry out camp programs.

Specific Responsibilities

• • 1. Guide groups and individual campers in participating successfully in all aspects of camp activities.
    2. Carry out established roles for supervising camper health and safety.
    3. Develop written weekly activity plans and lead the activities with your group. Activities should incorporate the camp’s weekly themes.
    4. Supervise all aspects of the campers’ day.
    5. Instruct campers in emergency procedures.
    6. Help campers plan their participation in special events and activities.
    7. Teach and lead activities with unit groups as assigned.

General Responsibility
To fulfill other staff administrative roles.

Specific Responsibilities

• • 1. Must participate in staff orientation and training.
    2. Must attend weekly staff meetings.
    3. Must participate in overnight campouts and special events unless that is your scheduled week of vacation.
    4. Set a good example for campers and others including cleanliness, punctuality, sportsmanship, and dress.
    5. Encourage respect for personal property, camp equipment, and facilities.
    6. Maintain good public relations with campers’ parents.
    7. Submit weekly plans on time.
    8. Submit time cards for biweekly payroll.
    9. Inform the directors of any camper, parent, and / or staff problems.
    10. These are not the only duties to be performed. Some duties may be assigned or reassigned as required.

Essential Functions

Because every staff member is actively involved in the quality education and recreation of children, there are “essential functions” that are vital for all camp employees. “Essential functions” include but are not limited to:

• • • The ability to communicate and work with groups, participate in various camp activities according to the age and skill levels of the child, and provide necessary instruction to campers.
    • The ability to observe camper behavior, assess its appropriateness, enforce appropriate safety regulations and emergency procedures, and apply appropriate behavior management techniques.
    • Visual and auditory ability to identify and respond to environmental and other hazards related to the activity.
    • The physical ability to participate when necessary with campers in all activities including running.

Tate’s Day Camp Personnel Policies

1. Time off: All staff members, except directors, may have up to one week of non-paid vacation time to be taken during consecutive days. Vacation must be requested in writing by May 1. Those not requesting vacations by the May 1 deadline should expect to work all ten weeks that the camp is open. (Anyone hired after May 1 will be given an opportunity to register for vacation). If a staff member’s vacation falls on the day of a Family Fun Night or special evening event, he/she will not be expected to attend. Staff are expected to work all Family Fun Nights and any camp special events unless that is the staff person’s scheduled week of vacation. Staff may not take a vacation on the last week of camp, unless arrangements have been made in writing with the camp director, prior to accepting employment. This is because we lose most of our certified school teachers during the last week of camp.

2. Orientation and Training are required for everyone unless specific arrangements are made in writing with the camp director prior to accepting employment.

3. Sick policy: If any staff member is absent (as in calls in sick) they need to speak with a director.  In some instances the staff member must obtain a doctor’s note documenting the illness.  After two absences, a meeting will be called with the Camp Director and Program Director to discuss eliminating the cause of the absences or possible termination of employment.

4. Due to the safety of campers, punctuality is vitally important!  You are responsible to provide your own reliable transportation to and from camp and be prepared to begin before your designated shift. We expect everyone to be in his or her assigned position and ready to go when the designated shift begins.  Please take care of activity preparations, clocking in, and picking up mail from your staff mailbox before your shift and camper-related duties begin.

5. Mandatory Staff Meetings will be held on Thursday nights during specified weeks. You are not expected to be at a meeting during your week of vacation, but you must attend all other meetings. Staff meetings will be paid hourly. (Thursdays from 6:30-7:30 p.m.).

6. No personal phone calls are to be made during shifts. (See use of phone in the Staff Handbook)

7. All staff members are expected to refrain from gossiping and encouraged to consult with a director if a problem arises.  Excessive gossip may lead to termination of employment.

8. No staff members shall leave the campgrounds during their shift without obtaining permission from a director.

9. Dress code: the following items should be worn daily as part of the Tate’s Day Camp staff uniform: khaki shorts, staff T-shirt, tennis shoes or hiking shoes (closed-toe shoes), socks, staff nametag. Other appropriate optional items include: a sweatshirt or wind breaker on chilly mornings, ponchos, one piece bathing suits for females/ tasteful swim trunks for males, hats and sunglasses. (Staff should wear appropriate length, hemmed khaki shorts, not long pants or cut-offs.)

10. Standards of Conduct: The following conduct is prohibited and may lead to immediate termination.
a. Harming a child or fellow staff member including but not limited to corporal punishment, sexual harassment, violence, or child physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.
b. Drinking, taking, or possessing alcohol or illegal drugs at camp or coming to work with a hangover. There is No Smoking at camp.
c. Illegal activity including but not limited to underage drinking, underage smoking, illegal drug use, or contributing to underage drinking, smoking, or drug use.
d. Cursing, threatening, intimidating or gossiping about a child, parent or fellow staff member.
e. Fighting.
f. Behaving in a reckless manner.
g. Falsification of employee records, employment information, or other camp documentation.
h. Unsatisfactory job performance or poor attitude.
i. Removing or borrowing camp property without prior permission.
j. Abuse of camp property.
k. Engaging in criminal conduct whether or not related to job performance.
l. Insubordination, including but not limited to failure or refusal to carry out the instructions of a supervisor or director.
m. Posting inappropriate personal information, blogs, messages, and/or photos in public places including online areas such as Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking sites are prohibited. Personal websites are allowed as long as they do not detract from your image as a positive role model for children.
n. Other types of conduct injurious to security, personal safety, employee welfare and the camp’s operation may also be prohibited and may lead to termination.

11. Maintaining your health is required. We ask that staff members get adequate sleep, eat properly, and stay physically fit. Working with children in a camp setting is extremely demanding, and our campers deserve you at your best.

12. All staff members must have a written health history on file.  This “history” is an annually updated record of one’s past and present health status that is completed by the individual or by the parent/guardian if the staff member is a minor.

13. Each staff member must register attendance through our time clocks before his/ her shift begins and after his/ her shift ends. No staff member may clock-in another staff member, whether for convenience or misrepresentation of arrival time. Those violating this policy may be subject to immediate termination.

14. Staff will be paid every two weeks by direct deposit according to the payroll dates published in the Staff Handbook. In the event a payroll or petty cash check is lost and must be reissued, the staff member must pay any bank service fees and/or charges. Staff are only paid for their scheduled shifts unless they are asked to come in early or stay late by a director. (i.e. you may not accumulate extra hours by clocking in early or clocking out late without director approval.)

15. Body Piercing: Staff may wear up to two small stud earrings in each ear and one clear stud in the nose. For safety reasons, no dangling earrings or hoops are allowed. No other visible body piercing is allowed. Having a tattoo is fine; however, inappropriate tattoos (including but not limited to references of death, drugs, sex, or violence) may not be displayed at camp.

16. Hairstyles: All hair must be kept neatly groomed, clean and out of the staff member’s face.

17. Confidentiality: Each employee is responsible for safeguarding confidential information obtained in connection with his/her employment. In the course of your work, you may have access to confidential information regarding the campers, camp, or other employees. It is your responsibility to in no way reveal or divulge any such information unless it is necessary for you to do so in the performance of your duties. Access to confidential information should be on a need to know basis and must be authorized by the director.

18. Staff should not bring personal equipment from home unless checking with a director first. (i.e. Water balloon rocket launchers, sports equipment, etc.) Tate’s Day Camp is not responsible for the loss, theft, or damage of such items. Pets and weapons are not allowed at camp.

19. Staff members are expected to work all special events such as Family Fun Nights, picnics, or campouts unless the event falls within the staff person’s scheduled vacation week, or unless a director schedules them “off.” Staff are not paid hourly for special events and will receive a bonus for working the event.

20. All staff members must pass a drug test. After the initial test, random tests will be conducted throughout the summer.

21. As outlined by the Fair Labor Standards Act Section 13 (a) (3), Tate’s Day Camp, being a seasonal recreational establishment and “not operating for more than seven months in any calendar year” is exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements.

22. Tate’s Day Camp is an Equal Opportunity Employer in accordance with federal laws.

The following forms are available as pdf documents and are available for download:

All employment applications must be completed online at Fun Summer Jobs.

2025 Personnel Policies

Directions to Tate’s Day Camp

2025 Employment Forms

Staff Health Form 2025 (click here and complete the form in your Staff Portal)

Map to Netgain Mobile Diagnostics Drug Testing

HIPPA Authorization and Release – if employee is under the age of 18 then this form must be completed and signed by a parent / guardian and taken with you for the drug test.

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