Genesee Valley hires hard-working, enthusiastic, creative employees three times a year. We hire challenge course facilitators for the spring, summer and fall seasons. For our summer camp, we mainly hire counselors, as well as other camp employees, such as lifeguards, camp management and camp activity leaders.

Summer Positions Available

• Day Camp Counselor
• CIT (Counselor in Training)
• Lifeguard

Spring and Fall Positions Available

Pay and Benefits

• Summer Camp Counselor: Please contact us for information
• Facilitator: Please contact us for information
• Lifeguard: $60 per day
• CIT: no compensation

We provide lunch for all staff on working days.
(We currently do not offer room and board)

Hiring Timeline

We accept applications year-round. The timeline of our hiring process is as follows:

• Spring Facilitators: Hiring begins in December or January
• Summer staff: Hiring begins in March or April
• Fall Facilitators: Hiring begins in June or July

While it’s important to apply early, we sometimes hire staff last-minute as needed, so there is no deadline to submit your application.

If you are interested in applying for a position, please print, complete and submit the following application, along with a current resume:

Please send applications to:

Genesee Valley Outdoor Learning Center
Attn: Human Resources
1717 Rayville Rd
Parkton, MD 21120

Working at Genesee Valley

Genesee Valley staff provide the opportunity for individuals and groups to safely recognize and reach their human potentials. Facilitators and counselors lead team initiatives, group games, and both low and high ropes course elements to encourage leadership, communication, trust, self-confidence, positive group dynamics, creative problem-solving and healthy risk-taking.

Expectations

We expect all of our staff to:

• Be of service
• Set an example of excellence
• Keep commitments
• Be patient, understanding and approachable
• Communicate effectively
• Be willing to take initiative
• Be community-oriented
• Show respect for others and the environment
• Exhibit enthusiasm and creativity in their work
• Strive toward a professional work ethic
• Safely and effectively execute programs by planning, leading and debriefing activities

Day Camp Counselors

Age requirement: 18 years old or a high school graduate

Our summer day camp season runs from mid June to the end of August (10 or 11 week-long sessions). Staff training begins one week before the first day of summer camp. Counselors are responsible for the safety and fun of a small group of 10-12 campers. Counselors lead or supervise such activities as:

• Group games
• Low and high ropes course activities
• Fishing
• Arts & Crafts
• Horseback riding
• Archery
• Swimming
• Boating

Overview of a Sample Summer Camp Day

• 8:00 Morning meeting
• 8:30 Campers arrive
• 9:00 Greet your group, grass games
• 9:30 Low ropes, games, initiatives
• 12:00 Lunch
• 12:30 Fishing
• 1:30 Arts & Crafts
• 2:30 Swimming
• 3:30 Snack
• 4:00 Wrap up the day, prepare for departure
• 4:15 Campers depart
• 4:30 Clean-up responsibilities
• 5:00 End of day

Counselors in Training (CITs)

Age requirement: 16 years old by the last day of summer camp

CITs play a very important role in our summer camp operation. They support counselors in daily activities and provide additional safety, supervision, energy, and ideas. While CITs are not paid for their hard work, they do learn many valuable camp and ropes course skills, and the majority of our CITs return as counselors in the summers to follow. (CITs will never supervise campers without a counselor present.)

Lifeguards

Age requirement: 16 years old

Lifeguards monitor and supervise our swimming and boating activities. All water activities occur in our manmade lakes. There will always be at least one counselor supervising the water activities along with the lifeguard. We often ask our lifeguards to help with other camp responsibilities when not at the waterfront, including camper check-in, supervising lunch, helping with arts & crafts, etc. We require all of our lifeguards to be certified by the American Red Cross.

Facilitators

Age requirement: 18 years old

In the spring, summer and fall, our facilitators work with a vide variety of groups for day or multi-day programs. Each facilitator spends the day (~9am-4pm) with a small group of around 10-13 participants, safely and effectively leading the group through a goal-driven progression of activities. While all of our summer hires work summer camp, some counselors may facilitate occasional day programs in the summer, and many of our summer camp counselors remain on staff to facilitate in the fall and beyond.

Overview of a Typical Group Program Day

• 7:30 Prepare for group (set up high element, grab gear, etc)
• 8:00 Morning meeting
• 8:30 More planning and prep
• 9:00 Group arrives, greeting and introduction
• 9:15 Icebreakers and name games
• 9:30 Full Value Commitment (FVC)
• 10:00 Problem-solving initiatives
• 11:00 Low challenge course elements
• 12:00 Lunch
• 12:30 High challenge course element
• 3:30 Final debrief
• 4:00 Group departure
• 4:15 Clean-up responsibilities
• 4:45 Facilitator debrief
• 5:00 End of day

Facilitator to Participant Ratio

1:10 average

Types of Groups

• Public and independent elementary, middle and high schools
• Teachers and faculty
• College students or faculty
• Scout and church groups
• Corporate workplaces
• Non-profit organizations
• Sports teams
• Youth programs (ex: girls’ empowerment, adjudicated youth, community service programs)
• Groups of friends or family

About our Staff

Our staff range in age, educational background, personal background, experience and qualifications. We have had staff from all over the country and we have also had staff from other countries. Some people stay here a long time, some just for a season. There are people that work here with degrees ranging from Creative Writing to Biology to Graphic Design, and there are people on staff that have never attended college. Everyone that works here brings something new to Genesee Valley – new activities, new attitudes, new stories and new perspectives.

Our Community

We do what we can to establish a strong community both during the day as well as outside of work. Morning meeting is a time to check in and share news, as well as set a positive tone for the day ahead. Lunch is provided, and staff join together for the shared meal in our dining area. After working hours, staff often climb on our course, fish in our ponds, or play ultimate Frisbee in our fields. We also plan communal dinners, game nights, campfires and staff trips. Many former staff have remained in the area, and they constitute a close-knit, loyal network of Genesee friends and supporters.

Community Responsibilities and Additional Work Expectations

Some community responsibilities may include property maintenance, Dish Dog (kitchen clean up), recycling, trash duty, etc. Optional responsibilities may include work in the garden or on the farm. We also expect our staff to play active roles in staff meetings, professional development opportunities, fundraising events and any odd jobs that need attention. We expect a lot from our staff, and we are confident that, in return, they receive invaluable lessons, experience and opportunities for growth.

Working for a Nonprofit

Genesee Valley is a non-profit organization, which means we are not conducted or maintained for the purpose of making a profit. Financially, we rely on grant money, donations, and summer camp and day program tuition. We keep our budget tight and cut costs as much as possible. In addition to daily responsibilities, we expect our staff to participate in fundraising events and to contribute extra time and energy to help improve our programs, facility and community. Most importantly, we encourage our staff to be invested in and committed to our mission, and proud of the positive impact we have on the thousands of people we serve each year.

Application Steps

1. First, we encourage you to become extremely knowledgeable about Genesee Valley (read through our website, speak with former employees, etc). Feel free to give us a call if you have any questions about who we are and what we do.

2. To apply, please download an application from our website, then fill it out and send it in with your resume.

3. Once your application is reviewed, we will notify you if we would like to set up a first interview. The first interview is either done here on property or over the phone.

4. After the first interview, we’ll let you know if we’d like to schedule a second interview. The two interviews will be given by two different people.

5. Your references will be contacted either before or after your second interview.

6. If we decide to offer you a spot in training, we’ll send out paperwork (contract, medical and tax forms). You will also be required to pass a background check. It is important and helpful to complete all paperwork and your background check before training begins.

If you are unsure about whether or not you would like to accept the spot in the training group, we can schedule a time when you may shadow one of our facilitators so you can get a feel for what the work is like.

Training (for facilitators and counselors)

Before you are officially hired as a facilitator or counselor, you will be required to go through an extensive, 2-week training, after which you must successfully pass check-off.

During training you will:

• Learn how to safely operate all aspects of our challenge course
• Practice many of the activities we use with groups and campers
• Become comfortable with the way Genesee Valley operates as an organization, challenge course, farm, and community
• Shadow other facilitators and co-lead

Have more questions?

For more information on job openings and the application process, please contact our office at 410-343-0101.