Village Leader (Counselor Manager)
Location: Northern California (onsite housing provided)
Position Type: Full-time, seasonal (May 13th - August 9th)
Compensation:  $11,000-12,000 DOE + food, housing, utilities, training, and perks!

Camp Augusta, a  non-profit, residential summer camp nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains of Northern California, is looking for an experienced supervisor and educator to join our summer staff as a Camp Counselor Manager, aka. a Village Leader!

Are you ready to masterfully organize cabin activities, village activities, and ensure the needs of both campers and staff are met? Do you possess excellent communication, grammar and organizational skills, and exceptional emotional intelligence? If it's clear that we're talking about you here, please get in touch and find out what life changing fun, challenge, and growth awaits you this summer as Camp Augusta's next Village Leader!

Village Leaders are passionately devoted to being the support system for counselors. Each village of 5 cabins has its own Village Leader, and you are dedicated to overseeing and supporting the experience of each camper & counselor in your Village.

During two-week sessions, you will work with the Program Directors and the Masters of Fun and Games to cultivate magical worlds within the weekend programming. Apply if you are committed to upholding Augusta's leadership standards, by supporting and challenging counselors to grow, while acting as a beacon of empathy and care within the camp community!

A Day in the Life of a Village Leader at Augusta typically includes

• Teaching two activity blocks per day,
• Organizing cabin activities within village and camp-wide, in collaboration with the other VLs -
• Meeting with village counselors at the start of each session; follow up with individual counselors at least once a day throughout session
• Overseeing counselor creation of Parent Letters and Camper Gifts and their distribution
• Preparing camper and cabin documents for each session, serving as a village resource throughout the summer

Required Qualifications and Experience:

• 3+ years of relevant work or life experience (with youth, management, summer camp)
• Must be available for our full summer (May 13 - Aug 9, 2025)
• Prior, meaningful work with children (our campers are between 8-16 years old)
• Meaningful life experiences that helped instill a ‘leadership of self’ and teach you ‘how to be human’ (work, independent travel, significant life events... anything that demonstrates your resourcefulness and ability to get things done on your own)
• Ability and willingness to work at a sustained, high-energy pace for extended time (seriously, how's your energy level?)

Preferred Qualifications and Experience

• Prior work in residential/overnight settings
• An academic background in an education or psychology related field
• Program management and people management experience
• Interest and ability in returning for at least a second summer
• A past, present, and future involving working with youth
• A piece of your identity related to fun and interesting hobbies/passions

Why Augusta? The Camp Augusta Difference

There are over 12,000 camps in the United States and a dozen camps in Northern California that are “like” Camp Augusta. We are different in many specific ways - below are some of them - and we believe these unique Augusta differences contribute to why we were the only camp in California we could find that was full from 2009 through 2024 despite little advertising.  Here are a few of the many ways in which a position at Augusta will be a different professional experience than any you've had before:

Selective Application: We are committed to hiring top tier staff, which is why our in-depth application process seeks to understand every applicant on a deep level and - accepting only about 20% of applicants overall, and our in-depth application process seeks to understand every applicant on a deep level.

Perks and Benefits: Freshly prepared, mostly organic meals every day. Housing, multiple certifications (CPR, First Aid, Lifeguarding) that we cover for our staff and more. Basically, you can save everything you earn during the summer.

150+ types of unique Activities: Unlike most camps where you teach the same things day in and day out, our staff gets to choose which new skills they want to learn, and get 30+ hours of training for 10-15 of their favorite. And on top of those, we change our Evening Programs and Story Experiences that we change  every year, so no campers (and staff) experience unique summers every summers the same program twice.

300+ Hours of Experiential Training: Pre-arrival preparation and 3.5 weeks of on-site training - longer than any other camp we know of. So you’re ready, connected, and skilled by the time campers arrive.

A Skilled & Dedicated Scaffolder: With no more than a 1:8 ratio, this person emphasizes your growth and works with you to develop your skills working with kids

Psychology Rooted Philosophies and Practices: We have a 300+ page staff manual that covers psychology curriculum on group facilitation, child development, debriefing, behavior management, and much more. Many of our staff regard it as a  cornerstone of their personal and professional learning. This curriculum of material and training was developed by our director, a Ph.D. in organizational psychology at Claremont University, and has been taught for several years as an accredited college course.

This is the place for you if you…

• Possess exceptional emotional intelligence, along with eagerness to support EQ growth in campers and village counselors alike
• Easily demonstrate a high level of written and verbal communication skills, exceptional organizational skills, and discretion in handling emotionally sensitive concerns
• Have the ability to build community and camaraderie defined by love, mutual respect, dedication to growth, and playful interactions
• Will be resourceful and proactive in supporting counselors’ plans with their cabins; checking in with village counselors consistently and meaningfully; setting an example of excellence for all counselors
• Are committed to learning, embodying, and upholding all Camp Augusta leadership benchmarks through pre-camp work, staff training engagement, and ongoing attention throughout the summer
• Enthused for planning and executing village programming throughout the summer
• Love working with and teaching children in a safe, fun, and intentional manner

Dates & Benefits

Housing and meals are provided. Live in a cabin, yurt or treehouse! Meals are organic, locally-sourced and made fresh every day.

Staff must be at least 19 years old and available to work from May 13 - August 9, 2025. Staff training is 3.5 weeks long, followed by 9 weeks of main season camp. 

This position offers a salary between $11000 and $12000 depending on experience. Additional opportunities for pre- and post-season work also exist in April, May, August, and September.

The depth of training and ongoing professional support you will receive as a Camp Augusta staff member (in the realms of education, personal development and communication, and activity skills) can offer far-reaching benefits for many other parts of your life.

Do you have any questions?

Send any questions you have to ------------, and we'll get back to you by the end of the next day! 

Feeling ready to apply?

1. Take 5 minutes to fill out our interest form. 

2. Someone from our hiring team will reach out to you within 24 hours.

3. Schedule an Intro Chat with us, and complete a full application!

You can also read more about us and our open positions on our website. We can’t wait to meet you!