Eden Village West is seeking an exceptional leader to serve as our next Camp Director!
This is a full-time, year-round position.
Start Date: April 2023
Compensation: $90,000 to $120,000 depending on experience and location.
About Eden Village West
Eden Village West is an organic farm-to-table residential Jewish camp located on 350 acres along the Russian River in Sonoma County, California. Founded in 2018, we offer a 6-week overnight summer program for rising 2nd-11th graders as well as other farm programming throughout the spring and fall. Our campers have the time of their lives while exploring a vibrant food culture and deepening their appreciation for Judaism, community, and the natural systems that sustain us.
The Eden Village West experience includes organic farming, culinary arts, outdoor adventure, wilderness skills, herbalism, DIY projects, art, music, vibrant Jewish ritual and culture, and more. Campers emerge from these immersive experiences empowered to promote a more environmentally sustainable, socially just and spiritually connected world. Rooted in a culture of radical kindness, each camper develops leadership skills, explores new passions, and awakens their sense of positive Jewish identity, purpose, and joy.
Eden Village West welcomed 87 campers in our inaugural summer in 2018. In 2022 we had 200 campers and 75 summer staff members, complementing our 5 year-round staff members. Our annual budget is around $1.25m.
At Eden Village West, our team works hard, plays hard, and also rests hard! We value our people for their full selves, in addition to what they bring to their work, and aspire to cultivate a team culture that allows for a wide range of self-expression. We value all that people are willing to contribute to help build our community.
Where We Stand Today
Our Founding Director, Casey Yurow, has spent six years bringing Eden Village West from an idea to a flourishing Jewish summer camp. He is now ready to pass the baton to a new leader who has the vision and experience to lead the organization into its next phase of development, growth, and impact.
To ensure a smooth and supportive leadership transition, Casey will stay on board (in a Co-Director capacity) through summer 2023. At the end of summer 2023, Casey will step down from the Co-Director role, and the new Camp Director will assume full executive responsibility for Eden Village West.
About the Position
The Camp Director has the primary leadership role in creating our camp culture, recruiting campers, communicating with families, managing camp operations and programs, hiring, training, and supervising staff, managing the budget, ensuring the overall financial health of the organization, and serving as camp ambassador in the wider community.
We are a small team who collaborates on many components of our camp and nonprofit operations. You will be engaged with every part of camp on some level.
Reporting
The Camp Director reports to the Managing Director of Eden Village Camp. The Camp Director also collaborates closely with the Eden Village West Advisory Board.
Currently reporting to the Camp Director are:
Assistant Director, full-time
Director of Community Care, full-time
Office Manager & Registrar, part-time
Program Director, part-time
Farm Manager, part-time
Key Responsibilities
Leadership & Strategy
Work with the Advisory Board, staff, and Managing Director to set the organizational direction and vision of Eden Village West and oversee the implementation of that vision.
Establish clear priorities for the team. Ensure that teammates have annual goals, objectives, work plans, and projections consistent with overall organizational goals.
Provide direction, oversight, and support to senior leaders.
With the senior leadership team, ensure day-to-day operations and programs are smoothly and effectively administered.
Maintain relationship with host site to ensure facility needs are adequately addressed.
Ensure adequate security and safety practices and standards are in place, and that protocols for emergency response are established and maintained.
Monitor performance throughout the year and, working with the leadership team, take corrective actions where needed to ensure that the organization is on plan and remains sustainable/successful.
Provide timely progress reports and annual reports to the leadership team, Board, and other constituencies.
Fundraising, Development, and Fiscal Management
Collaborate with the Managing Director to develop and recommend an annual operating budget to the Advisory Board.
Monitor ongoing fiscal performance of the organization with the objective of meeting or exceeding budgeted targets.
Working with the Advisory Board, determine long and short-term financial needs of EVW and ensure funds are available to meet those needs.
Actively engage and energize the camp’s advisory board, volunteers, alumni, funders, and partnering organizations.
Cultivate donors, alumni and lay leaders as ambassadors and investors.
Develop a funding model for financial sustainability.
Raise awareness within the philanthropic and extended community about the value of Jewish camping and EVW’s programming and needs.
Build and sustain relationships with existing and potential partners, stakeholders, key influencers, synagogue and community leaders, and constituents to ensure and enhance EVW’s success.
People Management
Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, appreciation, teamwork, and empowerment; set and advance a positive and cohesive culture within the organization rooted in and inspired by Jewish values.
Develop and maintain a staffing plan and organizational structure to efficiently achieve EVW’s strategic and operational goals and objectives.
Lead, mentor, develop, and guide the camp’s senior management and staff.
Ensure appropriate personnel policies and procedures are in place and effectively communicated and administered. Ensure compliance with all legal regulatory requirements in hiring and termination procedures.
Operations & Safety
Ensure safe and smooth operation of all aspects of summer program, including food service and health center.
Ensure compliance with the policies and standards of local, state and federal laws, and the best practices of the American Camp Association (ACA).
Board Relations & Partnership
Collaborate with the Advisory Board Chair and Managing Director to:
Identify key issues and set agendas for Board meetings
Oversee administration of Board materials, including preparation of meeting materials, documentation, and records relative to actions and meetings.
Marketing, Communications & Community Relations
Oversee the development and implementation of marketing strategies to prospective campers and their families.
Ensure the development of a clear, consistent image/identity for EVW and an effective marketing and communications strategy for key audiences (i.e., parents, campers, staff, donors, Jewish organizations, community leaders).
Serve as an internal and public ambassador for the organization, articulating the mission, purpose, goals, and values of EVW.
Serve or designate others to serve as spokespersons for the organization in the community
Qualified candidates will demonstrate most of the following:
Passionate about our mission; desire to grow an organization rooted in camp’s values of nature connection, Jewish spirituality, and sustainability.
Desire and capacity to cultivate a pluralistic, inclusive and kind Jewish community
People skills to establish strong relationships with parents, campers, staff, and donors, foster community and a sense of shared purpose and meaning, and create and maintain collaborative relationships with community partners
Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills and comfort in communicating with children, young adults and parents
Capacity to manage budgets and meet financial targets
Expertise in camp management and Jewish education
Attention to detail in documentation and maintaining records
Proven ability to effectively train, lead and manage staff
A track record of sound judgment and effective problem solving in a fast-paced environment
Willingness to take on additional roles and responsibilities to accomplish a goal
Desire to grow together with the organization over time
Kind, enthusiastic, excited to try new things, generous, willing to be silly, flexible, creative, caring, and able to maintain a positive team attitude throughout a full work day
Requirements
We prefer candidates to be local to the SF Bay Area or Los Angeles and, therefore, in close proximity to the main hubs of our camp community. That said, much of the work can be done remotely from September to May, and we are open to receiving applications from candidates residing beyond the Bay Area or Los Angeles.
This position requires occasional travel for camp recruitment events including weekends.
This position must be in residence at Camp in Healdsburg, CA throughout our summer season (early June – early August).
Compensation & Benefits
Annual salary range of $90,000 – $120,000 depending on experience and location. Upper end of the salary range will be reserved for candidates residing in the SF Bay Area or Los Angeles.
Benefits package including generous paid time off, federal and Jewish holidays, health benefits bonus and health spending account, parental leave, yearly professional development funds, and flexible schedule and work environment
Hiring Process & Timeline
Applications will be accepted until February 20th, 2023
We hope for the new Camp Director to start in the role by April 15th, 2023
How To Apply
Please send your resume, two references, and a note to hiring@edenvillagewest.org with the subject “Camp Director – YOUR NAME”. In the text of the email, please share informally and briefly (under one page/~400 words) what draws you to this role, relevant skills or experience, and where you live and whether you’re open to relocating. We will also accept video cover letters, if that’s more your thing.
At Eden Village West, we know that diversity supports resilience. On our farm, in our gardens, and throughout the natural world, diversity is what allows every living thing to thrive. Eden Village West approaches all that we do, including hiring, with this mindset.
Eden Village West recognizes the internal and external biases that often prevent or delay candidates holding marginalized identities from applying for positions. We deeply value the insight, perspective & experience brought by people from diverse backgrounds, including Black, Indigenous, Latine and Asian people; LGBTQ and gender non-conforming people; people with disabilities; Black Jews, Jews of Color, Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews. We also welcome applications from people of diverse religious, spiritual, and cultural backgrounds.
We encourage all who are interested in making the magic of Eden Village West come to life to apply.
