Family Experience Manager - Camp Seneca Lake

Camp Seneca Lake (CSL), located on 200+ acres in the Finger Lakes Region of Western New York, is a premier co-ed overnight summer camp serving campers in grades 3-12. For over 90 years, CSL has offered a unique opportunity for children to recharge, unplug, and connect with nature and others in a supportive, inclusive community. As a program of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester, CSL welcomes campers and staff of all faiths, backgrounds, and ages. At CSL, children develop independence, form lasting friendships, and gain essential life skills in a compassionate, tight-knit environment.

This is a full-time, year-round position focused on recruitment and enrollment of our camper population to meet annual goals and ensure our families have a positive experience with CSL. Oversee year-round and summer communications with parents in support of camper recruitment, registration, and marketing, ensuring responsiveness and excellent customer service. Manage all aspects of enrollment including the financial aid process and ensuring timely submission of paperwork from camp families in advance of the summer program. Manage CampMinder and leverage the system to ensure timely reporting and oversight of financials.

During the summer months, the Family Experience Manager will live onsite at Camp Seneca Lake in Penn Yan, NY.  When camp is not in session, the position may be based in Rochester, NY, remotely in New York state or another near-by state.  Some travel will be required during the year.

Responsibilities (Year-Round): 

• Recruitment: 
  • Ensure CSL meets annual camper recruitment goals via existing camper retention, new camper recruitment and developing strategies to ensure revenue goals are met. 
  • Drive year-round retention events for campers and families, including developing a follow up strategy with families after events and serving as a point of contact for any questions about camp. 
  • Represent CSL at new camper recruitment events including tabling, camp fairs, virtual events, etc. Prepare materials for camper recruitment events including ordering, developing presentation decks, etc.
  • Follow up with each family who attends a new camper recruitment event, as well as campers who come to us as leads.
• Communications: 
  • Develop and implement a multi-faceted communications plan for enrolled and prospective camp families including pre-summer info sessions. 
  • Provide a positive, professional and calm presence in all communications with campers, families, alumni, friends of CSL, and staff, including phone, email and written correspondence. Be the voice of CSL as the primary contact for parents via phone and email and build trust with camp families. Exercise good judgment in responding to specific parent requests or policy exceptions. 
  • Monitor and respond to emails in the general CSL mailbox and effectively track communication to ensure timely follow-up
  • Screen and route phone calls, mail and email communications to appropriate personnel, following up as needed
  • Support the Assistant Director of Development in managing and developing content for CSL social media accounts 
• CampMinder and Enrollment:  
  • Become the in-house expert on CampMinder, our online camper management system, to ensure data is up to date, generate reports to ensure we are hitting recruitment goals, facilitate camper registration, and track enrollment.
  • Develop and execute a plan to ensure all families complete required forms, applications, and documents in CampMinder each spring. 
  • Prepare and print camper rosters, registration paperwork, etc. as needed
  • Serve as departmental point of contact for Finance department, providing reporting and overseeing payment collection processes 
  • Facilitate scholarship application process and coordinate outside scholarships and grants. With the Camp Director, evaluate scholarship applications and make recommendations on scholarship awards for each family.
• Administrative: 
  • Provide support for American Camp Association accreditation process
  • Perform other responsibilities and provide assistance to the Camp Director, as needed

Responsibilities (Summer): 

• Parent Communication: 
  • Serve as part of the Camper Care and Health Center teams, acting as liaison between those teams and camp families and ensuring that families receive proper communication
  • Continue to be primary point of contact for camper families including answering parent emails and requests, and managing office staff to support these tasks 
  • Coordinate with Media Team and Camp Director to ensure timely delivery of weekly Director Updates, Village Vlogs, photos, etc. to all camp parents 
  • Prepare for launch of the following season’s camper recruitment efforts 
• Manage Office Staff: 
  • Hire and supervise seasonal office staff and manage them to ensure they appropriately coordinate transportation, mail, office operations, canteen, camp laundry, supply ordering, logistics and other responsibilities
  • Oversee office budget and ensure office staff are keeping expenses within budget
  • Deliver performance reviews to seasonal office staff and take ownership for their professional development needs 
• Medical: 
  • Manage the Health Center team including updating and training them on the handbook, overseeing Health Center onboarding and nurse transitions, and coordinating camper medical leaves in conjunction with the Health Center Coordinator 
  • Work with Health Center Coordinator to prepare all Medication Administration Records using data in CampMinder
  • Ensure families submit all required health and wellness forms in a timely manner
  • Oversee supply ordering for the Health Center
  • Provide support to the rest of the CSL team for donor and alumni programs at camp, rental groups, Development events, etc. as needed 

Key Competencies for Success:

• Commitment to the mission and values of Camp Seneca Lake and the JCC 
• Self-starter and experience taking initiative; working independently with minimal supervision as a team player
• Exercise good judgment in making decisions that pertain to camper and parent requests, recruitment strategy, etc. 
• Lead by example and serve as a manager and mentor to group of summer staff
• Proven organizational skills with the ability to efficiently and accurately handle a variety of responsibilities and a large volume of work
• Exceptional verbal communication skills - conveying warmth, enthusiasm, and an ability to build trust
• Build and maintain positive working relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds staff, families, campers and vendors
• Exceptional writing skills to communicate via email and on social media
• Willingness to work a flexible schedule with periodic availability for occasional night and weekend work and to travel as needed for recruitment events
• Positive attitude and desire to serve others

Education and Experience 

• Bachelor's Degree required
• 3-5 years of professional experience in Jewish overnight camping or other Jewish youth or experiential education settings is preferred, other recruiting and customer service experience may be considered
• Strong references demonstrating prior experience and competency 
• Strong computer skills in MS Office (need to have!) and CampMinder (nice to have!) 
• Ability to learn and utilize new software programs

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential function of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform within the described work disabilities to perform within the described work environment. 

• Normal office environment during fall, winter, and spring
• Working and living at a summer camp for about 3 months of the year
• Exposure to weather including hot and cold temperatures and rain
  • Majority of time spent outdoors and exposure to camp buildings, athletic fields, nature trails, woods, insects, wildlife
  • Exposure to water (swimming pool and lake)
  • Walking on grass, trails, dirt roads

Benefits Include:

• Medical, Dental and Vision
• Retirement and Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program