2024 Camp Youth Advocate

Job Type
Temporary
Description
At Caldera, we believe in the power of creativity. Our mission is to inspire and support youth from underserved rural and urban communities by awakening the potential of their creative voice. We do this through a unique fusion of art, environment and mentorship. Our Youth Program provides students from Portland and Central Oregon with long-term relationships with caring adults, which nurtures individual creativity, beginning in sixth grade and continuing into young adulthood.
Caldera has a $4M budget, a 18-member board, 15 full-time year-round employees, and a range of seasonally contracted artists and staff. Its administrative office is in Portland, Oregon, and its Arts Center is located outside of Sisters in Central Oregon.
As part of Caldera's summer learning team, you will gain leadership, communication, and collaboration skills and unparalleled resiliency while building meaningful relationships with young learners and adults. You'll have daily opportunities to expand your own creativity and sense of adventure, upheld in a supportive community full of networking opportunities. During your time off, you'll be centrally located in Oregon's playground for play in the Cascade Mountains, sampling local flavor, or simply relaxing on Caldera's 116 acres of awe-inspiring property.
Position Title: Youth Advocate
Supervisor: Youth Advocate Supervisor & Camp Manager
Compensation:

• Salary/Rate of Pay: $120/day, with 1% increase for each year of experience working at Camp Caldera (not to exceed 7%)
• Training Salary/Rate of Pay: $50-75/day
• Room and board provided during days with programming; room only during non-programming days. A light dinner will be provided on staff arrival days. Brunch is served on the last day of each session.

Location: This is a seasonal position at our Arts Center- 31500 Blue Lake Drive, Sisters, OR 97756 (transportation not provided).
Choose one or more sessions; placement is dependent on availability & scheduling (must be available for all dates in session(s) chosen). Must be available for training dates and on the following dates and times to start each session:

• Arrive 11:00 am June 30 for Staff Training June 30-July 3
• Arrive between 1:00-2:00 pm July 5* for the Immersion 1 (High School) session July 6-15
• Arrive between 4:00-5:00 pm July 18* for the immersion 2 (High School) session July 19-27
• Arrive between 4:00-5:00 pm July 30* for the Discovery 1 (Middle School) session July 31-Aug 7
• Arrive between 4:00-5:00 pm Aug 10* for the Discovery 2 (Middle School) session Aug 11-18

*Indicates Half day compensation
Sample Daily Schedule:
7:00-7:30 Supervise youth shower time
7:30 Morning wake up bell (Wake up youth up and get ready for the day)
7:45-8:00 Kitchen Prep
8:00-8:30 Breakfast
8:40-9:15 Community Circle
9:30-12:30 Support during Class Rotation or Break
12:55-1:15 Lunch
1:15-1:45 Staff meeting
1:45-3:00 Lead Free Time Activity
3:10-6:10 Support during Class Rotation or Break
6:10-7:00 Dinner
7:00-8:45 Capture the Flag or Other Evening Activity
8:45-9:45 Campfire
9:45-10:00 Youth get ready for bed (brushing teeth etc.)
10-10:15 Supervise Lantern Time (Time can vary between 10-11pm)
Equity & Inclusion
We recognize that Caldera communities face many societal inequities. We recognize the history and ongoing impacts of racism in our country, state, and institutions. We acknowledge that we will always have room to grow as an organization and as individuals in our understanding of racism and oppression.
We commit to continually examining our role in both perpetuating and combating institutional racism. We also commit to ongoing alignment of our policies and practices to advance racial equity, inclusion, and freedom of expression.
We commit to integrating equity and inclusion into all areas of our work to better serve our mission; when we do, we get closer to the world that we want for our youth. To ensure our own accountability, we will 1) seek deeper relationships with and feedback from our larger community; 2) use our Equity Plan to guide ongoing work; and 3) apply our Equity Lens to decision-making. We will also seek inspiration from artistic and cultural traditions.
Caldera is an equal opportunity employer encouraging applicants of all backgrounds and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.
We encourage people of color and Caldera community members to apply.
Position Overview:
The Youth Advocate is an important and challenging job at Camp Caldera. Leading a group of six to twelve campers each camp session, an Advocate's daily responsibilities include: ensuring 24-hour physical and emotional safety of all youth, building positive relationships individually and in groups, facilitating activities, promoting self-discipline and self-awareness among campers, and providing mentorship so that youth can carry learnings from camp into their lives at home. A Youth Advocate ensures that youth's needs are being met at all times and aids in skill building and social-emotional development. Time spent with students is upbeat and nonstop, and Advocates start and end all days with youth.
Requirements
Specific Responsibilities:

• Serve as primary supervisor of assigned cohort of youth, ensuring their whereabouts, safety, and well-being at all times
• Immediately respond to emergencies with youth, alerting appropriate medical and management staff
• Initiate conflict resolution with youth and sometimes staff and one-on-one goal setting while encouraging appropriate risk-taking
• Plan and facilitate small group activities that build community and social-emotional development, provide supply lists by designated deadline
• Guide campers in participating successfully in all aspects of camp activities during all waking hours; ensure punctuality and upholding of all community agreements
• Greet youth and families at bus pick-up locations, lead check-in process and manage supervision on the bus
• Actively participate in pre-camp training and meetings
• Maintain camper confidentiality (except in the event of specific necessary disclosures)
• Alert supervisor to relevant camper issues; communicate regularly regarding concerns, updates, and challenges
• Other duties as assigned

General Responsibilities:

• Promote program understanding and involvement through Caldera's goals and agreements, participation agreement, and responsibility process
• Actively participate in all aspects of camp life including: camper orientation, community meetings, evening activities, campfire, free time, etc.
• Model appropriate camper behavior at all times
• Perform duties with consistency and integrity
• Set and respect personal boundaries while acting as mentors, guides, and allies to campers
• Oversee health and safety of charges in fire drills and emergency procedures
• Maintain cleanliness of living and common areas and help with clean-up at the end of each session
• Youth Advocates should be prepared to work night and weekend hours supervising campers' tipi areas

Required Qualifications:

• At least two years of experience working with middle and/or high school youth
• Ability to respond to and absorb a high degree of stress
• Strong communication skills and experience facilitating groups of youth
• High degree of flexibility and adaptability to rapidly changing situations
• Ability to understand our racially diverse student population's perspective, either through lived experience, previous qualifications, or work experience
• Ability to navigate through potentially triggering and challenging conversations and situations while maintaining focus on the wellbeing of youth
• Ability to discreetly and effectively handle information of a confidential or sensitive nature
• Ability to set appropriate boundaries in a proactive and positive manner
• Must pass a background check. Caldera considers systemic injustices when investigating findings
• Willingness to live in a camp setting and work irregular and long hours. Additionally, you must have the ability to deal with limited cell and internet service and daily exposure to outdoor factors such as sun, heat, bugs, bats, snakes, etc.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Familiarity with culturally responsive and anti-oppression frameworks and experience working with racially and ethnically diverse staff and youth
• Bilingual and/or bicultural skills highly desired

Living Conditions:

• Requires on-site living in shared staff quarters.
• A vegetarian option (that may include eggs and/or dairy) will be available for all meals. We do our best to accommodate other dietary restrictions; however, employees with special dietary needs should plan to bring food to supplement or replace provided meals. Please address specific needs with your supervisor.
• Typical days are 12 hours in length, with sessions that make for up to 10 straight days of work without a full day off.
• Alcohol and drugs are not permitted on campus, even in personal living quarters.

Working Conditions:

• Must be physically able to move around 116 acres of camp property with varied terrain
• Must have visual, perceptual, and cognitive ability to recognize and respond quickly to health and safety concerns of students and appropriately re-direct any behavior that is misaligned with Caldera agreements
• Employee must carry out their duties regardless of inclement weather, which can include but is not limited to, heat, rain, wind, cold, and smoky or dusty conditions.
• Moments of quiet and non-activity are few and spread out
• Creating a cohesive staff environment round the clock can be challenging. It is crucial that staff see youth and adults through a strengths-based lens and prioritize creating the best possible youth experience at all times, despite what challenges may arise at the staff level
• Physical Demands (which can include bending, stooping, hiking, climbing and stretching) are: 5% Sitting, 45% Standing, 30% Walking, 25% Lifting/Carrying/Pushing/Pulling Pounds 5 -80 lbs.

Salary Description
$120/day