What does a camp director do?
A camp director spearheads and oversees the operations of recreational camps and their programs. They manage the camps' daily activities and supervise the employees, ensuring that campers get to receive optimal services and experience. A camp director is mostly responsible for setting goals and guidelines, establishing budgets and timelines, planning events and activities, liaising with internal and external parties, and building strong relationships with business partners. Moreover, a camp director leads and motivates staff to reach goals, all while implementing the camps' safety policies and regulations.
Camp director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real camp director resumes:
- Manage coaches schedules, do payroll and accounting, make bookings for customers, and oversee daily operations.
- Manage and supervise the development and execution of program, including fiscal oversight, funding initiatives, and new partnerships.
- Administer support planning and logistics associate with summer program.
- Team leader for ACA accreditation visit for camp that year.
- Lead conflict mediation in regards to parents, staff and campers
- Provide daily oversight to insure a safe and efficient work environment.
- Maintain update medical records on children with allergies, and or medical conditions.
- Train in sexual harassment and sensitivity, CPR, first aid, and blood-borne pathogens.
- Instruct CPR, first aid, and lifeguard certification courses for instructors of water sports.
- Maintain compliance regulations of franchise corporate guidelines, including cleanliness, safety, and customer service.
- Develop and interact with kids about the game of basketball and the life lessons it can teach.
- Complete all paperwork require for site payroll and forward into the office in a secure and timely manner.
- Work with groups of kids ages 5 to 13 and teach them basketball skills, sportsmanship and sports rules.
- Oversee and maintain in compliance with the accreditation process of COMAR plus ACA and ensure the delivery of program.
- Develop creative and engaging developmental soccer games
Camp director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 24% of Camp Directors are proficient in CPR, Role Model, and Safety Procedures. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Leadership skills, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Camp Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- CPR, 24%
Trained to perform CPR and First Aid emergency procedures when necessary.
- Role Model, 10%
Managed groups of 50+ children Coached Baseball, Basketball, and Football Acted as a positive role model for attendees
- Safety Procedures, 9%
Provided risk management and safety procedures to all participants.
- Kids, 7%
Planned educational and age-appropriate activities and lessons for Kids Camp attendees.
- Staff Supervision, 7%
Oversee the daily operation of the summer camp participants including food service, camper and staff supervision, and health care.
- Professional Development, 5%
Represented camp at regional professional development conferences which increased the awareness of the organization and recognized the success of the programs.
Common skills that a camp director uses to do their job include "cpr," "role model," and "safety procedures." You can find details on the most important camp director responsibilities below.
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a camp director to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "recreation workers must be able to communicate well." Additionally, a camp director resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "managed staff and volunteers, provided additional training, parent communication, health supervisor for an aca accredited camp. "
Leadership skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling camp director duties is leadership skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "recreation workers should be able to lead both large and small groups." According to a camp director resume, here's how camp directors can utilize leadership skills in their job responsibilities: "provide positive christian leadership skills to the kids during the week. "
Physical strength. This is an important skill for camp directors to perform their duties. For an example of how camp director responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "most recreation workers should be physically fit." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a camp director: "created benefits-based programming for children and teens by promoting physical and mental health. ".
Problem-solving skills. A big part of what camp directors do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to camp director responsibilities because "recreation workers need strong problem-solving skills." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical camp director tasks: "provided mediation, crisis management, and emotional support for campers and counselors and resolved behavioral issues. "
The three companies that hire the most camp directors are:
- Esf, Inc.6 camp directors jobs
- Girl Scouts of the USA2 camp directors jobs
- Ymca Of Greater St. Louis2 camp directors jobs
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Compare different camp directors
Camp director vs. Site leader
A site leader is responsible for managing the staff's performance, ensuring the smooth delivery of daily operations, and guiding the successful project completion by maximizing the staff's productivity within the specified timeframe and budget goals. Site leaders work closely with the clients, together with the site manager, to identify their specifications and requirements, as well as providing progress updates and suggesting design adjustments as needed. A site leader also performs safety inspections, making sure that all the staff follows the required operational procedures and regulations to prevent hazards and delays in project deliverables.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a camp director are more likely to require skills like "role model," "safety procedures," "kids," and "staff supervision." On the other hand, a job as a site leader requires skills like "customer service," "project management," "logistics," and "patients." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that site leaders earn slightly differ from camp directors. In particular, site leaders are 2.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a camp director. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Camp director vs. Orientation leader
An orientation leader helps new students adjust to life in universities or colleges. They are primarily responsible for sharing campus advice, facilitating campus tours, assisting incoming students in class and organization registrations, introducing university opportunities, and discussing essential matters with students and their families. Furthermore, an orientation leader usually works with faculty members and staff, coordinating with them, especially when handling students' programs. Aside from serving as a role model, an orientation leader must also share various academic and social resources to help the freshmen.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, camp director responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "cpr," "safety procedures," "kids," and "staff supervision." Meanwhile, an orientation leader has duties that require skills in areas such as "group discussions," "orientation program," "public speaking," and "student life." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, orientation leaders achieve lower levels of education than camp directors. They're 6.4% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for camp directors in the next 3-5 years?
Tom Rosenberg
President and CEO, The American Camp Association’s
Environmental Health, Industrial Hygiene, medical technology and public health research science helped in the development of the ACA Field Guide for summer camp operations - available to all!
Computer programmers and tech professionals for virtual camps (especially among camps who serve immunity compromised camper populations). Between sessions of camps, we see camps continuing to offer supervised connected online programming for camp friends to enjoy together during the off-season. We expect to see considerable improvements in safety and security components of these platforms, as well as program innovations. Just today, I was on the phone with a VR technologist who is interested in helping camps creating VR experiences to help prospective campers taste camp activity experiences.
We have seen our camps who needed to operate their programs online or in a virtual format really make impressive innovations. Zoom, YouTube, social media and more, were just a few of the ways that camps were able to interact with their camper communities in unique ways. This was especially the case for camps in states and localities where their in-person camp programs were not permitted to operate due to public health official ruling OR for camps who served immune compromised camper populations. While most camps will likely shift back to in-person programs (albeit covid-19 adapted) in summer 2021, we see camps continuing to employ various online connectivity platforms to engage campers, families, and staff members in additive, year-round community building and learning through the use of these technologies for years to come.
Camp director vs. Senior counselor
The responsibilities of a senior counselor will depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Most of the time, a senior counselor works with the youth, particularly children. They focus on facilitating recreational programs, ensuring a safe and fun experience for them. They may also assess the children's condition and needs, providing them with the necessary assistance and guidance. Furthermore, when a senior counselor must reach out to parents and guardians, they may inform them of any concerns or progress.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a camp director is likely to be skilled in "safety procedures," "kids," "staff supervision," and "adaptive," while a typical senior counselor is skilled in "litigation," "legal advice," "legal issues," and "excellent interpersonal."
Senior counselors typically earn similar educational levels compared to camp directors. Specifically, they're 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 17.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Camp director vs. Group leader
A group leader is responsible for overseeing and distributing fair tasks to the members, ensuring clear instructions and procedures. Group leaders are mainly the ones leading the team towards their success. Duties of a group leader also include setting the team's expectations, providing necessary resources to make the task successful, and sharing regular updates on the team's performance. A group leader requires to have strong leadership and problem-solving skills to manage team concerns and resolve complaints quickly and efficiently.
Types of camp director
Updated January 8, 2025
