Galileo is looking for program visionaries to direct current or new Camp Galileo and Galileo Summer Quest sites for the 2019 season. Summer Program Directors (internally referred to as “Camp Directors”) are outstanding educational leaders who assume overall leadership of a summer day camp location, including staff hiring and management and day-to-day operations.

We value divergent thinkers who bring various experiences and viewpoints to the table at Galileo. We strongly encourage members of underrepresented groups and people of diverse backgrounds to apply.

Who are you?

• You’re inspired by Galileo’s mission and purpose. Innovation education, project-based learning, youth empowerment, and creating safe, welcoming spaces all speak to the very heart of who you are.

• You’re an experienced, creative, fun-loving educator. You’re as comfortable resolving conflict between two campers as you are mentoring your staff or adding your own unique flavor to a classic game.

• You’re a communicative, trustworthy leader. As a relationship-builder and mentor, you measure your own success in large part by the success of those around you, and care deeply about helping them meet professional development goals.

• You’re an organized, problem-solving manager. You love fine-tuning operational logistics, ensuring program efficiency, and learning new strategies for driving overall performance.

• You’re ready to grow. You know that true mastery requires commitment, effort, thoughtful feedback, personal reflection, and implementation of lessons learned.

Who are we?

We think the world needs innovators. We also think kids who learn to explore and fail without fear—the essence of innovation—are happier, more creative and more confident when faced with life’s challenges. And we think kids with these skills are more likely to change our world and be the masters of their own.

Founded in 2002, Galileo operates summer day camp programs at 50+ locations throughout the Bay Area, SoCal, and Chicago. Our mission is to develop innovators who envision and create a better world, and we reach this mission through employment of our unique pedagogy, the Galileo Innovation Approach.

We’ve been ranked one of the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area by the SF Business Times for nine years running, and over 97% of our summer staff say they would recommend working for us. Being a Galileo Camp Director means joining an organization that is a model of innovative learning, with a company-wide commitment to camper inclusion and broadening our impact. Learn more about our financial assistance program and other community efforts.

What’s the job, really?

Most Camp Directors have full-time jobs during the school year, and commit 10-15 hours each week to their Camp Director role pre-camp, with 3-4 additional weekends of training. As summer rolls around, Directors work 55-65 hours each week during camp (and most camps run 5-8 weeks). For more details on this unique schedule, review the Camp Director yearly timeline, and hear directly from past and current Camp Directors.

• You’ll train to brilliantly build, lead, and maintain your camp community. From mastering operations to nurturing and retaining staff to creating camp flavor and traditions, you’ll work to identify and execute on your program vision, ensuring our campers have their most magical summers ever.  

• You’ll hire, train, collaborate with and develop a team of 15-40 summer staff. You’ll be a supportive manager with high expectations, who takes this part of your role seriously. You’ll engage with and actively evaluate potential — both strengths and areas of growth — and will thoughtfully push your team to greatness in ways that have an astounding ripple effect.

• You’ll create and build partnerships like a boss. As the face of Galileo in the community you serve, you’ll work closely with your manager on navigating grassroots marketing efforts, local staff recruiting, your host school relationship, and consistently delivering exceptional service to our camper families.

What are we looking for?

• College graduate or equivalent work experience

• Experience working with K-8th grade children

• Demonstrated leadership experience (staff hiring and management experience a plus)

• Ability to work part-time in spring, and full-time in summer

• Readiness to stick around: we find that our team and team members benefit from a 3 year minimum commitment

Benefits & Compensation

• Lasting positive impact on kids, staff, families, and communities. As a Galileo Camp Director, you’ll develop meaningful, multi-year relationships with staff members, campers and families. You’ll inspire the spark of camp, helping kids see themselves as true changemakers.

• Leadership training & professional development. You’ll receive unique and exceptional training including weekend management training retreats, weekly individual coaching throughout the camp season, mentorship, and access to Galileo’s network of prominent educational leaders. Camp Directors are given the tools, framework, community, and support to take ownership of and implement a fully-developed program.

• Opportunity. As Galileo grows, we’re often looking for Area Directors, curriculum creators, and other full-time staff. Successful Camp Directors are likely candidates for such opportunities. Galileo also has an extensive network which connects people with outstanding opportunities outside of Galileo.

• Financial reward. A first year California Camp Director typically earns $12,000-$14,000, with up to 20-40% annual increases in subsequent years. Galileo is unusual in that Camp Directors participate in—and benefit from—the financial success of their camps.

• Free camp. For team members with kids, we offer significant discounts on camp programs.