Early Childhood Education Programs - Camp Programs Assistant Lead Counselor; Seasonal

Early Childhood Education Programs - Camp Programs Assistant Lead Counselor (Seasonal)

Chicago Zoological Society | Brookfield Zoo, 3300 Golf Rd, Brookfield, Illinois, United States of America

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

• High school diploma or educational equivalent (e.g., GED) required.
• Must be at least 18 years of age as required by the American Camp Association Guidelines.
• One year or more paid and/or volunteer/unpaid experience working with groups of children and/or educating the public in a formal or informal educational setting, e.g., camp, park district, Special Recreation Association, day care, student teaching, school, or cultural institution, required.
• Strong organizational, leadership, and communication skills required.
• English fluency at a professional working proficiency.
• Must be an enthusiastic and flexible team player and able to work in a stimulating environment.
• Excellent customer service skills and ability to work with guests effectively.
• Cultural competency; experience and/or ability to work and interact effectively with a diverse, multicultural audience.
• Knowledge of how to send and receive emails and basic word processing skills required.

• One or more years of college or the equivalent of two years training and/or experience preferred, including coursework in education, biological sciences, communication, therapeutic recreation, or other directly related field or subjects, such as public speaking, interpretation, theater, recreation, environmental studies, children and families, or art and interpretation.
• Experience working in inclusive informal, educational, or recreational programs a plus.
• Experience in a zoo, aquarium, museum, nature center, or art studio environment a plus.
• Experience in Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel preferred.
• Multilingual ability, Spanish fluency a plus.

This position description summarizes the primary duties and functions of this position, but should not be considered a complete listing of every duty the incumbent may ever be called upon to perform. Must represent Brookfield Zoo Chicago in an appropriate and professional manner to campers, families of enrolled campers and Zoo guests. Must have a genuine interest in nature and animals.

Must be willing and able to learn play facilitation skills. Incumbent must display a positive attitude and be a positive role model to program participants and provide a fun and positive learning environment for program participants including school-aged children. Pre-school camp is for children 4 and 5-years old. School-age camp is for children in grades K–5. Incumbent may be scheduled to work non-standard hours including evenings.

Camp programs run from June through August, training takes place in May. The work schedule for Zoo Camp is generally Monday through…