Details
Posted: 18-Apr-22
Location: Capon Bridge , West Virginia
Type: Full Time
Preferred Education: 4 Year Degree
Categories:
Other
Burgundy Farm Country Day School, a progressive day school for students JK-8, in Alexandria, VA, currently is accepting applications for Director of the Burgundy Center for Wildlife Studies (BCWS), the school’s wilderness campus in Capon Bridge, WV, and the site of the BCWS overnight summer nature camp.
About the opportunity
The Burgundy Center for Wildlife Studies at Cooper’s Cove, which is also known as ‘The Cove’ or BCWS, is the mountain campus – and an essential part of the educational program – of Burgundy Farm Country Day School. BCWS is both a wildlife preserve and a teaching facility; it also is a nationally prominent summer nature camp which has been an incubator for future scientists and environmentalists. The BCWS Director oversees the entire program, staffing, facility, and finances of the Cove. The successful Director must be part nature educator, part camp director, a collaborative but strong leader, and personally committed to conservation.
Start date: August 2022
Job Type:
Administrative/Teaching, Non-exempt
Physical Requirements: able to lift heavy objects, work with power tools, walk long distances, and hike 5 miles or more
Working Months
Work to maintain the program and facility spans 12 months. Programs, including an ‘Adult Weekend,’ run from late April through early November. March is a preparation month, and November is a facility closing month. Whereas program months are very intensive, most of December, January and February are more flexible, include down time, and can be spent partly to mostly off-site, but hiring, maintenance, marketing, accreditation preparation, planning and other work happen in these months.
Vacation time and personal time is taken mostly in winter. Leave during programming months is sparse and scheduled in collaboration with the Assistant Director and Caretaker.
Salary and Benefits
The salary for this position will be approximately $82,000 to $94,000, depending on experience and needs for winter housing. The position includes three-season on-site housing and all food during program months, health insurance and an automatic 3-6% employer contribution to retirement. A stipend to apply to off-season housing is negotiable. The School in the future may consider purchasing a home near the BCWS.
What you’ll do
Key components of the job include:
Be a Lead Educator
- Teaching children, ages 6-15, in all branches of the sciences, in the outdoors, with an emphasis on environmental science
- Curriculum development (during school year in collaboration with school teachers at each grade level)
- Hiring, training, supervising, and evaluating staff and counselors
- Communicating the ethos and programming of the program.
- Planning and managing budgets
- Marketing the camp
- Managing donor relationships and land conservation and facility efforts
- Maintenance, assisting the Caretaker as needed and performing ongoing risk management and assessments to facilitate maintenance
- Modeling conservation and ecology
- Modeling concern for equity and inclusion
Site Supervision
- Serve as the senior on-site administrator during programming seasons
- Be responsible for creating recurring professional development programs for staff
- Cultivate a culture of support during programming sessions for guides, students, and teachers
- Be able to support team members’ growth by auditing their lessons and providing feedback
- Independently handle stressful situations and make quick, informed decisions under pressure
- Direct weekly staff team meetings including facilitating personal and program feedback
- Approve all seasonal staff and program curriculum changes, and other variable aspects of the program
- Ensure staff adhesion to policies and procedures
- Take initiative to do whatever is necessary to deliver a high quality of program
Maintain Campus, Permits, Certifications, Training
- CPR, WFA certifications
- Accreditation processes
- Canopy and bus driver certifications
- Familiarity with safe food handling and preparation
- Continually renew naturalist experiences, hone knowledge
Curriculum Development
- Develop hands-on, interactive curriculum and a plan for implementation
- Collaborate with lead educators to implement a cohesive curriculum delivery across all areas
- Identify and fill in gaps in programming
Qualifications
- Leadership Experience:
- Teaching children of diverse ethnic and social backgrounds, ages 6-15, preferably in the outdoors
- Classroom experience a bonus
- Hiring, training, supervising, and evaluating camp or nature center staff who work with children
- Managing significant budgets
- Dealing with minor and more substantial emergencies
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Curriculum development
- Experience with camp or school accreditation processes
- Knowledge of natural world, passion for studying and learning in local ecosystems
- Genuine interest and respect for human diversity and DEI issues
- Identify and fill in gaps in programming
Accountability and Reporting
The BCWS Director…
- Reports to the Head of School and interfaces with the Director of Finance and Operations on budgetary and facility matters
- With the assistance of the BCWS Caretaker produces a detailed summary annual report on the activities and state of BCWS
- With the Head of School prepares the Center for the school’s annual faculty retreat
- Serves as a member of the School senior leadership team, with responsibility for promoting the strategic and longer range needs of the BCWS
- Supports the broader mission and strategic goals of the School, including its DEI goals
