Residential Camp Counselor

Camp Hollywoodland is located in Griffith Park nestled in a canyon between the Hollywood Sign and the Griffith Park Observatory. Operated by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, the camp was designed to provide camping and recreational programs for girls. The facility includes 10 cabins, rest rooms, showers, a craft-room, dance studio, adventure challenge course, and main lodge.

Counselors arrive on Monday mornings and go home Friday evenings. The week is filled with theme-based activities and everyday camp activities which include swimming, crafts, games, outdoor cooking, dance and many more.

Camp Hollywoodland provides overnight camping experiences and outdoor recreational programs for girls ages 6-17.

Camp Hollywoodland has maintained a high reputation of quality supervision and care for over 90 years. As a counselor on our staff you will be expected to adhere to all the guidelines set in our camp manual. Every minute of our weeks is planned with fun activities, and all counselors are expected to adhere to those schedules. To ensure that we keep quality staff throughout the season, all counselors are subject to weekly performance reviews. In the review process you will be evaluated on things such as: punctuality, enthusiasm, supervision, communication and participation. This evaluation helps determine whether you will be scheduled the following week. Employment for the entire summer is not guaranteed, if we feel as though you are not meeting our expectations, or are not actively trying to improve as the summer goes on, you may be given a week or more off to ensure our quality of service is being upheld. Please consider these details when applying for a position at Camp Hollywoodland.

Job: Camp Counselor

Counselor Purpose: A counselor’s purpose is to help create community, help campers build relationships, to be a role model, help campers build self-reliance and provide campers opportunities to learn and master new skills.

Being a counselor means putting campers needs ahead of your own, being organized, timely and reliable with planning and leading activities, providing an emotionally and physically safe cabin environment so campers feel they are taken care of and are at their home away from home, working long hours, sometimes being sleep deprived, working productively with fellow counselors, giving campers the attention they need to grow and being fun, funny, silly, crazy, creative and in costume on occasion.

General Responsibilities

 Supervise children in an all day and overnight environment

 Responsible for the general wellbeing of campers

 Identify and meet campers needs

 Carry out and follow camp programs, policies, and procedures

 Provide a safe, friendly, loving, encouraging environment to campers and co-workers

 Camp runs from June 8, 2026 - August 7, 2026. Dates may vary depending on LAUSD school schedule.

Our ideal candidate is a strong communicator, able to self-regulate one’s own emotions and cohabitate peacefully with others. Our ideal candidate is a positive thinker, passionate about children and team-work, and consistently strives to better oneself and others. We are looking for people who have a sin-cere desire to work and live with children, people who are ready to work an irregular work schedule, people who are caring, nurturing and patient, people who are capable of leading activities, living in a group setting, and people who are truly kids at heart. Our ideal candidate will understand the im-portance of building relationships, have an outstanding work ethic and believe it is their job to make a positive difference in a child’s life.

Job Description:

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

 Ability/desire to ensure the health, safety and well-being of all campers in your group

 Ability/desire to relate to campers of different age groups in a positive manner

 Ability/willingness to create, plan and lead a variety of activities

 Ability/willingness to relate to and work with peers in a positive manner

 Ability/willingness to take direction from supervisors (including constructive criticism)

 Ability/willingness to communicate appropriately with campers, co-workers and super-visors

 Ability/willingness to speak in front of groups both large and small, lead cabin orienta-tion, activities and all-camp events

 Ability/willingness to be punctual to camp and to all activities

 Ability/willingness to follow all camps policies, procedures and rules

 Basic CPR, First Aid and AED certification from the American Heart Association (must obtain certification before 6-15-26)

 Ability/desire to recognize and respond to emotional, physical and personal needs of campers

 Ability/willingness to make appropriate decisions based on the training received when it comes to campers, parents and staff

Relationships:

The success of our camp program is dependent on the relationships counselors build with campers and other staff members. It is expected that counselors, when interacting with

others, are respectful, friendly and inviting. A counselor’s main priority is her campers daily needs. A counselor is also responsible for forging relationships with parents during check-in and check-out, bonding with her campers and being a positive role-model. Counselors are also responsible for maintaining professional, cooperative, and positive relationships with fellow staff.

Physical Requirements of the job:

 Physical endurance to walk / hike long distances, and/or for extended periods of time

 Physical ability to participate in activities (some requiring prolonged standing, sitting, and bending)

 Physical ability to participate in activities with campers such as running, swimming, climbing and playing games

 Ability to lift 30 pounds

 Ability to live in a camp setting which requires sharing a cabin with up to 18 campers and 2 counselors

 Ability and willingness to work irregular hours

 Comfort with exposure to animals including dogs, coyotes, mountain lions, bobcats, snakes, bugs, rabbits, and squirrels

 In the presence of campers, ability and willingness to eat food provided by the camp kitchen

Qualifications

 Must be female at least 18 years of age (males may apply for our activity leader positions)

 Must have High School diploma or equivalent and preferably one year of college

 Some paid or volunteer experience working with children is desired but not mandatory

 Ability and desire to identify and put campers needs first

 Ability and desire to work as part of a team

 Present a neat and professional self-image

 Ability and desire to teach a variety of activities

 Have an enthusiastic and positive outlook

 Ability and willingness to accept supervision, constructive criticism, and guidance

 Be a person of good character, integrity, judgment and adaptability

 Desire and ability to live and work in a community environment

 Have a strong desire to make a positive difference in a child’s life

 Ability and desire to develop fun and positive relationships with campers and co-workers

 Ability and desire to communicate and work with a variety of ages and skill levels

 Ability and desire to supervise children in an all day and overnight environment

 Ability to speak and perform in front of large groups

 Excellent communication skills, and ability to take accountability

 Ability and willingness to be patient, sensitive, understanding and nurturing

 Posses critical thinking skills and techniques to be applied to situations that may arise with campers