Summer Staff Position List • Phantom Ranch Bible Camp

General Information About Summer Staff

Phantom Ranch has been helping campers become better lifelong Followers of Jesus since 1954. Working at Phantom Ranch is an excellent way to gain real-world skills in leadership, problem solving, adaptability, conflict resolution, time management and a lot more! Our staff can earn money while having fun a part of a healthy community. As our staff help campers draw closer to God, they find themselves drawn closer to God! Many of our summer staff highlight our healthy community in their exit interviews.

Our summer staff earn between $175 and $275 a week depending on age and experience with food and housing included. In order to be hired as a paid summer staff, applicants must be willing and able to be a Cabin Leader (some exceptions apply). Staff will be assigned to one or more positions/job assignments and these assignments may rotate from week to week depending upon our camp schedule, needs and staff interest. In most cases, staff will see one to three job assignments on their staff agreement.

Work weeks start on Sunday afternoon and end Friday evening. Phantom Ranch wants to be good stewards of the summer staff God has provided. All staff are OFF from Friday 6pm through Sunday 1:30pm! Non-Cabin Leaders typically work an 8 hour day. Cabin Leaders and some other positions work more than 8 hour days and are compensated accordingly. During weekday off hours, non-Cabin Leaders often volunteer in different areas around camp or participate in our intercessory prayer nights, where we pray for every camper by name during our evening chapel. During weekend off hours, we encourage our staff to rest. We provide training on REST and how to be physically, mentally and spiritually ready for the next work week. We also provide transportation to the churches, laundromat, and Wal-Mart.

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Phantom Ranch provides 4 weeks of weeklong, overnight summer camp sessions for which we need to provide Cabin Leaders for the campers. The average Cabin Leader will do 3 of the 4 weeks. Being a Cabin Leader can be demanding so we sometimes rotate staff to work in different positions. The non-Cabin Leader’s support the Cabin Leader’s through prayer, encouraging notes, and other fun ways.

Each cabin group consists of two Cabin Leaders and between 8 and 14 campers. The two Cabin Leaders work together to facilitate a morning Bible study discussion around a theme, have one-to-one conversations with their campers, assist Program Leadership in following the week’s schedule, and enjoy all the fun activities and games alongside their campers! The week begins on Sunday 1:30 pm and ends on Friday 6:00 pm. This is considered a 24/7 job, but downtime during the week is provided.

Our camp sessions are highly centralized, meaning the Program Leadership Team takes care of most of the scheduled activities. Cabin Leaders do not need to come up with games, Bible studies, or activities to fill the hours of the day. Cabin Leader’s are equipped to fill in lulls during the day and to present the Gospel using their personal faith stories (often referred to as a testimony) and teachable moments.

Cabin Leaders will get to experience God as they work FOR Him and also WITH Him in helping campers encounter their Creator.

The Staff Supervisor functions like the RA at a college. We hire a male and a female RA 20+ years of age. They are responsible to maintain and enhance the spiritual life of summer staff. The RA’s pay attention to the mental and physical needs of the summer staff and help everyone live well together. They assist in helping the summer staff in feeling like they belong here and help the staff make plans to rest during their time off, but also plan small and big weekend staff events. The RA’s play a major role in our staff community being healthy, friendly and fun.

The Staff Supervisors meet throughout the week with our year-round Staff Relations Director. The RD helps with navigating difficult conversations and how to respond to unique situations. The RA’s are fully supported by the Administration Staff. While sometimes the RA’s need to tell summer staff to tidy up after themselves, they are not to feel like they are the mom’s and dad’s of the summer staff. They are co-workers in helping everyone on the property draw closer to God. Sometimes the Staff Supervisors will be asked to fill in at different areas when we are temporarily short staffed.

Our Phantom Lake waterfront area includes canoes, kayaks, swim areas with different depths and inflatables, a speed boat for waterskiing, tubing, and banana boat rides. We provide FREE Lifeguard Certification and training on our waterfront.

Waterfront staff generally spend the morning prepping the waterfront and maintaining lifeguarding skills, and then guarding in the afternoon and some evenings. Lifeguards also facilitate waterfront orientations and swim checks for campers on Sunday after dinner. The waterfront is closed on Friday so lifeguards prep the beach for the next week and join the housekeeping staff in the afternoon.

We also hire a Waterfront Lead (18+). The Waterfront Lead oversees the Waterfront and the Waterfront Staff, and meets with our Health and Safety Director throughout the week for guidance and support. The Waterfront Lead facilitates regular lifeguard skill training, assigns morning jobs, and starts and ends the day with team prayer and encouragement.

The Ski Boat Driver must be have a Lifeguard Certification, be 18+ and have previous experience driving a ski boat. Training is provided on Phantom Lake rules and best practices for pulling tubers and skiers. The ski boat driver is responsible for the basic upkeep and maintenance of the ski boat. This fun job, while a times can feel a bit monotonous, results in the most smiles at camp!

CCH is 3 roles in 1 position: Crafts, Canteen, and Housekeeping. During the morning hours, the focus is HOUSEKEEPING. During the afternoon hours, the focus is running the CANTEEN (our camp store) and running the CRAFT CORRAL. CCH staff rotate between the Canteen and Craft Corral. Housekeeping mainly consists of stocking and tidying up the public areas of camp as well as ensuring Cabin Leaders have what they need to tidy up their cabins after breakfast.

The Canteen staff sell food, drinks and merchandise to campers during the afternoon Camper Choice hours. The Craft Corral staff assist campers in making crafts. Both areas are great places to learn camper names and hear their stories.

We also hire a CCH LEAD (18+). The CCH Lead oversees the Housekeeping area and the CCH staff. They give direction, assign cleaning, and rotate staff between the different CCH areas. The CCH Lead meets with our Operations Manager throughout the week for guidance and support.

Phantom Ranch provides meals from Sunday dinner through Friday lunch each week. We have multiple year-round Head Cooks and they need 2 kitchen staff at each meal. Kitchen staff help with meal prep, dividing the meal onto platters and bowls, refilling platers and bowls throughout the meal, and getting the kitchen ready for the next meal. Kitchen staff only work 2 of the 3 meals a day; typically a breakfast and lunch shift or a lunch and dinner shift. They also assist in 1 to 2 evening snacks a week.

Our Head Cooks love to train summer staff in making food and many of our kitchen staff have come back to be Head Cooks. Before each meal, he kitchen team prays together and goes over the menu tasks. Kitchen staff experiment with the Head Cooks in providing new menu items. They also learn our secret bread and dessert recipes!

Dish Crew is a very important, though often overlooked, part of camp. The dish crew is responsible for setting tables before meals, seeing that all drinks get on the tables, washing all the dishes after each meal, and maintaining a clean kitchen and dining hall. Dish crew works all three meals each day with a short break after breakfast and a longer one after lunch. They are required to be to the Dining Hall one hour before each meal.

The Dining Hall staff are responsible for setting and resetting the dining areas and running the dirty dishes through the dish washing machine. Dining Hall staff are often referred to as Dish Crew. The Dish Crew team work all three meals each day with a short break after breakfast and a longer one after lunch. Shifts start an hour before the meal time and end 90 minutes or less after each meal. While monotonous at times, this job is often desired due to the breaks between meals, the conversations while working, and the fun music playing.

We also hire a DINING HALL LEAD (18+). The Dining Hall Lead oversees the Dining Hall Team ensuring all tasks are assigned and completed. They pray with the team before each meal and helps the sometimes monotonous task of cleaning the dishes be fun and enjoyable! The Dining Hall Lead meets with our Operations Manager throughout the week for guidance and support.

Wranglers work alongside the Barn Manager in barn chores and grooming and taking horses. Wranglers are also a part of trail rides, clinics, riding lessons, and horse training. Because Wranglers take care of live animals, there will be times when they start before 9am or work after 5pm. Overtime hours will be compensated.

General knowledge of horses and riding is required, but most skills will be taught during training. If you love horses and have some previous experience, being on the Horsemanship team will be rewarding physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. Wranglers start the day with prayer and pray before each trail ride with the campers. During our Horsemanship camp, Wranglers are encouraged to interact with campers by listening and sharing stories of horses and a life following Jesus.

Wrangler Training is scheduled per each Wrangler’s availability during May and June.

The Maintenance staff work under and alongside our Facilities Director and Facilities Manager. No experience is necessary as many of the jobs and tasks require little to no training. The Maintenance staff’s main job is maintain and enhance the outdoor and indoor property. Tasks will include weed whacking, leaf blowing, tightening screws, emptying trash bins into the dumpster, and being extra hands for the Facilities Director and Manager.

The work day starts with prayer and going over the tasks for the day and week. Working with our year-round maintenance team will teach you new handy skills and provides time for deeper conversations about life and Jesus while working together. You’ll also put on some muscle!

The Program Staff support the Program Director in running activity areas like paintball, archery, tomahawk throwing, indoor rock climbing, and setting up large group games. The Program Team has some breaks throughout the day as they work after dinner to run evening games. The Program Team has high access to campers and the availability to have spiritual conversations. Cabin Leaders focus on the campers in their cabin. Program staff get to interact with every camper. Experience in camp activities is a plus but not required.

We also hire PROGRAM LEADS (20+). The Program Leads work directly alongside the Program Director and at times function as the director of the camp session. They assist in training the Cabin Leaders and Program/Rec Staff. They assist the Program Director and Cabin Leader with helping deregulated campers get back on track through breathing techniques and trust-based relational intervention. Program Leads need to be good listeners and have previous experience working with a variety of children and youth. They meet throughout the day with the Program Director for support and guidance.

During July, we hire a Communications person to take and upload photos of campers and staff during our programmed camp sessions. Previous camera and social media experience is required. Some photography equipment can be provided. During June, the Communications hire can work alongside our Marketing staff and will need to support the general operations of camp by joining a variety of different staff teams.

During July, we hire a Videographer to film and edit a variety of different videos of campers and staff during our programmed camp sessions. Previous camera and editing experience is required. Some videography equipment can be provided. During June, the Videography hire can work alongside our Marketing staff and will need to support the general operations of camp by joining a variety of different staff teams.

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