Organization Overview
The Mel Jr. & Marty Zajac Foundation is a not-for-profit organization based in Vancouver, BC, dedicated to supporting children, seniors, and individuals with special needs through innovative community projects that build lifelong skills and independence. Our primary focus is Zajac Ranch, a camp in Mission, BC, serving children and young adults with chronic, life-threatening and/or debilitating conditions.
Located on 41 acres of forested land on the shores of Stave Lake, Zajac Ranch provides medical summer camps and, throughout the off-season, welcomes school groups, retreats, weddings, and other private rentals. Revenue from site rentals supports our medical summer camp programs.
Position Summary
The Director of Camp Operations & Recreation is the senior on-site leader responsible for the year-round operational delivery of Zajac Ranch, including medical summer camps, recreation and programming, rental-group experiences, guest hospitality, staff leadership, safety, and site readiness.
Working closely with the General Manager and Ranch department leads, the Director coordinates staff, programs, accommodations, food service, facilities, schedules, and service standards to ensure safe, welcoming, and high-quality experiences for campers, families, guests, staff, volunteers, and rental groups.
Reports To: General Manager
Direct Reports: Assistant Director Camp Operations Guest Experience and seasonal/program staff and volunteers, as applicable
What You Bring
- Energetic, enthusiastic, positive, and committed to creating exceptional experiences.
- A collaborative leadership style and understanding of how departments work together to deliver seamless camp and guest experiences.
- A strong service and hospitality mindset.
- Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
- Patience, empathy, creativity, and a commitment to inclusive environments.
- Adaptability and sound judgment in a dynamic and sometimes unpredictable environment.
- Strong organizational and problem-solving skills with the ability to remain calm under pressure.
- A hands-on leadership approach and genuine enthusiasm for recreation, camps, and experiential programming.
Key Responsibilities
Camp Operations & Guest Experience
- Lead the day-to-day, year-round operation of Zajac Ranch and ensure readiness for medical camps, school groups, private rentals, and other activities.
- Coordinate accommodations, food service, recreation/programming, staffing, volunteers, schedules, facility use, and special requirements for each group.
- Serve as a senior on-site contact for group leaders and guests, addressing needs promptly and professionally.
- Maintain high standards for hospitality, cleanliness, organization, presentation, and overall guest experience.
- Collaborate with facilities/housekeeping, nursing, barn, kitchen, registration/sales, and other teams to ensure coordinated service delivery.
- Monitor site, activity-area, equipment, maintenance, and operational needs and ensure organizational policies and health and safety requirements are followed.
Recreation & Program Development
- Design, deliver, evaluate, and continually improve recreation and camp programs aligned with the Zajac Ranch mission.
- Adapt activities based on age, abilities, mobility, health considerations, group goals, and participation needs.
- Develop activity schedules and coordinate staff, instructors, volunteers, equipment, and resources.
- Ensure recreation areas, supplies, and equipment are safe, maintained, inventoried, and ready for use.
- Evaluate program quality, participation, safety, and feedback and recommend improvements.
Medical Summer Camp Operations
- Oversee daily medical camp operations, including programs, accommodations, food-service coordination, camper/staff supervision, and collaboration with the Nursing Director.
- Work with the Registration Manager and other team members to prepare for camper and group needs.
- Assign campers and counsellors to housing/living groups as required.
- Liaise with families and group leaders before, during, and after camp sessions.
- Maintain required camp records, including attendance, camper information, health/medical forms, and incident reports.
- Complete session and seasonal evaluations of programs, staff, supplies, and operations.
- Maintain appropriate program/staff evaluation and child-protection reporting and referral processes.
Rental Group Operations & Hospitality
- Take operational ownership of confirmed rental groups from pre-arrival planning through departure.
- Coordinate schedules, accommodations, meals, recreation, facility use, accessibility requirements, staffing, and other operational needs.
- Develop customized activity schedules and recreation experiences where required.
- Ensure appropriate staff and volunteers are scheduled for programming, hospitality, and service delivery.
- Deliver exceptional customer service that supports positive relationships, repeat rentals, and referrals.
- Gather post-stay feedback and identify opportunities to improve operations and guest experience.
Safety, Risk Management & Compliance
- In conjunction with the Executive Management team, annually develop and review the Ranch Risk Management Plan, Crisis Management Plan, Emergency Evacuation Plan, and Emergency Procedures.
- Promote a strong culture of safety across camp operations, recreation activities, staff practices, and guest experiences.
- Ensure activity-specific safety procedures are established and followed.
- Ensure staff understand emergency procedures and are appropriately trained for their roles.
- Maintain required incident, accident, safety, and operational documentation.
People Leadership & Human Resources
- Determine staffing needs based on camper enrollment, rental groups, programming, and operational requirements.
- Recruit and hire staff in collaboration with management.
- Supervise, schedule, train, coach, and evaluate year-round and seasonal staff, including the Assistant Camp Director, counsellors, recreation/program staff, and volunteers.
- Support staff wellbeing, engagement, development, and performance and address concerns or misconduct in accordance with organizational policies.
- Lead staff meetings as required to coordinate operations and strengthen teamwork.
- Gather and assess feedback from campers, families, guests, group leaders, staff, and volunteers.
Financial & Resource Management
- Manage camp and recreation expenditures within approved budgets.
- Support annual planning and budgeting for staffing, programs, equipment, supplies, and activity areas.
- Manage program inventories, ordering, storage, and seasonal counts.
- Identify opportunities to improve efficiency while maintaining safety, service quality, and guest experience.
- Assist with fundraising initiatives supporting camp programs and facilities, as requested.
Rental Group & Community Relations
- Support promotion of Zajac Ranch as a year-round rental and group-experience facility through site tours, presentations, trade shows, and other initiatives.
- Build positive relationships with medical groups, schools, churches, clubs, organizations, and community partners.
- Provide operational input to support rental inquiries, proposals, group planning, repeat business, and development of recreation and guest-experience offerings.
- Perform other duties as required by the leadership team.
Qualifications & Experience
- Must be at least 25 years of age, in accordance with BC Camping Association Accreditation requirements.
- A strong belief in the value of camp and recreation for children and young people, including those with special medical needs.
- Post-secondary education in Recreation Management, Camp Management, Hospitality, Tourism, Business Administration, or a related discipline, and/or equivalent education and experience.
- Minimum five years of progressive experience in camp management, recreation leadership, hospitality/group operations, retreat/resort operations, or a related environment; residential camp experience strongly preferred.
- Experience working with children and youth and creating safe, inclusive, and engaging experiences.
- Experience with developmental disabilities, accessibility, and behavioural management is a strong asset.
- Experience recruiting, supervising, scheduling, coaching, and evaluating staff and volunteers.
- Strong operational planning, organizational, leadership, customer service, interpersonal, and communication skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities, work independently and collaboratively, and exercise sound judgment under pressure.
- Experience managing budgets, inventories, supplies, and operational resources.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and general computer/data-management systems.
- Valid driver’s licence, own transportation, and willingness to live on site year-round.
- Valid Standard First Aid and CPR Level C, or ability to obtain.
- Clear Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Search.
Benefits
- Dental and extended health care
- On-site parking
- 3 weeks annual vacation
Job Type, Schedule & Location
- Full-time
- 5 days per week, with flexibility to work evenings and weekends based on camp sessions, rental groups, and operational needs
- Location: 15600 Florence Lake Road, Mission, BC V4S 1C4
Compensation
- Starting at $70,000, including on-site accommodations, commensurate with experience.
- Housing consists of a two-bedroom suite with a full kitchen and comfortable living space, providing an opportunity for an individual or couple open to relocation.
