The Beam Camp Project Director works at Beam Camp New Hampshire (June - August) to produce signature projects with the Beam Center Project team from research and prototyping to completion. While at Camp, they take charge in directing the project team, coordinating programming and leading Production of the Project with groups of Campers and support from Counselors. Prior to Camp, the Project Director works with the project designer and camp directors in the development and construction plan of the Project. The Project Director designs the curriculum to be implemented while building the project at camp, and oversees a project team of 3-4 staff members to ensure the project plan stays on track.
Responsibilities:
- Development and production of the Big Project, a large public artwork produced at camp, including research, prototyping, material sourcing, production scheduling and fabrication in collaboration with Camp Director, Assistant Project Director, selected Project Designers
- Collaborate on the Call for Proposal selection process for the the Big Project with Camp Director; including reviewing proposals, and engaging in the process of interview and dialogue with prospective designers that results in the selection of a project that is responsive to camp programming goals
- Coordinate and communicate prototyping process with selected Project Designer
- Produce curriculum for Big Project production at camp with youth participants in mind, ensuring that a wide range of campers have an entry point into fabrication through the collaborative production
- Manage Big Project staff and supervise counselors assisting on Big Project
- Lead and co-lead training sessions for youth and camp staff on a variety of power tools, hand tools, and fabrication processes relating to the Beam Camp Big Project.
- Maintain regular communication with the Leadership Team before and during camp, in particular to find opportunities to support and learn from one another, as well as accept and offer constructive feedback
- Set up and maintain project shops & sites: equipment, tools and consumables (screws, nails, pencils etc) in coordination with the operations manager.
- Engage in camp operations beyond Big Project related jobs and responsibilities; Contribute to the daily upkeep and maintenance of camp when necessary (i.e. washing dishes, village duty, cleaning of facilities, etc)
Qualifications of strong candidates:
- Skilled and experienced fabricator of public art with competency and 5+ years of experience in welding and woodworking as well as 3D modeling with programs such as Rhino, Blender, SketchUp, etc; other skills also welcome!
- Demonstrable experience with producing and installing large scale structural projects in challenging outdoor environments
- Ability to engage with and manage staff members assigned to the project
- Experience teaching or otherwise working with youth
- Strong interpersonal communication skills, and interest in working with youth
- Highly collaborative, able to ask questions, offer insight, professional opinions, and celebrate teamwork
- Highly independent, able to set and manage personal goals, expectations, and schedule
- Detail oriented with experience managing multi-faceted projects while meeting deadlines
- Imaginative, able to be flexible and resourceful, in the midst of change, uncertainty, and growth
- Curious, life-long learner
What is it like to work at Beam Camp?
We are a community of individuals who are adaptable, constantly problem-solving, incredibly curious, independent, and collaborative. We are artists, performers, teachers, fabricators, activists, parents, students, and more. Beam Camp exists in the woods of New Hampshire. In that context, Beam Camp staff are not able to leave camp as easily as they might leave work at Beam Center or another job. We live communally during our camp sessions, and when we work at Beam Camp, we commit to the camp lifestyle for the duration of the session.
We encourage employees to bring their expertise and learning to the table and participate in the development of our organization’s future. We all claim responsibility for our work culture and seek a healthy balance between work and home. We interrogate our practice at a systems level and seek to disrupt the perpetuation of social injustice and inequity through nonprofit sectors like ours. There are endless opportunities to organize around ideation, prototyping, and project development. Access and communication between all staff is open and welcomed.
About Us
At Beam Camp, we've spent the last 20 years coalescing multi-ethnic and intergenerational learning communities of youth, artists, and teachers who work together to construct spectacular projects - big and small - that highlight the magic of creative cooperation.
Beam Camp runs as a summer program under our parent organization, Beam Center. At Beam Center, our staff of 27 full-time and 20 part-time adults and youth, engage 7,000 students and 300+ teachers in 28 public schools annually. More than 96% of the young people we serve identify as youth of color and/or newly immigrated. Our large-scale public artworks reach tens of thousands of people at installations across the city. Our summer camp in New Hampshire hosts 105 campers from around NY and the world for a 4-week session. In Summer 2021, we launched Beam Camp City, a camp-like experience for youth on Governors Island.
