Camps Director & Sports Program Assistant

Chelsea Piers Connecticut • Stamford, CT

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Camps Director & Sports Program Assistant coordinates, grows, and oversees the successful execution of Summer Camps, School Break Camps, Kids Unleashed, and other youth- and family-focused programs at Chelsea Piers Connecticut. The role owns program operations and financial performance, including revenue growth, profitability, labor management, and enrollment targets, and reports directly to the Vice President of Sports.

This is a relationship- and business-management-driven leadership role. The director develops and delivers programming and curriculum, recruits and develops staff, leads training, identifies revenue-generating opportunities in underutilized facility areas, and delivers a high-quality guest experience. The role also builds partnerships with families, schools, camps, PTOs, and community organizations and helps convert program participants into year-round Chelsea Piers customers.

The position is full-time, in person, and scheduled for 40 hours per week. Schedules may vary based on events and business needs and may include weekday evenings and weekends. Compensation is $55,000–$60,000.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of progressive experience in camps, afterschool programs, recreation, or youth programming, including at least 3 years in a leadership role overseeing staff and program operations.
• Demonstrated success developing, launching, and growing youth programs, including curriculum development, enrollment growth, and participant retention.
• Experience recruiting, supervising, coaching, and training seasonal and year-round staff while building a positive, service-focused team culture.
• Experience managing program budgets, staffing plans, labor costs, and payroll accuracy, and evaluating program profitability and operational efficiency.
• Working knowledge of camp and childcare licensing, safety practices, and regulatory compliance.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, including the ability to coordinate multiple programs, schedules, facilities, and departmental priorities.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, including partnering with families, addressing sensitive concerns, and developing relationships with schools and community organizations.
• Strong business development mindset and ability to identify programming opportunities and collaborate with Marketing and department leaders to drive enrollment and cross-selling.
• Sound judgment and ability to respond calmly and effectively to staffing challenges, participant concerns, and emergencies.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and experience using registration, scheduling, customer management, and payroll systems.
• Current CPR and First Aid certifications, or ability to obtain them before assuming program oversight.
• Availability to work a flexible schedule, including early mornings, evenings, and weekends as required.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in Recreation Management, Education, Business Administration, Sports Management, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience is also considered.
• Experience with Connecticut Office of Early Childhood requirements is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and grow summer camps, school break camps, and sports and specialty youth programs across Chelsea Piers Connecticut.
• Own financial performance for camps and assigned youth programs, including revenue growth, profitability, labor management, and enrollment targets.
• Support sports directors in building and retaining teams of counselors and coaches for camps, Kids Unleashed, enrichment programs, partnerships, and specialty youth programs.
• Identify trends and develop and execute programming for children from toddlers through teens.
• Develop and deliver staff training that motivates teams and builds a consistent camp culture across programs.
• Coordinate schedules with sports directors.
• Communicate with parents about children’s physical, social, and emotional progress and experiences in programming.
• Identify and launch revenue-generating youth and family programs that make use of traditionally underutilized facility days and times, in collaboration with the Vice President of Sports.
• Serve as the camps subject-matter expert for Connecticut Office of Early Childhood timelines, deadlines, regulations, and compliance.
• Build relationships with schools, camps, PTOs, community organizations, and families to generate business opportunities.
• Develop strategies to convert camp participants and families into year-round Chelsea Piers customers through sports programs, memberships, events, and other experiences.
• Work closely with Marketing.
• Oversee operational execution of summer camps, school break camps, and specialty youth programming.
• Ensure appropriate staffing, scheduling, training, guest experience, safety, communication, and operational consistency across programs.
• Build scalable systems and standard operating procedures to support operational excellence and long-term growth.
• Partner with Sports, Operations, Marketing, Fitness, and Guest Services on program execution and customer experience.
• Oversee camp staff recruitment, training, and onboarding in collaboration with sports directors and People Operations.
• Manage the [email protected] mailbox and ensure timely communication.
• Support the Vice President of Sports on strategic initiatives, new programming opportunities, special events, and cross-departmental projects.
• Meet program success measures, including revenue growth, new program creation, enrollment and retention, execution quality, inspection readiness and compliance, staff training completion, staffing coverage, scheduling efficiency, payroll accuracy and timeliness, labor cost management, and budget management.

Benefits

• Complimentary Chelsea Piers membership
• Discounts on Chelsea Piers programs for the employee and their family
• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• FSA account
• Life insurance
• Long- and short-term disability and other voluntary benefits
• 401(k) investment plan with matching up to $1,000 per year after 1 year of employment

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager