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Summer Staff

Young adult leadership is critical to SSP’s mission to mentor and guide volunteers, especially youth, in their service-learning work with our partner communities. We hire teams of 7 staff members to lead each site.

  • Rewarding & Challenging

    Our staff live and work together, running all aspects of the summer program for 150 to 300 youth, young adult, and adult volunteers. Most volunteers spend a week at site, but local volunteers may serve with us just for a day.

  • Unique Responsibilities

    From preparing meals for large groups to drawing plans for construction projects, each position has unique responsibilities. No prior SSP or job experience needed, training provided.

  • Community Building

    All staff members share in the responsibility for safeguarding the health and safety of the whole community. All staff and volunteers are required to follow SSP’s Medical Advisory Council’s Covid-19 Safety Guidelines. Each staff member contributes to modeling and creating a safe, supportive environment of growth for all participants.

Sierra Service Project is now accepting applications for these summer staff positions:

  • Site Director
  • Food Service Coordinator
  • Program Coordinator​ (formerly called Spiritual Life Coordinator)

Construction Team Members (each team has either 3 Project Coordinators, or 2 Supply Coordinators + 1 Home Repair Coordinator, this depends on the site’s needs and applicant experience.)

  • Project Coordinator (formerly called Construction Coordinator, this role will work with partners to lead community-based projects, may lead some construction projects)
  • Supply Coordinator (less experienced in planning and leading construction projects, may support some community-based projects)
  • Home Repair Coordinator (more experienced in planning and leading construction projects, may lead some community-based projects)

We will be serving with three partner communities during the 2023 summer.

Summer Program Schedule

Partial or full summer staffing opportunities are available, between May 31 (when training begins) and August 13 (when debrief concludes). Flexible employment timelines are available for those with quarter school schedules or who have other conflicts!

Site Directors work part-time throughout the winter and spring part-time to interview applicants, communicate with their staff team after hiring, visit partner communities, and prepare for staff training. This is mostly asynchronous work, increasing in frequency as the summer approaches, and based on the Site Director team availability. Site Directors meet on Zoom for training and planning sessions for one hour every other week, increasing to weekly in the weeks leading up to the summer.

Qualifications

  • High school graduate (or GED) plus at least one year of college or work experience
  • Suitability to work with and act as a role model to youth
  • Mature and flexible leadership among people of all ages and backgrounds
  • Capability in conflict resolution, communication, and organization
  • Able to work with no or limited interruption for the duration of your employment. Please identify your schedule limitations within the application.
  • A background check will be run on all hired applicants; any convictions may lead to a job offer being revoked.

Application Due Date

Applications are now accepted on a rolling basis. Early applications encouraged. Apply now.

Application Process

Complete an online application, which includes essay questions and identifying references. We will send an online questionnaire to your references via email, and advise you to give advance notice to allow them sufficient time to complete this reference.

We suggest writing and editing your essays in a separate document and copying and pasting your responses into the fields. Take the essay questions seriously, but limit your responses to 150-250 words. If you prefer, you may answer any question via a 1 to 3 minute audio / video response.

Interviews

After completing this application, someone in the SSP office will contact you. Interviews with a site director and HQ staff will begin in March and job offers will be made by April 22. Please let us know if you need to know earlier and we can schedule your interview earlier. We are excited to get to know you and learn about your gifts!

Staff Pay

The base salary is $4,415 for 10 ½ weeks of work. Meals, housing, and transportation are provided.

Salaries for SSP summer staff are determined by the experience required to do each job. The salary calculation for each job is:

Salary = Standard Base Salary + Experience Additional Pay

Standard Base Salary

The standard base salary for all positions is $4,415 for 10 ½ weeks of work (which includes a 29% increase for 2023). This is calculated on a schedule of 7 weeks of volunteers (75 days); it will be reduced for those who have partial summer employment.

In-Person Experience Additional Pay

Individuals who have worked for SSP in the past receive additional pay according to the number of years they have served on staff in-person. This pay is received regardless of whether you have done a particular job before or not. It is based on 7 weeks of volunteers and may be reduced for those who have partial summer employment.

  • 1 year: $200 additional pay
  • 2 years: $500 additional pay
  • 3 years: $900 additional pay
  • 4 or more years: $1,300 additional pay

Site Directors will also be paid $1,150 throughout the spring for pre-summer work including reviewing staff applications, hiring weekend, regular check ins, and site visits.

Examples:

  • If it is your first summer on staff, your pay will be base $4,415.
  • If you worked for one summer in-person, your pay will be the base $4,415 + $200 additional pay = $4,615.

Not quite ready to apply?

Ask any questions you have in the contact form below and someone will get back to you within 72 hours.

    Job Descriptions

    * All staff are paid a base salary plus additional pay based on the number of years they have served on staff in-person. This is calculated on a schedule for seven weeks of volunteers (75 days); it will be adjusted based on the number of days for partial summer employment based on the number of days worked.

    Project Coordinator

    There are generally three Project Coordinators at each site. They work together as a team who are responsible for the selection and completion of home repair and community projects, taking care of work teams, and managing the site’s tool and building material budgets.

    Base Salary: $4,415 per summer*

    Supply Coordinator

    Another model is two Supply Coordinators (SCs) who work as a team with a Home Repair Coordinator (HRC). This team is responsible for taking care of the home repair projects and work teams each week, supplying them with tools, materials and construction guidance.

    The position of Supply Coordinator is considered an entry level SSP job.  Many individuals have started their SSP staff careers at the Supply Coordinator position and have moved on in subsequent summers to other positions.

    Base Salary: $4,415 per summer*

    Home Repair Coordinator

    The Home Repair Coordinator (HRC) is the leader of the construction team who works with the two Supply Coordinators (SCs). The Home Repair Coordinator is responsible for the selection and completion of repair projects and managing the site’s tool and building material budgets. HRCs are also responsible for teaching and coaching SCs in planning projects and providing construction guidance to work teams.

    Base Salary: $4,415 per summer*

    Food Service Coordinator

    There are two Food Service Coordinators (FSCs) at each site. These individuals work together as a team. The FSCs are responsible for providing healthy food for all volunteers who have a variety of dietary needs. The FSCs control over one third of the site budget.

    The position of Food Service Coordinator is considered an entry level SSP job.  Many individuals have started their SSP staff careers at the Food Service Coordinator position and have moved on in subsequent summers to other positions.

    Base Salary: $4,415 per summer*

    Program Coordinator

    The Program Coordinator is responsible for the creation and implementation of the spiritual program for the summer. The Program Coordinator also assists all other staff members as necessary with their jobs.

    Base Salary: $4,415 per summer*

    Site Director

    The Site Director (SD) is responsible for the overall operation of the site: supervising the staff and ensuring that everyone involved in SSP (volunteers, staff, and community partners) has a safe and meaningful experience.

    Site Directors are selected as early in the year as possible and participate in the hiring of the rest of the staff.

    Base Salary: $4,415 per summer*

    Site Directors will also be paid $1,150 throughout the spring for pre-summer work reviewing staff applications, hiring weekend, Zoom check ins, and site visits.

    Sierra Service Project works to build strong connections and resilience among communities. Join us in home repair work so residents throughout the Western United States can safely age in place.

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