Cheley Camps has a year-round Food Service Manager who plans the menus, orders the food, and manages the entire food service of the camp. We have four large kitchens and approximately 26 people on the food service staff with a head cook in each kitchen. Cooks work together to create delicious meals for the camp. We serve three meals a day and the cooks are on hand for the cooking and service of each of these meals. Experience in cooking with quantities is helpful, although we will train. Internships are available. Fun and energetic people are encouraged to apply.

This position includes setting the dining hall tables, stocking supplies, cleaning the kitchen and dining hall, washing the dishes with the dish machine, and taking care of the garbage and recyclables from around camp in a camp vehicle.

This position is often a starting place for future counselors. Kitchen Assistants must be able to lift, unload, and move food and supplies.

Two kitchen-general counselors are employed at each Trail's End Ranch. The two kitchen/general counselors assume full responsibilities in the kitchen on alternate weeks. When not in the kitchen, these staff people are general counselors filling in as needed. These positions carry counseling responsibilities and provide an opportunity for persons with very general skills and a little experience in counseling to possibly prepare themselves for counseling positions another summer.

One person is employed each summer as storeroom manager. This person is responsible for receiving and distributing all of the food supplies from a central storeroom to various kitchens and camps. This person works under the supervision of the Food Service Manager and is part of the food service team. A driver's license is required as well as the strength to lift, unload, and move food and supplies around camp.

Seven people are hired each summer for the total care of the camp horses, under the supervision of our Ranch Manager. Keeping the barns clean, feeding, grooming, and assisting in shoeing are part of this job. The barn crew assists campers in bridling, saddling, and mounting. They live near the horses and work hard while having fun. Being on barn crew is good training for people interested in ranch operations or veterinary medicine. The barn crew members need to be certified in CPR and have the physical strength to lift hay bales as well as unload, load, and move equipment.

A crew of seven people is employed each summer to handle the daily transportation and maintenance needs of the campers. Our bus drivers must obtain a Commercial Drivers License. Cheley provides this training. You must complete a DOT physical before camp. Daily transportation needs include busing campers to trail heads for backpacks and sites for motor outcamps. Trans and maintenance staff also sweep lodges, porches, and do other general camp maintenance such as fixing screens, roofs, toilets, furniture, cutting/splitting firewood, etc. as assigned by the Facility Manager. This staff must have the physical strength and endurance to lift and load equipment into trucks and buses. Basic CPR is required for these positions.

This position is for a well-organized person who has good knowledge of arts and crafts and enjoys managing and training crafts counselors. This person also does the inventory/ ordering of the craft supplies and works in the camp store. Teaching experience in art, or in the arts, is very helpful.

Young children of staff (under age 9) are cared for by this person. Experience with younger children is necessary as are First Aid and CPR. Other requirements include having a valid Driver’s License, enjoying nature and a high level of enthusiasm and personal initiative. This person is also assigned to work in the camp store, laundry and some general office work when they are not working with their childcare responsibilities.

The camp does all of the personal laundry for the campers for six weeks out of the summer. Four people work with the campers' personal laundry: the two laundry coordinators and two counselors from the units. We rent a laundromat in Estes Park. The laundry coordinators also handle the commercial laundry, work in the camp stores and the office. A driver's license is required for the laundry personnel.

The store and the office personnel run the camp stores that are open after breakfast and after program activities in the afternoon. The camp store stocks assorted Cheley clothing, soda pop, candy, and basic equipment. The store personnel do opening and closing inventory, re-stocking, selling, keeping track of store charges, and imprinting of t-shirts. They also assist in the office (see Office description).

We hire photographers each summer to produce a yearbook that is mailed to each camper and staff in the fall and to take general pictures for promotional use. We use Digital cameras and work with a Digital Graphic Design software. Experience with page layout, computers, digital cameras, and organization of large numbers of photos are required. The photographer may also upload pictures daily for the web link for parents. This person must have a valid Driver’s License, good planning skills, follow through, be in excellent physical condition (for hiking) and have CPR and First Aid.

Five Registered Nurses staff our four Wellness Centers each summer. The nurses have the overall responsibility for the health care in their respective units. This includes speaking to campers and staff about preventative health care, storing, distributing and recording of all camper medications, treating illnesses and triage for the camp’s doctor. They work with the campers and staff to address health needs. Nurses must be in good physical condition and be currently licensed to practice. The camp works closely with local physicians at a medical clinic, and small hospital. In addition, we have some weeks with a licensed physician volunteering at the camp.

All office staff answer the phone, sort mail, file, handle staff requests, meet parents, give tours, pick up and distribute mail, and assist in the day-to-day operations of the camp office as directed. Our main office is under the direction of our office manager, and we hire additional office staff for the increased workload during the summer. A driver's license is required for all office positions. The positions include:

Typist-Skills necessary for this position include the ability to work efficiently on a word processor as well as having a fairly good typing speed. The typist does routine summer typing such as newsletters and chapel programs.

Hostess-Duties include answering the phone and giving camp tours to visitors.

Travel-This person is responsible for all the details of getting campers and their baggage to camp and home again. We have more than 900 campers coming and going over the course of the summer. Must be organized, enjoy details, and be able to work on a computer.

Experience in teaching, parenting, or management is desired. Each of the eight units has approximately 60 campers and 15 staff managed by a director and assistant director. Unit directors are responsible for all aspects of running their unit: Staff development, scheduling, camper experience, writing the newsletter, reviewing camper reports, meal counts, program scheduling, camp unity, camp spirit, parent contacts, staff evaluations, and laundry coordination. These are excellent summer positions for teachers and provide exceptional experience in management and leadership. These people should have an ability to provide leadership to large groups.

Riding counselors are responsible for teaching the fundamentals of Western Riding and horse care. Campers are taught how to mount, dismount, saddle, bridle, positioning hands and feet, reining, and tying proper knots along with etiquette and safety practices around horses. We teach limited English seat (older Girl’s Units) in addition to our primary Western Seat. Riding counselors will ride all week, with all day rides, half day rides in the ring or adjoining ranch, multi-day rides, and horse packing trips. Riding Counselors are also responsible for the planning and presentation of a “Horse Show”, where campers show their skills during this 2-3 hour event at the end of each term, during parent’s visiting weekend. Cheley owns over 145 horses along with full tack for each. We wear riding helmets, along with typical western style wear and heeled riding boots. There are two riding counselors and a relief riding counselor for each of our 8 units. Riding counselors must have prior riding experience. Riding Counselors need CPR, and Wilderness First Aid.

The Challenge Course Facilitator works with groups of boys or girls of all ages, taking them through various elements on our low ropes course. Written certification or documentation of challenge course experience and/or training is required, and group processing and facilitating skills are necessary.

Most of the eight camp units have one general counselor and one relief rider (see Horseback Riding Counselor description). These counselors are full time and rotate in the different program areas when one of the activity counselors is on their time off. These staff persons provide coverage on outcamps, sports activities, hikes, rides, and other activities. We seek people who have basic skills in our program areas. These positions provide a chance to learn many of the camp programs.

Cheley Camps is blessed to be surrounded by high, snow -capped peaks and over 500 miles of established hiking trails and routes. Hikes are taken to alpine lakes and many peaks in the high mountains of Colorado. Two hiking counselors staff each of the eight camp units. Experience in wilderness hiking is required. Our hikes cover established approved routes coordinated by our Program Director. We often hike on snow, across tundra, up and down scree, and in rocky and exposed areas above timberline (where we wear helmets). Hiking counselors will hike 5 days a week which requires excellent physical condition and stamina. They must enjoy youth, and be very comfortable in the backcountry. Hiking counselors also drive 15 passenger vans to and from the trailheads, so a good driving record and current license are necessary. Hiking counselors are required to have CPR and Wilderness First Aid, be age 21 or older.

We hire eight rifle counselors each summer who teach campers responsible use of .22 caliber and air rifles on our target shooting ranges. We use the nationally recognized Camp Rifle Program for skills development and recognition. Instruction includes proper sighting, teaching of the four firing positions, appropriate gear, correct form, scoring targets, and the proper care of rifles. Rifle Counselors teach up to 4 or 5 days a week. Prior experience is helpful but this is an area where we can teach a counselor who has limited experience.