Passport Trip Staff - Summer 2025

Organization Summary: Explore a rewarding seasonal job opportunity with BBYO, a leading pluralistic Jewish teen movement. Here, you'll find a fulfilling role that impacts the movement. Join a team of mission-driven, passionate professionals and make a meaningful difference in Jewish teen's lives worldwide. INSPIRING TODAY. BUILDING TOMORROW.

BBYO Passport: BBYO Passport is BBYO’s premiere summer travel department for Jewish teens in 8th - 12th grade from around the world. BBYO Passport summer programs combine elements of active touring, community service, and meaningful Jewish experiences. Each summer over 1,000 teens travel to over 18 countries. These experiences are led by a team of Passport Trip Staff.

Dates and Availability: Trips begin June 16th and run through August 10th 2025, with most departures out of the New York City area. Applicants must be available for a minimum of 2 weeks to staff a program. Depending on the program, a trip duration is anywhere from two to five weeks including combination destinations. BBYO Passport staff must also be available for a weekend-long staff training from May 30th to June 1st. Staff training will end with ample time to return home prior to Shavout beginning. A full list of programs and dates can be found here.

Is Staffing a BBYO Passport Trip Right for Me?

• Initial Adjustment: Group travel can produce anxiety for some teens and staff, particularly those who require a longer period of acclimation to highly stimulating and fast-paced environments.
• Traveling: All trips travel to different cities and/or countries during the program. Sometimes, the turnover between one city and the next can be under 24 hours. Access to amenities or comforts typically found in the US can vary depending on the remoteness of the location.
• Activity: There may be segments of the trip with extended periods of bus travel, excursions that require long periods of walking, and activities that range in levels of physical activity and ability. Staff are expected to participate in all activities unless there are extenuating circumstances.
• Health: BBYO purchases basic local health insurance coverage for all participants, covering non-pre-existing conditions. While traveling, local healthcare system resources are utilized, which can vary in capabilities. Extended physical, psychological or psychiatric services are not available on the trip and are limited in quantity and quality in different locations.
• Privacy: Passport staff are required to share a during their time on the program. Staff will always have their own bed. Staff can expect to be in the company of teens and other staff when in public areas on the trip. Overall, privacy Is limited.
• Food & Dining: Food norms may not be the same as teen or staff are accustomed to at home. BBYO Passport will do everything in its power to reasonably accommodate the dietary needs of its participants and staff. BBYO Passport does not have control over the kitchen facilities being used on our programs. We ask that you are flexible and understand that options that fit a dietary restriction may not be identical to options available for the rest of the group. When kosher meat is not available, all food served will be dairy and/or vegetarian.
• Timeframe: BBYO programs range from two to five weeks and participants will be a part of a traveling community. The days on each trip vary and are an exercise in flexibility rather than routine. Many days are long with early wake ups and late curfews.
• Physical Job Requirements: Extended periods walking and standing, sometimes on uneven surfaces, is required. Many locations will have lengthy exposure to the heat and direct sun. Lifting, carrying or moving supplies, luggage and boxes meals on and off the bus is expected. Some hotels and programming spaces lack elevators and stairs are required to move around.
• Israel: All BBYO Passport trips, regardless of location, will offer teens the chance to deepen their conection to Israel through a staff faciliatated Israel curriculum. BBYO expects all discourse to be respectful, appropriate and factual and in accordance with BBYO's mission.

Please note all hires are seasonal employees.

Compensation: $68/day. Full compensation is contingent upon being at staff training. Returning staff are paid at a higher rate.

Key Position Responsibilities Include (and are not limited to):

Teen Safety and Wellbeing

• Execute role as BBYO Passport Staff with the highest level of customer service and participant care, compassion and empathy
• Contact program participants prior to the start of the program to make personal connections and answer questions
• Capture group photos, send to BBYO staff, and prepare bi-weekly updates for participant families
• Ensure participants follow program safety guidelines; act on any violation of behavioral guidelines and elevate as necessary
• Support teen medical and mental well-being, including determining next steps if additional medical attention is required
• If necessary, communicate with parents while on the ground during the trip during an emergency
• Chaperone group flight (if applicable for trip) and support teens during travel days and when at the airport

Travel Community

• Serve as a role model for participants as a Jewish adult
• Model cultural competence and respect and exhibit international travel skills
• Ensure that teens create respectful bus community that does not discriminate against race, gender, sexuality, different values or Jewish background
• Assist with daily logistical needs (including but not limited to rooming assignments/ checks, supporting medical concerns, programming logistics helping participants with unique dietary needs, etc.)
• Maintain community atmosphere (orderliness, timeliness, organization, lost-and-found, etc.)
• Elevate any mental, social, or medical emergencies to field supervisors or site staff.
• Provide comfort, support, and compassion for all participants during program duration
• Ensure that the program participants are forming a socially cohesive group, while working to discourage cliques and address any cases of social alienation

Trip Programming

• Translate your own Jewish experiences into learning opportunities for participants and serve as an informal resource for Jewish programming
• Help facilitate Shabbat services and Shabbat programming for participants
• Support teens while planning onegs or evening programming
• Facilitate icebreakers and other various aspects of building communal life
• Support teen programming committees such as marketing, birthdays or events
• Participate in all trip programming such as hiking, overnight camping, museum touring, volunteer projects and water activities.

Staff Team and Structure

• Participate in a weekend long staff training from May 30th to June 1st Participate in supplemental virtual trainings before the trip departs.
• Collaborate with your fellow trip staff as well as with the Trip Guide prior to the start of the program and review roles and responsibilities; continue to work as a team during the trip
• Participate in all full staff meetings, trainings, professional development, and team-building activities
• Communicate with your staffing team, Senior staff and/or Field Director, Parent Liasion (if applicable) and Director of Operations

Qualifications:

BBYO Passport trips are fast paced, demanding, and rewarding experiences. Trip itineraries and plans are ever changing, and staff should be prepared to be flexible and always have a positive attitude.

• Candidate must at least be four years removed from high school at the start of summer
• Significant international or domestic travel experience, including meaningful time in complex and high-level travel scenarios
• Extensive leadership experience, preferably working with teenagers
• Strong Jewish identity and ability to lead an inclusive Shabbat experience preferred
• Ability to work long hours within a team setting
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Candidates should be comfortable working as part of a cohesive staff team and within a larger hierarchy of staff structure
• Candidates should be able to set a positive tone throughout the program, establish an appropriate close relationship with the participants which includes maintaining an appropriate level of authority and respect.
• Candidates with clear understanding of the program’s educational goals and preparedness to act as an informal Jewish educator during the program preferred.
• Candidates must understand that itineraries and trip programming change often and staff must be flexible and support these changes.
• Candidates should be able to participate in all trip programming such as hiking, overnight camping, museum touring, volunteer projects and water activities.

For more information, please contact [email protected]. All applications must be submitted directly through BBYO’s online application systems. Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis.

We are committed to enhancing the Jewish experience, valuing diversity, providing equal opportunity, and maintaining an environment free from discrimination or harassment. BBYO is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity by complying with all applicable laws which prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type in the workplace. Thus, BBYO strictly prohibits discrimination or harassment based on race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law in all terms, conditions, and privileges of employment, including without limitation, recruiting, hiring, assignment, compensation, promotion, training, wage and salary, benefits, discipline, and termination.

Application Instructions

Thank you for your interest in staffing a BBYO Passport experience this upcoming summer!

The staff selection & training process is comprised of the following phases:

  1) Submission of Online Application

  2) Video-Based Interview (Starting December)

  3) Contract Offer and Placements (Starting Mid-February)

4) Mandatory Staff Retreat May 30th to June 1st.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; because of this we encourage you to submit your application early. Note: After each phase, applicants will be notified of their status.

We expect to make all staff selections on a rolling basis with placement announcements starting early February. Applicants who are chosen for staff positions will be invited to a mandatory training retreat which will take place May 30th to June 1st. BBYO will cover travel expenses to and from the training weekend.

Once you begin your application you will need to complete it in its entirety since your answers will not be saved.

Every year we receive more applications than we have available staff positions. Staffing an international travel experience is a wonderful opportunity, and staff selection tends to be a competitive process. We expect a thorough and thoughtful application. We are most interested in staff applicants with a record of leadership, a strong Jewish background, and experience abroad.

If you have any questions about the application or the process, please contact us at [email protected].

On behalf of the entire BBYO Summer team, we sincerely appreciate your interest in the program, and helping to make this an incredible summer for our teen participants.

Thanks, and best wishes!

The BBYO Summer Team - [email protected]