Director of Parks & Recreation

Under administrative direction, the employee in this class plans, directs, and coordinates all activities and operations of the Parks and Recreation department to serve the leisuretime needs of city residents and visitors and to provide for landscaping and maintaining city owned open park land and recreation centers, playgrounds, city cemeteries, beaches, athletic fields, and marinas. Programs are designed to allow participation from those of all age groups, interests, and abilities. The employee is responsible for overseeing construction activities, provision of maintenance and operations of parks and recreation facilities, all recreation program development, and operational maintenance of city marinas. Work is of unusual difficulty and involves the exercise of extensive initiative and independent judgment. Work is reviewed by conferences, reports, and results achieved. Appointed (unclassified) position; employee serves at the pleasure of the Mayor.

Directs and manages recreational programs and staff to provide the community with a comprehensive recreation program; ascertains that programs include activities for the community ranging from small groups to large numbers of participants, from youngsters to mature adults, and from the physically athletic to the physically challenged.

Directs and manages staff in developing and implementing programs to landscape and maintain public property in the city, including parks and recreation facilities, marinas, cemeteries, athletic fields, medians, and other areas; establishes appropriate levels of service through a maintenance management program to assure efficient maintenance schedules.

Develops and implements policies relating to such areas as grounds maintenance, nursery and forestry operations, personnel and equipment utilization; directs staff in the development and maintenance of city marina facilities.

Develop, prepare, and administer department budget, including preparing cost estimates and justifications for budget recommendations, researching and recommending Capital Improvement Projects, and monitoring and controlling expenditures; directs administration of programs to contract maintenance activities to the private sector where appropriate.

Collaborate with local organizations providing leisure, recreation and programming services to assess the community needs to bridge gaps in services provided; establishes public relations measures to appropriately market programs and services; establishes and periodically reviews department goals and objectives; research and evaluate new and on-going athletic and program offerings; evaluate the equity in all athletic and programming services provided.

Meets and confers with other governmental and/or non-profit agencies to implement multi-agency programs; meets with community and neighborhood groups to access performance of programs and services and to determine community expectations.

Continuously monitor and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of department methods, procedures and programs; assess and monitor workload; identify and implement opportunities for improvement; review with the Administrator, where appropriate; inspects facilities and ensure adherence to best safety practices.

Oversee, promote, implement, and evaluate various large citywide special events.

Prepares reports and correspondence; assigns, develops, and evaluates personnel; manages unit budget and work processes.

Partner with Human Resources department on personnel matters to include recruiting, hiring, training and discipline; ensure the efficient hiring of seasonal staff.  

Performs related work as required.

Comprehensive knowledge of: principles, practices, and procedures of municipal parks and recreation administration; the methods, materials and equipment used in parks and recreation facility operations and maintenance.

Extensive knowledge of: modern management practices and procedures; federal and state laws and guidelines relating to job duties (e.g. handicap discrimination prohibitions); modern developments, current literature, and sources of information relating to parks and recreation administration.

Ability to: write and speak clearly and succinctly in a variety of communication settings; establish and maintain effective working relationships with city officials, directors, managers, community groups, and the general public; plan, assign, direct, and coordinate the work of professional, para-professional, and clerical employees in a manner that promotes full performance; set clear objectives and measures and monitor process, progress and results.

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree in recreation administration, landscape architecture, forestry, horticulture or related field and five (5) years progressively responsible experience in parks and recreation including three (3) years of managerial or administrative experience; or an equivalent combination of training and experience.  Bilingual (Spanish) language skills preferred.

Certification as a Certified Parks and Recreation Professional (CPRP) is required.

Possession of a valid drivers license may be required.

Evaluation of education and experience. Drug testing is included in all pre-employment processing.

During periods when the Mayor issues an emergency declaration for the City of Tampa, all employees may be required to work in preparation, response or recovery activities related to the stated emergency.

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