Parks And Recreation Director

Description

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The Parks and Recreation Department, staffed by 50 full-time employees andvariable number of hourly (temporary/seasonal) employees, consists of four operational divisions along with responsibility as the Arts Consortium Liaison. This department head level position is part of the City's executive team and has responsibility for overall policy development, program planning, and fiscal management of the following divisions:

PARKS AND URBAN FORESTRY

Through a combination of in-house staff and contract services, the division oversees the maintenance of 292 acres of parks, 162 acres of landscape and lighting districts, 266 acres of open spaces, 23 miles of community trails, over 5,000 valley oaks, 27 acres of city facilities and parking lots, 113 acres of ponding basin landscape, and 50 acres of roadside/medians. The goal is to provide safe, clean, attractive parks and facilities throughout the community.

RECREATION

Recreation seeks to build a great community through people, parks, and programs. The division offers high quality recreation programs to all age groups and interests focusing on family programs, youth sports programs, health and wellness programming, senior nutrition and access to programs and activities for all ages and income levels. Recreation also manages the City's community centers, other public facilities, and park reservations.

FACILITIES AND MAINTENANCEFACILITIES AND MAINTENANCE

The division maintains all City owned facilities using in-house and contract maintenance and provides daily custodial services for all City buildings. In addition to facility maintenance, the division is responsible for programming and maintaining a Capital Budget for the replacement and upgrades of City facilities.

ANIMAL CARE SERVICES

The primary functions are shelter care and management, animal field services, and animal licensing with an overall goal of promoting public health and safety, facilitating responsible pet ownership, humanely caring for animals, and providing education and positive enforcement efforts. The state-of-the-art Animal Care Center, housing animal control and animal shelter staff, has the capacity for up to 200 animals and is the major holding facility for lost and stray pets in the area.

Examples of Duties

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Plans, organizes, manages and directs, through subordinate managers and supervisors, the divisions and functions of the Parks and Recreation Department which include but are not limited to Parks and Urban Forestry, Recreation, Facilities and Animal Care Services.

• Provides executive direction to Division Managers to ensure department goals and objectives are met and are consistent with the City's overall goals and objectives.

• Directs and oversees fiscal, personnel and program matters within assigned divisions and program areas.

• Develops, proposes, and implements programs designed to provide quality parks, open space management, urban forestry, recreation-related health, eldercare, after-school educational programs, and community wide special events.

• Determines priorities and directs the development of management systems and operating procedures for overall effectiveness.

• Monitors service performance and quality, evaluates department operations and implements policy and procedure improvements.

• Evaluates and improves operations to effectively manage costs.

• Identifies and evaluates alternatives for service delivery including outsourcing and private sector partnerships.

• Directs the preparation of and personally prepares a variety of complex administrative and technical reports including reports to the City Manager and City Council; directs the maintenance of departmental records.

• Participates as a member of the City Manager's Executive Team involved in the formulation and execution of City-wide policies and long and short-term strategies.

• Manages and coordinates the development and implementation of capital and operating budgets for assigned divisions.

• Appears before the City Council, commissions, public agencies, business and civic groups and other organizations in the presentation and discussion of assigned city functions, departments and related proposals, projects, and policies.

Qualifications / Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate for this executive level at-will position will be someone professional, responsive, innovative, and dedicated to the mission of the City and department and have a strategic vision for the future.

The City is looking for a Director who demonstrates continuous effort to improve operations and look at alternative methods of delivering service, a desire to positively impact the community, and work cooperatively to provide quality customer service. It is critical for the new Director to establish, build, and maintain strong and effective working relationships with the community, stakeholders, City Management, boards and commissions.

Qualifications include graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in public administration, business administration, or applicable field along with eight (8) years of extensive administrative experience in a full-service municipal agency, county government, or similar agency with at least three (3) years in a management position.Experience in all aspects of the diverse functions of the department is not expected, but a track record of effective leadership in some of the areas of responsibility of the position is desired, along with strong aptitude for learning new roles and responsibilities, adapting to changing conditions, and leading a management team covering diverse areas of responsibility.

Additional Information

To be considered for this exceptional career opportunity, submit your letter of interest and resume detailing your qualifications online. The Final Filing Date for this recruitment is WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2024.

Questions may be directed to:

Diane Davis, Human Resources Manager

City of Visalia

220 N Santa Fe Street

Visalia, CA 93292

(559) 713-4575

diane.davis@visalia.city

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