Assistant Director Of Recreation Services

Park District of Highland Park Overview: Founded over a century ago, The Park District of Highland Park is a suburban park district approximately 25 miles north of downtown Chicago. In pursuit of enriching community life through healthy leisure pursuits and an appreciation of the natural world, the Park District operates nearly 800 acres of land in 44 park areas and offers over 3,000 unique recreational and seasonal programs. Facilities include an indoor ice and gymnastics arena, indoor tennis club, recreation and fitness center, nature center, 18-hole golf course and learning center, mini golf course, early childhood enrichment center, aquapark, swimming beach, dog beach, boat launch facility and yacht club on Lake Michigan. The district has over 100 full-time employees, roughly 250 year-round part-time employees and more than 300 seasonal employees.

Summary: The Park District of Highland Park is a values-driven, strengths-based organization seeking an Assistant Director of Recreation Services with strong leadership, relationship-building and networking skills. The Assistant Director must have the ability to think strategically with strong business acumen in planning, organizing and directing a variety of Recreational services, facilities and program areas. Experience with supervising large-scale programs, full time employees, a budget of over $1Million, and project planning is required. This position reports to the Director of Recreation, is a member of the Department Head Leadership Team, and works collaboratively with two additional Assistant Directorsof Recreation to build cohesive recreational services across the district. This position will provide direct oversight for a variety of Recreation program, facilities and services including, but not limited to: indoor and outdoor racquet sports facilities, recreation programs, classes, leagues, lessons, events, memberships, project planning support, and administrative and custodial support for a variety of Recreational services as assigned by the Director of Recreation.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Responsible for strategic and effective planning, promotion, organization, and management of assigned public Recreation Services, programs and assigned facilities while collaboratively working with the Recreation team and Department Head team.
• Develops and implements department goals and initiative set forth in the district strategic plans, annual work plan, and facility specific business plans.
• Directly supervises three full-time staff and indirectly supervises multiple part-time and seasonal staff.
• Provides comprehensive assessment, development, planning, delivery, and evaluation of Recreation Services (including all types of programs, classes, instruction, special events, camps, leagues, tournaments, membership, and other types of activities).
• Responsible for determining recreation needs of the community including measuring and analyzing the effectiveness of the Recreation Services offered, including whether Recreation Services should be added, improved upon, or eliminated.
• Prepares and manages an annual budget including fee recommendations for areas of responsibility. Supervises and manages the expenditure of funds and generation of revenue once approved by the Board of Park Commissioners.
• Serves as District representative on assigned committees and community groups.
• Prepares presentations/reports to the Park Board as required.
• Keeps the Director of Recreation informed on all matters having a significant effect on the operations of the Recreation Department.
• Coordinates the work of the Recreational Service Department with other departments in the Park District to ensure a culture that is consistent with Park District Values.
• Conducts public relations work involving the promotion of the Park District facilities and their associated recreational services.
• Assign duties and maintain good relationships with staff and volunteers.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Education and/or Experience: The ideal candidate for this role will have a bachelor’s degree in Parks and Recreation or a related field, with a minimum of five (5) years related experience including supervision of full-time staff. Experience in operating a large-scale recreation complex, outdoor facilities, racquet sports programming, racquet sports instruction, and/or athletic program experience is preferred. Ability to apply education, training, and work experience to improve performance of organization. Related professional certification preferred. Must have a valid Illinois Driver’s License. Must have current CPR/AED certification or ability to obtain within 30 days of hire. Must have previous experience working with Recreation software and strong knowledge of Microsoft Office products.

Schedule: Typically, Monday through Friday with nights and weekends required as needed. The employee will need to be on call for emergencies and accessible outside of regular office hours via cell phone and email.

Classification: Full-time, exempt

Benefits: Excellent benefit package including paid holidays and paid time off, health, dental and vision insurance, life insurance, voluntary life insurance options, flexible spending and dependent care spending account options, a defined benefit pension plan (IMRF) and a voluntary deferred retirement plan and opportunities to get involved in recreational programs for free or reduced cost.

The Park District of Highland Park is an equal opportunity employer.