Parks Manager

City of Concord • Concord, CA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The City of Concord's Public Works Department is seeking a municipal Parks professional with strong experience in staff development, maintenance operations and budget management to lead and advance long-range strategic goals and modernize division operations. The Public Works Department strives to develop and provide a variety of customer driven maintenance services and programs to protect the City’s investment of infrastructure, public facilities, and equipment; and ensure the health and safety of Concord’s community in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. The Department is comprised of 95 full time staff across multiple divisions: Administration and Fleet, Facilities Maintenance, Infrastructure Maintenance, Parks Services, and Transportation. The Parks Maintenance Division has a team of 27 full-time staff dedicated to providing safe, aesthetically pleasing parks designed and maintained to meet the diverse needs for active and passive recreation and leisure activities. The Division is also responsible to maintain streetscapes, including street trees and traffic medians, open space areas, and public right-of-ways, in an aesthetically pleasing condition, and to achieve mandated requirements for public safety in the most cost effective and efficient manner.

Requirements

• Completion of a Bachelor's Degree in park administration, horticulture, engineering, public administration, business administration, or other closely related field.
• Five years of combined experience in supervising a parks planning and maintenance function, preferably for a municipality, which includes program development, community liaison, and budget preparation.
• A California Driver's License and a satisfactory driving record are conditions of initial and continued employment.
• Hands-on experience in executing Parks Master Plans and establishing asset-based Parks Maintenance Management Plans (PMMPs) to set clear Levels of Service across park assets.
• Adept change agent, with demonstrated experience leading through operational transitions and modernizations.
• Strong staff development and performance management competencies, with the ability to build a high-trust workplace environment and to align daily performance with departmental standards.
• Creative problem solver with the ability to use technology as a force multiplier in the context of maintenance operations.
• Experience preparing reports and presenting to City Council or other governing bodies.
• Extensive experience in budget preparation and management.
• Confident manager who communicates effectively with his or her team, while simultaneously balancing these traits with diplomacy and a good sense of humor.
• Working knowledge of the philosophy and objectives of municipal park activities; of related grounds, facilities, tools, and equipment; of management techniques pertinent to park services including planning, scheduling, training, identification of budget needs, and maintenance of budget controls.
• Ability to design programs for park and street tree maintenance; to research plant materials, disease, and pests; to assess growth habits and soil requirements; to effectively supervise and coordinate the work of assigned areas of responsibility; to ensure the maintenance of material, cost, work, and time reports; to understand and apply the principles of outcome management, and to prepare written budget input and operate within budget allocations; to communicate skillfully orally and in writing; to understand, carry out, and issue clear oral and written instruction; and to establish and maintain cooperative and effective relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in or the ability to seek funding opportunities, manage employee relations in a unionized environment, and create and implement systems and processes is highly desired but not required.

Responsibilities

• Oversees and manages multiple programs related to the development and preservation of City owned parks, sports fields, playground equipment, landscaped medians, street trees, public open space, and landscape maintenance districts.
• Plans, organizes, and provides direction to staff responsible for development and maintenance of parks, landscaped medians, street tree revisions, weed abatement, development projects, and assessment districts.
• Assesses related community issues; meets with citizen groups to discuss programs, clarify procedures, and identify needs.
• Develops programs, content and standards of quality for the division; ensures development and implementation of goals and objectives for the division.
• Applies City and departmental policies, procedures, rules, and regulations pertaining to the division; prepares work appraisals and discusses performance evaluations; initiates official disciplinary actions as necessary; identifies and resolves subordinate complaints.
• Prepares, administers, and monitors the Parks Services; Street Trees, Medians, and Open Space; and Landscape Maintenance Districts Budgets, including submitting budgetary recommendations and anticipating future budgetary needs.
• Coordinates Park Services' activities with other City departments, and City goals; serves as staff to Park and Recreation Commission; serves on a City Liaison Team.
• Review development projects for consistency with park, open space and trails planning objectives and apply park development fees as required by City policies.
• Conducts field inspections to inspect work-in-progress and completed projects.
• Responds to questions, complaints, and emergency calls referred by subordinates from the general public and takes appropriate courses of action.
• Ensures appropriate training for staff; keeps subordinates informed through safety and on-the-job training; ensures the maintenance of safe working conditions, good housekeeping practices, and the use of safe work practices by subordinates.
• Writes and edits a variety of reports including staff reports.
• Gives presentations before staff, commissions, and/or City Council.
• May research plant materials, diseases and pests; may assess growth habits and soil requirements.
• Promotes the City's Mission to make Concord a city of the highest quality by providing responsive, cost-effective, and innovative government services; understands and subscribes to the vision and values adopted by the City in its Mission Statement.

Benefits

• Participation in CalPERS pension, tiered based on date of hire
• A variety of health care plans or a cash-in-lieu benefit of $200 if waiving coverage
• City-paid dental insurance; employee-paid vision insurance
• Vacation accruals starting at 15 days per year, 12 days of sick leave per year, 11 paid holidays per year, plus 80 hours of administrative leave per year
• Generous tuition reimbursement program
• 401(k) and 457 deferred compensation plans, including an employer paid contribution of 3% plus $2000 annually
• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) for healthcare, dependent care and commuting costs
• Life insurance in the amount of twice the annual salary (up to $400,000 max) and disability insurance
• A wellness program that offers annual health expos, health and nutrition education, as well as a variety of mental health resources

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager