Parks & Trails Planning and Construction Manager

City of Bentonville•Bentonville, AR

About The Position

The Planning and Construction Manager will work closely with BPR Leadership Team to lead strategic development, design and long-range planning for the Bentonville’s Active Transportation and Trail System, Bentonville Parks system, facilities and recreation spaces. Responsibilities include creating master plans, managing Capital Improvements Projects (CIP), securing funding and engaging with community stakeholders to ensure sustainable, accessible outdoor spaces.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Parks and Recreation Administration, Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning or related field; five (5) years of work in related position; or seven (7) years of experience related to the job description; or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.
Knowledge of principles and practices of park planning, design, construction and land acquisition; capital improvement planning, budgeting and construction administration; and federal, state and local laws affecting land use and environmental compliance.
Excellent verbal and written skills for presentations to City Council, City Boards, Commissions and Stakeholders.
Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.
Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community.
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percentage and to draw and interpret bar graphs.
Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

Nice To Haves

Professional Certifications such as CPRP (Certified Parks and Recreation Professional), AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners) or PLA (Professional Landscape Architects) is preferred, but not required.

Responsibilities

Manages a team who oversees all park and trail development, capital improvements or necessary work to ensure parks and trails in Bentonville remain a high-quality amenity serving our citizens and visitors for years to come.
Under the direction of Deputy Director, establishes overall priorities, develops strategic goals, priorities and objectives of Planning Team.
Under the direction of Deputy Director, establishes a capital plan and annual operating and capital budget for the department.
Plans, directs and coordinates through managers the department’s work plans; meets with management staff to identify and resolve problems; assigns project and programmatic areas of responsibility; reviews and evaluates work methods and procedures.
Works with the Director and Deputy Director to seek external funding through grants, donations and other gifts to help raise funds for improvement projects.
Act as liaison to stakeholders, community groups and city officials, facilitating public meetings to determine community needs.
Collaborates with department leadership, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Active Transportation Advisory Board, Mayor, City Council and Citizens to create planning documents and construction plans for future capital projects.
Manages the professional services selection process for the department as projects move into design stages for projects.
Manage teams and participates in all design processes, meetings with design firms and creation of final plans for future park and trails projects.
Works with Purchasing and Finance Teams to oversee the bidding process from completion of plans, bid awards, Pre-Construction process and into construction.
With the team, is an active participant in construction projects by participating in regular construction update meetings, providing direction for contractors and design groups, as well as making recommendations to Department Leadership for change orders and other issues that arrive during construction.
Represents the department to other departments, outside agencies, the general public, and before the media; explains, justifies and defends the department, programs, capital improvements, negotiates and resolves sensitive and significant issues.
Responsible for teamwork with Planning and Community Development Department, and other departments, to review all proposed development plans to ensure that department master plans are enacted during development process.
Provides a variety of information including analysis and formal presentations to City Leadership, City Council, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and Active Transportation Advisory Board.
Formulates and presents annual budget for Planning and Construction Team; reviews, monitors and adjusts expenditures and revenues to remain withing established budgetary constraints.
Maintains regular attendance and punctuality.
Performs other duties of a similar nature or level.