Recreation Deputy Division Director

City of Seattle•Seattle, WA

4d•$62 - $92•Onsite

About The Position

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) is seeking a dynamic and passionate leader to serve as the Deputy Director of Recreation. This position serves as the Deputy Director for the Recreation division, facilitating the work of the Leadership Team in consultation and collaboration with the Recreation Division Director. It will serve as convener, project manager, and day-to-day operations lead, supervising 8+ direct reports and supporting a large and diverse workforce of nearly 300 regular employees and many temporary employees and contracted partners. It will serve as the acting Recreation Director as needed. This leader will be an effective and unapologetic champion of racial equity, with a demonstrated history of strategically applying the principles of anti-racism to organizational development, resource allocation, operations, and team leadership. This leader will facilitate the division work plan and ensure accountability for the agreed upon results identified by the team in partnership with community. This leader will have a proven track record in work planning, strategic planning, results-based facilitation, and operational management. We also understand that strong relationships matter – whether between our programs and their customers, between our frontline staff and our Leadership Team, or between the division and our external partners. We seek a leader who can drive results while building and maintaining collaborative relationships. This leader will have experience in leading and encouraging diversity of thought on the team. Create a culture of trust. Have an unselfish mindset. Foster leadership in others. The division also engages large numbers of temporary City staff and contracted partners. This leader will have demonstrated success in developing relationships at all levels of an organization, maintaining accountability, operationalizing vision and strategic direction through on-the-ground change that balances differing priorities towards collective vision, and building capacity of individuals and teams to achieve shared goals. The Recreation Division is going through a transformation as we modernize, train, and work to empower our team to identify barriers to accessing our services using data and community engagement, and then co-creating solutions and opportunities for our neighbors to improve services. This leader will need to have a deep understanding of change management and process improvement.

Requirements

Five years of experience developing and coordinating recreation programs, including three years of management-level supervisory experience (or a combination of education and/or training and/or experience, which provides an equivalent background required to perform the work).
A commitment to listening, creating space for diverse perspectives and the pursuit of inclusive and just outcomes must be at the center of your professional practice.
The ability to communicate at all levels tactfully and effectively will also contribute to your success.
Experience in: Managing recreation programs, facilities, staff, budgets, and related resources
Experience in: Managing projects and issues while navigating competing deadlines
Experience in: Working with first-generation and racially/ethnically diverse populations
Experience in: Building trust with frontline staff and community stakeholders, and in engaging staff and partners to lead change
Experience in: Working with community, elected officials, and advocacy groups
Experience in: Supervising people and managing large teams
Substantial skills in: Written and oral communication, strong facilitation, delegation, and decision-making skills
Substantial skills in: Management and Leadership
Substantial skills in: Meeting facilitation and presentations
Substantial skills in: Strategic analysis, planning, development, and implementation
Substantial skills in: Performance-based management tools to manage the work of others
The ability to: Work in diverse communities and conduct effective outreach
The ability to: Demonstrate strong written and oral communication skills, preferably in a cross-cultural context
The ability to: Stay organized through projects, successfully meeting tight deadlines
The ability to: Generate create solutions to problems by identifying available resources and working collaboratively
The ability to: Navigate and adapt to a dynamic political environment
The ability to: Demonstrate commitment to leading with equity and being anti-racist
The ability to: Leverage funding from a variety of sources including city, state, federal agencies, and private grants
The ability to: Work under pressure with multiple deadlines
The ability to: Be present and engage in person with employees and the community at work sites in various parts of town in a single day
Proven ability to plan, manage, communicate and lead a major change initiative while serving in an executive capacity.

Nice To Haves

Experience in Recreation, Leisure Services, Public Administration, Public Health, Business, or related fields

Responsibilities

Connect with, learn from, and build relationships with staff at all levels of the division. Seek to inform division decision-making with the experiences of frontline staff, and to understand the impacts of leadership decisions on frontline services.
Engage external stakeholders, including community-based organizations, advisory councils, and other City departments, to advance the division’s vision of responsive, exceptional services.
Connect the dots between Recreation and other divisions within SPR (from facility maintenance and capital planning to human resources and business intelligence) to ensure our programs and facilities can meet community needs.
Develop and distribute strategic communications to a variety of audiences (frontline staff, the Leadership Team, the Superintendent, elected officials, community members) in a variety of formats (email, briefing papers, team and division-wide meetings, City Council presentations).
Support the department's vital partnership with the Associated Recreation Council and its 37-member Advisory Councils.
Oversee the day-to-day management of facility and /or program operations, supporting and amplifying the great work of staff, making on-the-spot decisions related to emergency management, and serving as operations expert and problem solver.
Facilitate the Recreation Leadership Team’s work, including workplan development, workflow management, results-based meeting facilitation, and more.
Continuously monitor and evaluate the efficiency, effectiveness, and equity of our facilities and programs, identify opportunities for improvement, recommend changes in policies and procedures, and lead or otherwise oversee implementation of those changes.
Implement fiscal management strategies to maximize resource utilization; oversee current year expenditures and revenues and analyze this data for budget monitoring; and adjust as needed to stay within the allocated budget. Think creatively about opportunities for revenue generation and grow division resources over time. Collaborate with Recreation Division Strategic Advisors in the budget development process, and other related work.
Support the development of solutions to citywide challenges by occasionally leading or taking part in cross-functional or interdepartmental teams on large and complex citywide issues (homelessness, public health, pandemic response, job training and economic development, for example).
Directly supervise 8+ managers. Provide supervision with an emphasis on coaching and leadership development.
Proactively identify opportunities to develop the skills, talents, and leadership of your direct reports and frontline staff.
Emphasize accountability in your leadership and in our Leadership Team. Keep your commitments, be transparent in your decision-making, and nurture these qualities in others.
Support SPR’s work for racial equity by continuously refining your own knowledge and skills in antiracism and by supporting the development of an equity lens in the Leadership Team and our frontline.
Participate in fiscal management, budgetary planning and staffing analysis.
Work closely with the Division’s Executive Team and Department leadership to develop policies, priorities, goals, procedures, and operational standards.
Serve as the primary point of contact for internal teams, executive leadership, community partners and other stakeholders, particularly during any period in which the Director is out of office to ensure continuity of leadership and division functions.
Perform other duties as needed to ensure that the goals and objectives for the Division are achieved.