Manager, Recreation Facilities - Building Operations and Maintenance

Newwestcity; New Westminster; Hybrid; CAD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

City of New Westminster seeks a dynamic Manager, Recreation Facilities – Building Operations and Maintenance to lead the portfolio of recreation facilities, arenas, and pools. You will oversee preventative maintenance, asset management, budgeting, and after-hours responses while guiding a diverse team to deliver high‑quality services for residents.

You will collaborate with Engineering and Public Works to optimize operations, safety, and lifecycle upgrades, ensuring sustainability and excellent

Qualifications

• A degree in recreation administration, business administration, building sciences, building operations, or related field.
• Ice Facility Operator certification (TSBC) is preferred; Refrigeration Operator certification is an asset.
• 10 years of progressive management and leadership experience in recreation including arenas and aquatic facilities.

Responsibilities

• Provide hands-on leadership for facility maintenance and preventive maintenance programs.
• Oversee safety standards and maintenance schedules for the recreation facilities portfolio.
• Manage after-hours emergencies and urgent maintenance calls to ensure public safety.
• Lead a diverse team of exempt and unionized staff and contractors.
• Develop asset management plans, lifecycle replacement programs, and capital renewal budgeting.
• Coordinate capital and operating works with Engineering and Public Works teams.
• Administer booking of facility spaces and leases in select buildings.
• Forecast customer requirements using KPIs and set building performance standards.
• Contribute to strategic plans, policies, and procedures for the division.

Skills

Leadership

Customer service

Communication

Asset management

Budgeting

Team development

Education

Degree in recreation administration

Degree in business administration

Degree in building sciences

Degree in building operations

Project management certification/degree

Job description

As a central hub in the Metro Vancouver area, the City of New Westminster delivers a broad spectrum of urban services to over 92,000 residents. New Westminster is rich in history with a viable and thriving economy and has a population representative of the diversity of the region. The City is staffed by talented and dedicated employees who work together to achieve its strategic vision. We have earned a proud reputation for civic leadership, service delivery, and outstanding employee relations.

The City of New Westminster has an exciting opportunity for a dynamic, passionate and community-focused individual to manage the Parks and Recreation Department’s complex and diverse recreation facilities and building operations portfolio. As a key member of the Parks and Recreation Department leadership team, the Manager, Recreation Facilities – Building Operations and Maintenance will think beyond immediate operational challenges to ensure buildings remain safe, reliable, sustainable, and optimized to meet the evolving needs of our diverse community.

This position is a unique opportunity to guide long-term facility asset management processes, environmental stewardship and financial sustainability. Grounded in the City's strategic vision, a key component of this role is implementing and advancing the facility-focused initiatives within People, Parks and Play, the City’s 10-Year Comprehensive Plan for Parks and Recreation. You provide strong leadership across functional areas including facility asset management, preventative maintenance and custodial services for the City’s portfolio of community recreation facilities, arenas, and pools. This role includes both personnel, financial, and building operations management responsibilities to enable the delivery of a wide range of exceptional recreation services. You will also have oversight for the booking of facility spaces and support the administration of facility leases in select buildings within your portfolio.

Reporting to the Deputy Director, Recreation Services and Facilities, the successful incumbent will provide direct leadership and oversight to a multidisciplinary team of exempt, unionized and auxiliary employees and contractors including Maintenance Coordinators, Facility Operations staff and specialized service teams. You will work in peer level collaboration with the City’s Civic Buildings and Properties’ Maintenance and Operations team to align and optimize service contracts and maintenance standards across all City facilities where possible, as well as, asset management planning, and capital project planning & management.

Given the hours of community recreation facility operations, this position requires scheduling flexibility. The successful incumbent is expected to support after-hours facility emergencies, critical operational calls, and urgent maintenance demands outside of standard business hours to ensure public safety and service continuity.

Key accountabilities include:

• Provide hands‑on leadership for facility maintenance, including comprehensive preventative maintenance programs, and maintenance work plans across the City’s recreation facilities portfolio. This includes managing complex mechanical systems, state‑of‑the‑art plate and frame chillers/condensers with reduced ammonia in ice arenas, and zero‑carbon building standards operating systems at the təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre and the Queen’s Park Sportsplex.
• Oversee specialized operations, safety standards, and maintenance schedules.
• Act as a key point of escalation for urgent building issues. Manage and coordinate responses to after‑hours maintenance emergencies, critical mechanical failures, or security issues across all portfolio facilities.
• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a large, diverse team of exempt and unionized employees (including full‑time regular staff and auxiliary positions such as icemakers, building service workers, pool service workers, and facility attendants).
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high‑performing team culture while managing labour and employee relations effectively.
• Bring a strong understanding of asset management principles to develop, implement, and monitor structured plans for regular maintenance, facility upgrades, and timely lifecycle replacement of recreation facility infrastructure as aligned with the City’s Facility Asset Management Plan.
• Develop, manage, and monitor multiple complex operating and capital renewal budgets. Formulate multi‑million‑dollar budget projections and business cases that align financial assets with long‑range infrastructure planning, ensuring budget projections are achieved.
• Work in close partnership with the Engineering and Public Works’ Civic Buildings and Properties team to seamlessly prioritize, plan and coordinate capital and operating works related to building envelope performance, building operating systems, facility maintenance and custodial functions.
• Administer the booking of facility spaces for arenas and select facilities in Queen’s Park, and support the administration of facility leases and licence agreements in select buildings within the portfolio.
• Lead or participate in the development of plans for City recreation services and facilities.
• Anticipate and forecast customer requirements by analyzing trends, utilizing key performance indicators, benchmarking, and defining high quality standards for building’s performance and customer service.
• Actively participate in the development and delivery of strategic plans, policies, and procedures for the division and department.
• Demonstrate effective verbal and written communication skills to provide advice, guidance, and policy interpretation on matters related to the portfolio.
• Apply independent judgment, action, and initiative in supervising building operations and administering a comprehensive program of public services.

Skills & Personal Attributes: The successful candidate is a progressive, strategic, community‑centric, and innovative leader who understands day‑to‑day operational excellence as well as long‑term asset management planning. You are well‑versed in diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti‑racism work, as well as the integration of energy‑efficient and climate‑adaptive building technology.

You are a natural relationship‑builder who excels at working cross‑functionally across departments, community organizations, and external interest groups. You possess a strong combination of community development expertise, technical operational management capabilities, and exceptional people/staff development skills.

Key experience, skills and knowledge include:

• A track record of successfully providing the community with excellent customer service and quality service delivery
• Strong experience in leading an organization towards a culture of engagement and performance using industry best practices, key performance indicators and continuous process improvement.
• Excellence in relationship development and management.
• Considerable knowledge of ice arena, aquatic and recreation building operations along with associated safety standards.
• Strong experience in written and verbal communication.

Education, Training & Experience: The preferred candidate will possess: a degree in recreation administration, business administration, building sciences, building operations, project management or other related disciplines and considerable related work experience in recreation including 10 years of progressive management and leadership experience, preferably within ice arena and aquatics operations or an equivalent combination of education and experience. You will possess Ice Facility Operator certification (TSBC) and are also willing to obtain the Refrigeration Operator certification (TSBC). Experience in project management is an asset. As well, formal training and experience in diversity, equity, inclusion and anti‑racism principles and work is an asset!