Recreation Superintendent

Red Deer; Red Deer; On-site; CAD 122,000 - 153,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Red Deer Municipal Government seeks a Recreation Superintendent to lead the Recreation Section, planning programs, managing facilities, and coordinating partnerships. You will oversee contracts, budgets, and risk management while guiding a diverse team to deliver community-focused services.

The role requires a degree in recreation or related field, 5+ years of management experience in recreation, and strong knowledge of facilities operations, marketing, and legislation.

Qualifications

• Related university undergraduate degree such as Recreation Administration, Physical Education, or Business Administration.
• Minimum of five years experience at a management level in a recreation setting management and program service delivery.
• Senior management experience in recreation/parks/culture delivery with team-building.
• Knowledge of administration of recreation facilities, operations, projects, programs and services.
• Understanding of marketing principles to ensure public accessibility to programs and services.
• Ability to establish cordial relations with major user groups, partners, officials and public.
• Knowledge of Federal and Provincial legislation and City by-laws governing operation of public buildings.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for recreation.
• Lead operational planning, service delivery, and long-term program development.
• Oversee facility infrastructure, asset management, and capital improvement projects.
• Build and maintain partnerships with community groups, stakeholders, and government agencies.
• Lead, coach, and manage staff, including recruitment and performance management.
• Develop and manage operating and capital budgets, ensuring fiscal accountability.
• Oversee contracts, procurement processes, and major projects to ensure timely delivery.
• Ensure compliance with policies, risk management, and health and safety requirements.
• Lead communications, public engagement, stakeholder relations, and reporting to senior leadership and Council.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Budget management

Staff management

Contract management

Public engagement

Education

Bachelor's degree (Recreation Administration/Physical Education/Business Administration)

Tools

MS Office

Contract management systems

Job description

About Red Deer

Red Deer sits at the heart of Central Alberta along the QEII corridor, perfectly positioned between Calgary and Edmonton. With more than 100,000 residents and a regional reach of over 300,000, it’s a growing hub for business, services, and opportunity.

Here, big-city amenities meet small-city ease. Enjoy abundant parks and trails, vibrant arts and culture, excellent recreation and education, and a strong sense of community.

With easy access to lakes, outdoor adventures, and the mountains, plus a thriving economy and high quality of life, Red Deer is an inviting place to live, work, and grow.

About The City of Red Deer Municipal Government

The City of Red Deer is a dynamic municipal organization with a $480M operating budget, a $60M capital program, and a workforce of nearly 1,700 employees. It is focused on growing with purpose by attracting talented, community-minded people who want to make a difference.

Guided by the vision “Our City, One Voice,” Red Deer is building a thriving, inclusive, and connected community, with priorities centered on a vibrant economy, community wellbeing, and strong engagement.

At its core, the City values its people, embracing diverse perspectives and fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and shared success.

The Opportunity:

The Recreation Superintendent is responsible for the overall leadership and supervision of the Recreation Section. This position focuses on overseeing community development initiatives and overall leading and planning of programs, services and facility management for the Section. While managing a number of projects, this position is responsible for communication and public relations, risk and safety management, and a number of other administrative responsibilities include contract management, budgeting, and policy development. Responsible for multiple assets valued at approximately $60 million that are complex, diverse and technologically unique. Responsible for the successful operation of these programs, services and facilities as well as the successful partnering with community agencies in order to leverage The City’s ability to offer services.

Top Key Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic leadership for recreation.
• Lead operational planning, service delivery, and long-term program development.
• Oversee facility infrastructure, asset management, and capital improvement projects.
• Build and maintain partnerships with community groups, stakeholders, and government agencies.
• Lead, coach, and manage staff, including recruitment, performance management, and workforce planning.
• Develop and manage operating and capital budgets, ensuring fiscal accountability.
• Oversee contracts, procurement processes, and major projects to ensure timely and cost-effective delivery.
• Ensure compliance with policies, legislation, risk management, and health and safety requirements.
• Lead communications, public engagement, stakeholder relations, and reporting to senior leadership and Council.

As our preferred candidate, you will have:

• Related university undergraduate degree such as Recreation Administration, Physical Education, or Business Administration.
• Minimum of five years experience at a management level in a recreation setting management and program service delivery that must include a demonstrated community development approach to service delivery.
• Experience in senior management in a recreation, parks or culture delivery system with demonstrated ability to put together successful delivery teams and to facilitate community development approach to service delivery.
• Thorough knowledge of the principles, practices, methods and procedures used in the administration of recreation facilities, operations, projects, programs and services.
• Thorough understanding of the concept of and application of marketing principles and practices to ensure a high degree of public accessibility to programs and services.
• Ability to develop and maintain sound operation and maintenance procedures and systems, policies and procedures, and operations manuals.
• Ability to establish cordial relations with all major facility user groups, retail service providers, tenants, a staff, community partners, department staff, City officials, other City departments, professional consultants, school boards, business community, service clubs, institutions and the general public.
• Knowledge of Federal and Provincial legislation and City by-laws governing the operation of public buildings.

Affiliation:

Exempt

Status:

Regular Full-time

Remuneration:

$62.53 to $78.16 per hour

$122,402.48 to $152,998.20 per annum

Hours of Work:

75 hours biweekly; Monday to Friday. Some evening and weekend work may be required.

The City of Red Deer does not permit the use of unauthorized internet resources or Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools (for example, Copilot, ChatGPT or any other form of AI) during interviews or any supervised or timed assessments. Any violation may be investigated and result in serious consequences, including the rejection of your application.

We thank you for your application. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.