Superintendent of Recreation

Naperville Park District; Naperville (IL); On-site; USD 95,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Naperville Park District is seeking a Superintendent of Recreation who will oversee the delivery of community recreation programs and services. The role involves leading program development, staff supervision, budgeting, and marketing across multiple facilities and partnerships.

Responsibilities include evaluating offerings, implementing the Recreation Programming Plan, coordinating with departments and vendors, and ensuring program outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Recreation and Park Administration, Leisure Studies, or related field.
• Five years of administrative or supervisory experience in recreation programming.
• Valid driver's license required.
• CPRP certification within two years of hire.
• First Aid, CPR, and AED certification within two months of hire.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and support recreation programs and services aligned with the District's mission and strategic initiatives.
• Evaluate offerings and formulate recommendations to improve services and ensure outcomes.
• Implement the Recreation Programming Plan.
• Investigate program issues and staff matters; support managers or lead on such matters.
• Analyze recreation program trends and keep abreast of industry developments.
• Collaborate with related departments to drive strategic initiatives and improve processes.
• Identify data to collect and analyze to support initiatives; train staff as needed.
• Coordinate facilities and services with departments, school districts, and vendors; optimize resources.
• Ensure timely completion of independent contractor agreements and manage vendor relations.
• Lead staff through planning, scheduling, performance reviews, and payroll sign-off.
• Develop and implement marketing tools for programs (guides, flyers, posters, web materials).
• Develop annual department budget and monitor performance; adjust for revenue fluctuations.
• Track and optimize revenue sources for programming objectives.
• Serve as CAPRA volunteer for the District.

Skills

Budget management

Decision making

Community needs assessment

Recreation programming knowledge

Computer skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Recreation and Park Administration

CPRP certification within 2 years of hire

First Aid/CPR/AED certification within 2 months of hire

Job description

Overview:

Under the general supervision of the Director of Recreation Programming, the Superintendent of Recreation is responsible for overseeing the delivery of recreation programs and services which meet the needs of the community.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Maintain and support recreation programs and services in alignment with the District's mission, vision, core values, and strategic initiatives.
2. Evaluate program and service offerings and formulate recommendations to improve services. Ensure compliance with program outcomes.
3. Implement the Recreation Programming Plan.
4. Investigate program issues, personnel matters, and patron and parent complaints. Support managers and supervisors or take the lead role in such matters.
5. Analyze and keep abreast of recreation program trends.
6. Work closely with related departments to identify strategic initiatives, establish direction, and further develop recreation services. Evaluate and continually improve processes and procedures to increase efficiency and recommend policy revisions.
7. Identify appropriate data to collect, evaluate, and utilize to support initiatives, make decisions, make available to others as needed, report progress, etc. If appropriate, train staff in data collection, interpretation, and how to use it to build relationship value.
8. Coordinate the use of facilities and services with related departments, school districts, and contractual vendors. Optimize use of the District's facility resources.
9. Ensure the accurate and timely completion of independent contractor agreements and uphold terms of the agreements with contractual vendors.
10. Manage work of others, including planning, assigning, scheduling, and reviewing work, ensuring quality standards. Is responsible for hiring, disciplining, training, and developing, reviewing performance, and administering performance improvement plans for staff. Approve and sign off on biweekly payroll.
11. Work with related departments to develop and implement marketing tools for programs, including program guides, flyers, posters, brochures, and web materials.
12. Develop annual department/division budget and yearend projections as outlined in the annual budget calendar. Communicate budgetary requests as needed and educate direct reports on the approved annual budget. Continuously monitor budget performance throughout the year, adjusting for unexpected expenses or fluctuations in revenue as appropriate. Approve expenditures.
13. Track, report, and optimize traditional and alternative revenue sources available for programming objectives.
14. Serve as the District's Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) volunteer.

Other Duties and Responsibilities:

• Assist in the development and review of an on-going Recreation Programming Plan.
• Act on behalf of the Director of Recreation Programming as requested.
• Serves as the District's liaison to the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association (WDSRA) Inclusion Committee.
• Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of the theories, practices, and philosophy of community recreational programming.
• Knowledge and skill in budget preparation, financial management, and fiscal control.
• Capacity to make decisions objectively based on customer service and fiscal constraint.
• Ability to recognize the needs of the community and organize programs and events to meet those needs.
• Working knowledge of basic computer software.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Recreation and Park Administration, Leisure Studies, or related field.
• Minimum five (5) years of administrative or supervisory experience in recreation programming, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Valid driver's license required due to the need to maintain and support recreation programs and services Districtwide.
• Possession of, or the ability to obtain, Certified Park and Recreational Professional (CPRP) certification within two (2) years of hire.
• Possession of, or the ability to obtain, First Aid, CPR, and AED certification within two (2) months of hire.

Special Considerations:

• Subject to office and outside environmental conditions.
• Subject to modified/flexible work schedules.
• Manual dexterity to manipulate recreation program equipment.
• Regular onsite attendance is an essential function of this position.

Benefits

Hiring Range:

$95,00/yr - $110,000/yr