Recreation & Community Development Manager - City of Saskatoon

AI Summary

The City of Saskatoon is actively seeking a Recreation & Community Development Manager for a temporary full-time position. This vital role in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, involves providing strategic leadership in the delivery of recreation programs, community services, and facility management. Key responsibilities include overseeing budgets, managing staff, and fostering community partnerships. Ideal candidates will possess a relevant degree and 7 to 9 years of progressively responsible experience, including senior supervisory roles in recreation and community development.

About the Role and Responsibilities

This senior leadership opportunity with the City of Saskatoon involves managing an assigned section within the Recreation and Community Development Department. The successful candidate will be instrumental in enhancing the quality of life for residents across Saskatoon by overseeing a broad spectrum of programs, services, and recreation facilities. A core aspect of this role is providing strategic leadership and professional expertise to supervisors and managers, ensuring alignment with corporate goals and guiding principles. This includes business and strategic planning, program prioritisation, and effective service delivery. The manager will coordinate operating and capital budgets, manage partner relations, and lead initiatives that optimises results. Furthermore, the position requires representing the Department in negotiations with other civic departments and external agencies, ensuring the recreation and social development interests of the community are well-represented.

Leadership and Operational Excellence

The Recreation & Community Development Manager will play a crucial role in staff management, including hiring, assigning work schedules, and planning staff development. This position is responsible for developing, implementing, and evaluating policies, procedures, and service delivery frameworks to ensure efficient and reliable operations for all community services. A significant part of the role involves leading strategies to strengthen volunteer engagement, community capacity, and partner development through collaborative planning and effective resource allocation. The manager will also ensure that customer service processes and digital service channels are responsive, adaptive, and accessible, facilitating easy access to booking, registration, and information for programs and facilities. Fostering a culture of safety, inclusivity, wellness, and psychological health, in compliance with applicable legislation and policies, is also an assigned duty. This role contributes to long-term financial strategies and annual business plans for the section, identifying priorities and performance targets.

Required Qualifications and Expertise

To excel in this Recreation & Community Development Manager role, candidates must possess a university degree in recreation administration, community development, public administration, social science, business administration, commerce, or a related field. This must be complemented by 7 to 9 years of progressively responsible experience in recreation and community development, including at least five years in a senior supervisory position. Thorough knowledge of recreation, community development, public sector service delivery, stakeholder engagement, and community well-being principles and practices is essential. The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong leadership skills, including strategic planning, budgeting, management reporting, and change management. Exceptional communication skills, both oral and written, are required, particularly for preparing and presenting complex technical reports and negotiating win-win agreements through problem-solving and consensus. The ability to plan, direct, coordinate, monitor, and evaluate the work of assigned staff is also critical for success in this demanding position within the City of Saskatoon.