Regional Program Director - City of Alexandria VA

The City of Alexandria is in Northern Virginia bordered by the District of Columbia (Potomac River), Arlington, and Fairfax counties. Once within the original boundary stones that demarked the area of the Nation’s Capital, Alexandria is a part of the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. With a population of approximately 157,600 Alexandria is the sixth largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Unique and historic, Alexandria is a place that is experiencing substantial redevelopment appeal and business growth opportunities because of a high market demand for urban living in a quality environment. About one-quarter of the City’s 15.47 square miles has been designated as a national or local historic district.

The City of Alexandria is an independent city with no county affiliation and derives its governing authority from a Charter granted by the Virginia General Assembly. Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, allowing local governments only the authority expressly granted to them by the Virginia Constitution or by the Virginia General Assembly in the City Charter or in general law. City Council is the governing body, which formulates policies for the administration of the City. The mayor is chosen on a separate ballot and presides over sessions of the Council.

If you are interested in working for the vibrant City of Alexandria, we invite qualified candidates to apply for our Regional Program Director (Sports) for Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities (RPCA).

•    The mission of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities is to enrich the City of Alexandria by creating meaningful experiences through public spaces, cultural activities, and programming.
•    The Department’s vision is to improve the well-being of every person in our community by connecting them to each other and their environment.  

Overview
The Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department (RPCA) supports the well-being of Alexandria’s residents by ensuring access to a variety of quality recreation, park, and cultural experiences. RPCA holds 1,017.56 acres of park and open space areas maintaining a standard of 7.3 acres per 1,000 residents. Operating responsibilities cover public parks, medians, and rights-of-way, outdoor areas at public schools, libraries, and a city marina. The department operates programs at 12 recreation centers and school sites. Through the cultural activities division, RPCA operates the Torpedo Factory Arts Center. The Department is comprised of four operating Divisions: Recreation Services; Leadership & Management; Cultural Activities; and Park Services. These four Divisions work to offer the full range of programs, services, facilities, and parks.

Under the supervision of the Division Chief, the Regional Program Director will be responsible for the direction and management of the Sports Section.  Primary responsibilities entail planning, facilitating, and supervising sports leagues, classes, and activities for youth and adults. The incumbent will be responsible for administrative, supervisory, and programmatic duties. This position includes recruiting, scheduling, and supervising full-time, part-time, seasonal staff and volunteers.  Through effective leadership, human resources, budget management, and exceptional customer service the Regional Program Director will perform related work as required. The successful candidate will be passionate about working in the community and possess effective communication and excellent customer service skills.


Major areas of responsibility include:

• Program Management (25% of position/10 hours per week). Provide oversight and management of the daily operation of sports leagues and programs. Plan, implement, coordinate, schedule and supervise sports leagues and programs. Develop new programs for the community following the department’s standard operating procedures to include submission of program plans, presentations, summary reports and evaluation results.  Develops measures for each program to evaluate success and adjusts as necessary. Responsible for the accuracy of program information in Rec-Trac/Web-Trac. Manage program/league data using Rec-Trac. Develop new programs to meet the needs of the community with a focus on non-traditional sports and adaptive sports programs.

• Leadership/Management (25% of position/10 hours per week). Directly supervise and develop a full-time Recreation Manager, Recreation Coordinator, and Recreation Leader II. In addition to leading 15 - 20 seasonal staff through coaching, mentorship, and strength-based delegation to achieve team goals effectively and efficiently. Recruits, interviews, on boards, and supervises volunteers. Hire qualified full-time or part-time staff through NeoGov to include screening, interviewing, testing candidates, and processing of appropriate hiring forms. Creates training materials needed for onboarding and retaining staff. Conduct annual performance evaluations, address and document disciplinary issues and conduct regular staff meetings. Confirm and process staff timesheets for payroll. Actively participate in Section, Division, Department, or City meetings, committees and/or work groups.

• Facility Operations (20% of position/8 hours per week). Monitor athletic facilities to ensure a safe, clean, and welcoming environment. Schedules sports practices, league games and programs via Rec-Trac. Schedule and communicate with field monitors. Communicate with maintenance team on field schedules and maintenance concerns. Communicate with affiliate organizations and issue field permits. Manage scheduling of school gymnasiums.

• Budget Management (10% of position/4 hours per week). Develop annual budget for youth and adult sports to include personnel expenses, non-personnel expenses, and revenue projections. Administers and monitors established budgets for programs, equipment, and services. Administrative duties to include management of p-card reconciliation, monthly tracking and reporting of expenses. Responsible for purchase orders and invoices, hiring and payment of officials and equipment ordering.

• Community Engagement & Outreach (10% of position/4 hours per week). Create a welcoming, inclusive, and safe space for patrons. Assist with increasing public awareness of sports programs. Communicates (written & verbal) clearly and courteously with internal and external customers to include parents, volunteers, officials, local schools and affiliate sports organizations. Create and maintain relationships with community groups, schools, parents, and others to assist in advancing the department’s mission, publicizing events, and expanding general programming support and resources. Represents the Department at public meetings. Create partnerships to expand sports programming.

• Other (10% of position/4 hours per week). Other duties include being accessible for after-hours needs such as staff support, respond to facility alarms, emergency situations, and inclement weather responsibilities. Provide program and facility coverage when needed. Participate in department meetings and training as required. Perform and complete other duties as assigned by supervisor. Works various hours which include days, evenings, weekends, and some holidays.  

Key Work Aspects of RPCA and the City of Alexandria:
Based on your reporting relationship, you are tasked with creating an environment of success in the department such that staff are highly engaged to focus on results that support organizational attainment of our mission and strategic plan. Our purpose is to build an organizational cultural “that supports each of us and inspires excellence.”
 
RPCA Strategic Plan – Each senior leader is expected to implement the mission, vision, values, and the strategic focus areas as determined through business plans and the budget process. It is expected that all decisions will be made considering the values and focus areas.
 
Statement of Workplace Excellence – Every RPCA staff member has the right to a safe, healthy, efficient, and pleasant working environment where all organization members adhere to the highest standards of behavior, personal integrity, and truthfulness. Each staff member demonstrates full support and acts on deploying workplace excellence.
 
Shared Leadership Approach – We continually strive to gain the maximum amount of discretionary effort on the part of our staff members. All staff members are collectively responsible for our organizational community and have leadership roles. Everyone is a decision maker within his or her job. We invite participation in solving organizational issues and constantly improving our operations. We share a leader-to-leader model.  
 
Customer Service Guarantee – We are committed to delivering a consistently superior customer experience to all who participate in our programs or visit our parks and facilities. Service will be:

 
Our most valued assets are engaged staff members and customers.  
 
What You Should Bring
Each member of our team is accountable for the exceptional delivery of services to the community. You will work to meet the recreational needs of our community in a fun, safe, and orderly manner. To best serve in this position, good knowledge of the best practices of sports and recreation are needed. Strong planning and organizational skills, community engagement, and excellent oral and written communication skills will contribute to your success in the position. You must also demonstrate an ability to plan and execute programs and events and work effectively in a group setting. You should also be available to work various hours which include days, evenings, weekends, and some holidays. You will have the ability to be on call and resolve urgent situations over the phone and/or by reporting in person. The ability to work independently and use judgment within established procedures; experience preparing reports; ability to work with a variety of staff at all levels and to handle assignments across sections of the Recreation Services Division will ensure success in this role.