Summary of Duties

Reporting to the Director, Recreation and Sport, the Manager Recreation Programming and Leadership is responsible for the direction and operation of neighbourhood and city-wide recreation and leadership programs and services. The emphasis is on quality, accessible, and affordable programs which produce benefits to individuals and the community. , This role will work closely with the other members of the Recreation and Sport Leadership Team in jointly delivering community enablement initiatives and projects which contribute to healthy community development, and will identify and implement cross-sector opportunities that will build a culture of collaboration, leading to improved quality of life for Londoners. 

Work Performed

• Provide leadership in the administration and planning, development and implementation of policies and programs related to recreation and leadership that contribute to strategic initiatives identified in Council’s Strategic Plan and by the Division.


• Lead the development and implementation of staff training and programs to ensure programs are compliant with legislation, municipal policy, procedures, and directives/obligations.


• Lead the planning, development and implementation of neighbourhood and city-wide recreation and leadership programs and activities through direct program delivery, joint ventures/partnerships, and the coordination and collaboration with other service providers.


• Lead tracking and research of trends, projections, mapping, and community engagement to deliver recreation programs of interest and personal benefit, across all age groups and sectors.


• Oversee and approve development of marketing plans.


• Develop and maintain communications and relationships with neighbourhood and community groups, service clubs, associations, private and not-for-profit organizations, and elected officials regarding recreational matters, community projects and initiatives.


• Expedite media requests to Director, Recreation and Sport and Deputy City Manager, Neighbourhood and Community-Wide Services, and provide accurate and timely information as required.


• Facilitate opportunities for enhanced service delivery through shared resources, partnerships, and joint ventures with various partners including community groups, educational institutions, community organizations, and service groups.


• Supervise Recreation Programming and Leadership employees including hiring, coaching, administration, and performance aspects of reporting employees. Respond to sensitive and confidential human resource issues as required.


• Demonstrate commitment to anti-racism, anti-oppression, and human rights through interactions with partners, employees and individuals and implementation of policies, programs and protocols that reflect this commitment.


• Demonstrate commitment and adherence to Health and Safety legislation and programs; and actively promote a culture of safety with direct reports.


• Encourage and support employee participation and commitment to divisional and organizational objectives. Actively mentor, provide development opportunities and build team performance with direct reports.


• Provide updates, information and recommendations to the Director, Recreation and Sport on priorities with responsibility to operationalize identified goals and strategies.


• Identify and recommend internal controls in the form of policies, procedures, practices in relation to the general and specific risks of the Corporation; ensure internal controls are implemented, monitored, and reported on specific to the Division.


• Liaise with unions on issues that affect bargaining unit employees as required.


• Promote and foster working relationships with employees and bargaining units and ensure consistent application of the collective agreements.


• Fairly and consistently administer provisions of various collective agreements to promote resolution of grievances.


• Provide representation at mediation and arbitration proceedings as required.


• Support employee commitment to a high level of performance in all areas of customer service, employee safety and delivery of individual goals and objectives.


• Engage in opportunities to work across Divisions and Service Areas in support of enterprise-wide collaboration with respect to recreation and sport related planning issues including park development planning, and facility design.

• Identify, recommend, adapt, and implement innovative and effective work practices and procedures to improve service delivery and the business responsibilities of the team.


• Recommend and develop processes and tools needed to increase efficiencies and improve the effectiveness of services provided by the Division.


• Implement strategies to track performance measures for Division deliverables, using appropriate data collection and analytics.


• Adhere to the Procurement of Goods and Services Policy; includes the responsibility of delegation of procurement initiation approval authority and delegation of approval authority for professional consulting services as per policy amounts.


• Provide input to the development of the annual operating and capital budget for Recreation and Sport.


• Manage the budget for Recreation Programs and Leadership Team and prepare associated documents (i.e. business plans, business cases and presentation documents) as required.


• Prepare reports and/or presentations for consideration by the Senior Management Team, Ward Councillors or Council Committees on matters related to recreation and sport.


• Represent the Service Area at Standing Committees and Council meetings as required.


• Represent the City of London and Service Area in legal proceedings as required.


• Represent the Service Area on internal/external committees.


• Respond to emergency situations related to assigned responsibilities and with respect to the establishment of reception centres on an on-call basis.


• Undertake special community and Service Area projects as assigned.


• Perform related duties as assigned.

Qualifications/Experience

• A graduate of a university or College program in Social Sciences, Public Administration, Recreation, Human Services, or other related field or equivalent combination of education and related professional and lived community experience.


• Five to seven years of management experience preferably in Recreation or related field.


• Current Standard First Aid Certificate.


• Class G Driver’s License.


• High Five Health Child Development Certification.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in the above identified areas of accountability with an understanding of the area’s programs and services and how the work of the area aligns with the objectives of the Division.


• Demonstrated analytical and business planning skills with a proven track record for effectively implementing and monitoring programs and services.


• Demonstrated positive and proactive leadership capabilities, adept at leading a group of employees, contracted services and consultants; demonstrated commitment to developing high performance teams.


• Demonstrated ability to inspire the people they lead through productive and honest dialogue, with personal integrity and actions.


• Ability to be a trusted advisor in sensitive and/or emotionally charged situations.


• Demonstrated perseverance and resilience in addressing and escalating as required, challenges and emergent issues.


• Proven commitment to the safety of employees with knowledge of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and applicable regulations as it relates to the position.


• Highly developed interpersonal and customer services skills, including conflict resolution and problem solving; demonstrated ability to effectively communicate with diverse populations within the community; experience working collaboratively with organizations, and residents. Political acumen to identify and manage issues.


• Ability to understand the importance of service delivery; implement initiatives that support the section’s customers in a timely and effective way.


• Computer literacy in Microsoft Office, and related software and database applications. 

Compensation and Other Information

$97,932 to $128,215

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