Welcome back Seattle! We are so exciting to be opening our doors again after closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This hiring process will be used to fill multiple part-time and full-time Recreation Leader vacancies in Community Centers, Teen Life Centers, and other programs across our beautiful City as we begin to re-open in the Fall.

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) is a national leader and innovator in the services and programs we provide to our residents who enjoy our public spaces such as parks, community centers, specialty gardens and swimming pools. Our mission is providing welcoming and safe opportunities to play, learn, contemplate and build community and promote responsible stewardship of the land. We promote healthy people, a healthy environment and strong communities. Delivering excellent customer service to each visitor and participant is a core value.

Traditionally, we have provided recreation opportunities through our network of community centers, pools, and other facilities. As we respond to the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and structural racism, we are innovating how we provide recreation programs in partnership with the communities we serve. We are building our capacity to bring recreation programs to the people—not just in our facilities, but also in parks, in streets, and through partners, with goals of reducing racial health disparities and empowering historically mis-served communities.

SPR commits to City of Seattle Workplace Values and Expectations, and Racial Equity and Social Justice as core principles that guide our work. We support and hold ourselves accountable by striving to eliminate barriers to access and provide employees with equitable opportunities for professional growth and advancement.

The Recreation Division of SPR eliminates barriers through responsive, exceptional recreation services. We operate over 50 recreation facilities (community centers, teen centers, pools, school-based learning centers, environmental learning centers, and boating and sailing centers) and provide opportunities for people to play, learn, and lead healthy, active lives. Our programs and events include fitness and athletics, licensed childcare and preschool, swimming and boating, youth development and job preparation, academic enrichment, and more — including programs designed for older adults and people with disabilities, as well as grant and partnership programs designed and implemented with immigrant and refugee communities. With nearly 300 regular employees and a budget of nearly $40 million annually, Recreation is a major operation with significant impact on the communities we serve.

About the Job: This position will be used to recruit for several Recreation Leaders in various parts of the division:

• Community Centers: SPR operates 26 Community Centers across Seattle that offer a wide array of services and programming to Seattle residents of all ages including drop-in recreational activities, educational classes, cultural events, preschool and school-age care programs, and more. Community Centers strive to provide welcoming and safe space to promote healthy people and strong communities.
• Teen Life Centers: SPR has three Teen Life Centers that offer a wide array of programming to Seattle area youth including: special events, after school programming, computer labs, recording studios, cooking classes, Late Night, and much more. The goal of each Teen Life Centers is to foster a safe and welcoming space for Teens to play, learn and grow.
• Youth Employment & Service Learning: SPR delivers pre-employment training and experiences to cohorts of hundreds of diverse young people each year, helping develop career pathways and job readiness skills.

Job Responsibilities

• Responsible for developing and implementing a broad spectrum of recreational activities and programs after school, evening and/or weekends for all ages.
• Developing family programs, special events, drop-in activities, athletic programs, and special seasonal and community gatherings.
• Organize, plan, implement and lead activities; handle administrative aspects including cash handling, registrations, budgeting, public outreach, marketing, collection of performance measures and program evaluations.
• Participate on committees that will be responsible for the development and implementation of seasonal and/or special events in conjunction with other facilities and work units.
• Responsible for all performance measures and statistics collection, evaluations, grant writing and other administrative tasks as they relate to their delegated areas of program responsibility.
• Develop partnerships with supervisor support and work cooperatively with other department facilities, schools and other community-based youth serving organizations.
• Required to meet the performance measures for their program area and attend regular staff meetings.
• Assist with any other recreational activities, both formal and informal held at the community center or unit where assigned.
• Ability to learn computer software applications for registration, scheduling and data collection.
• This position may supervise other recreation staff and volunteers.
• If working at a Teen Life Center: Develops and implements a broad spectrum of recreational activities, programs and special events for teens and young adults, including late night programs. Responsible for working with teens to develop a teen advisory group to build leadership and guide program development.

Qualifications

• One year of experience coordinating recreation programs in a community-based setting.
• The equivalent of an Associates Degree in Recreation, Therapeutic Recreation, or related field or one additional year of qualifying experience.

The ideal candidate will have:

Recreation Program Planning and Implementation

• One year of experience in planning and implementing a program budget, developing program timelines, and program administration.
• One year of experience planning, organizing, leading and supervising daily activities using Youth Program Quality, the 40 developmental assets or other outcome-based models to support  youth development.
• Competitive candidates will be able to demonstrate a history of developing programs to meet the needs of all age groups.

Working with People

• Demonstrated knowledge of youth developmental assets and ability to work with youth ages 6-18 years.
• Demonstrated strong cultural sensitivity skills with the ability to engage culturally specific communities, which may include immigrant and first-generation refugee populations.
• Ability to speak a second language.
• Show experience providing both traditional and non-traditional recreation activities for a variety of age groups.
• Ability to work in partnership with residents of all ages, businesses, other community agencies and teens to design, implement and evaluate programs.
• Experience supervising or working with volunteers.

Technical Skills and Best Practices

• Experience in grant writing and developing other funding sources is highly desirable.
• Familiar with computer software products (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and program scheduling software).
• Experience in curriculum development implementation of curriculum/learning sessions.
• Demonstrated knowledge of continuous improvement process.
• Familiarity with positive youth development best practices.
• Experience with logic models.
• Experience applying equity lens to direct service programs.
• Demonstrates flexibility/adaptability, ability to pivot, and shift direction to meet fast paced needs.

Additional Information

Work Environment/Physical Demands:

• Requires working outdoors in all types of weather.
• May be required to work evenings and weekends.
• May be required to lift up to 50 pounds.
• May require strenuous physical activity.
• This position may be required to drive city vehicles to transport program participants as needed.

License, Certification, and Other Requirements:

• Current, valid WA State Driver’s License, or valid driver’s license from another state.
• American Red Cross Multi-Media First Aid Card and CPR certification within 30 days of employment.
• Available to sometimes work evenings, weekends, irregular hours, and split shifts.
• This hiring process involves a background check of conviction and arrest records in compliance with Seattle’s Fair Chance Employment Ordinance, SMC 14.17.  Applicants will be provided an opportunity to explain or correct background information.
• If you are selected to advance in this hiring process, you may be asked to obtain a complete 5-Year driving record from the Department of Licensing. We will consider all traffic tickets and convictions that you have received within 5 years, and we will score them as follows:
  0 points – Parking tickets
  1 point each violation – Any moving violation, collision, stop sign, defective equipment, speeding, seat belt, failure to signal, cell phone and any and all moving violations
  4 points – each violation: Suspended license, negligent driving, reckless driving, racing
  5 points each violation – hit and run, vehicular assault or homicide, any DUI or alcohol related offense

Hiring Timeline:
This job posting is part of a rolling recruitment process. Applications received by July 5th will be given priority review. A second round of applications that are received between July 6th and July 16th will be reviewed next. Interviews will begin the week of July 26th. Expected start date for those hired from this recruitment will be the week of August 16th.
Applications will be accepted for this position until 4:00pm Pacific Time on Friday, July 16th. 

To be considered for this position, in addition to completing your application fully, please attach:

• A PDF of your current resume
• Cover Letter
• Answer the Supplemental Questions

If you have questions, please contact Teresa Rayburn at teresa.rayburn@seattle.gov