Associate Director, Campus Recreation

Position Summary:

We are excited to share this opportunity at the University of Dayton. If you love recreation and the energy of working in higher education we would be excited to hear from you. Join a progressive team of Collegiate Recreation professionals in a department where the growth and development of our professional and student team parallel our passion for serving the campus community.

Some key components of this position include:

Direct leadership of four professional staff (IM Sports, Sport Clubs & Camp, Fitness, Outdoor)
Guidance of transformational employment experience for 250 UD Campus Rec student team members.
Direct influence on department vision and direction as part of Campus Recreation Leadership Team.
We are Campus Recreation, your hub on campus for recreation and wellbeing. We motivate, inspire, and empower the UD community to lead healthy, active, and balanced lives. We invite qualified candidates to apply for our Associate Director, Campus Recreation opening!

This is a full time benefit eligible position that offers health, dental and vision insurance, retirement, disability, tuition assistance for you and your dependents, vacation/sick accrual and holiday pay.
The associate director provides support to the execution of numerous executive and administrative duties of considerable scope and complexity, in which the ideal candidate will possess excellent initiative, judgment, knowledge, critical thought, and executive level presence. This person is an integral part of the department’s leadership team and consequently plays a vital role in addressing long range and strategic planning, affecting department and divisional initiatives, developing policy, building partnerships, providing leadership and inspiring professional and student staff. We are seeking an energetic, action-oriented leader with a history of developing strong interpersonal relationships, leading innovation and growth, and whose passions, strengths, and skills are centered around development. The associate director drives student and staff development initiatives, to include a centralized hiring and training programs focused on inclusion and integrating and orienting new student staff to the department. Through the provision of leadership and strategic direction, the associate director supports the management of functional areas of Campus Recreation including Intramural Sports, Sport Clubs, Youth Programs, Fitness, and Outdoor Recreation that serve a student population of 11,000+, requiring basic knowledge of all areas, which are unique to themselves. The successful candidate for this position will focus on holistic student health, expanding our contributions to the physical, mental, and social wellbeing created through physical activity, while providing access equity to all facility and program participants. The associate director is expected to display a commitment to understand and support the University of Dayton's distinctive Marianist tradition and educational vision, as well as a willingness to model institutional values of service to others, community, and diversity.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES [%]

Leadership, Administration, and Personnel Development [50%]
• Provide appropriate levels of supervision, direction, and oversight to optimize the effectiveness of all direct reports and ensure operation in accordance with the mission, vision, and goals of the department, division, and University.
• With a blend of visioning and responsiveness, the associate director will supervise and support areas with a focus on day-to-day operations, administration, developmental emphasis, safety focused procedures, and innovative initiatives in partnership with the professional staff in all reporting areas .
• Cultivate and sustain a culture of transparency, professionalism, compassion, integrity, respect, inclusiveness, and drive for achievement in a student-focused, team-centered environment.
• Provide for educational development, as well as on-going performance feedback for employees to promote growth and improved performance.
• Assist individual areas within the department in all matters concerning department operation and focus on meeting strategic goals, including driving data driven decisions and participant feedback to meet the needs of students and drive new initiatives.
• Evaluate current program offerings in all areas of responsibility; working with staff to review programs and make recommendations to evolve programs to meet current trends and student requests including cost analysis of existing and new programs to ensure compliances with budget goals.
• Provide strategic oversight to all areas and works with staff to understand implications of decision making on other areas of operation inside and outside of department.
• Ensure all areas are within compliance and in accordance with best practices at department, University, and state levels.
• Oversee and steward the purchase of all equipment, new technology, inventory, and maintenance for areas under the purview of the associate director.

Training and Organizational Development [25%]
• Develop and manage a comprehensive student development plan designed to cultivate student staff success, including but not limited to: staff banquets and celebrations, all staff training, staff manual, staff evaluations, and implementation of learning outcomes assessment.
• Responsible for the development and facilitation of the new hire orientation and basic training of all student employees, to include risk management and emergency response training, customer service training, departmental overview/information, employee expectations, and introduction of the UDCR core developmental competencies of: leadership; lifelong wellbeing; intercultural competency; and risk mitigation.
• Lead departmental student staff training efforts to include planning, logistics, communication, execution, and evaluation.
• In accordance with attire guidelines, acquire, inventory, and distribute uniforms.
• Develop relationships to increase co-curricular opportunities with academic and other university departments and programs.
• Establish and conduct an exit interview process through which continuous improvement in employment practices can occur based upon data driven information and feedback.
• Manage on-boarding and employee transition processes to include communication with the Office of Student Employment and Human Resources, ensuring the timely processing of necessary paperwork for hiring, separation, pay raises, statistical records, certifications, performance data, facility access approval, etc.
• Coordinate and maintain employment records for student staff.
• Serve as department’s manager for student employment payroll through management of the employment software.

Strategic and Financial Planning [20%]
• Provide leadership as a senior staff member, working with the director, executive director, and other department members to develop and implement strategic planning, philosophy, policies, and processes that drive growth, continuous improvement, safety, and quality.
• Make decisions based upon alignment with and achievement of the department’s strategic plan and action steps.
• Assist with the preparation, management, and reconciliation of departmental budgets, to include the pursuit and materializing of current and new revenue streams, for all direct reports.
• Emphasize the use of data driven decisions and assessment as necessary components for establishing metrics of success.

Related Duties [5%]
• Be involved with and make meaningful contributions to departmental, divisional, and institutional initiatives, as well as within professional organizations.
• Support and align with the mission, vision, values, and strategic direction of Campus Recreation and the Student Development sub-division of Health and Wellbeing.
• Actively participate in student development activities on campus by serving as a volunteer, mentor, committee member and/or participant.
• Actively work with other campus departments in holistic student wellbeing, persistence, and retention efforts.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s degree;
• 5 years of relevant and progressive professional experience in administering collegiate recreation programs and facilities, with a strong service and developmental orientation;
• Working knowledge of current risk management standards and practices in collegiate recreation;
• 2 years of supervision of professional staff or comparable experience (i.e. personnel management skills developed through leadership certificate programs; leadership of peers within work teams, etc.);
• Experience working collaboratively with various constituents;
• Evidenced creation of an inclusive, participant-oriented environment, to include familiarity in working with various populations from youth to adults;
• Experience in budget development and management;
• Articulated passion for promoting healthy activity;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
• Attention to detail; and
• Ability to work on a flexible basis including evenings, weekends, and on/off campus activities.

Preferred Qualifications:

While not everyone may possess all of the preferred qualifications, the ideal candidate will bring many of the following:

• 3+ years of successful supervisory experience of professional staff members with knowledge of human resource management theories and best practices in staff development, group dynamics and motivation techniques;
• A broad understanding and experience base in collegiate recreation facilities, programs, and services; specifically, those areas in which this position will supervise (intramurals, fitness, sport clubs, outdoor recreation, youth programs);
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple initiatives, programs, and responsibilities while ensuring excellence in the provision of direct services;
• Experience with a multifaceted budget, including general financial management and accountability, data base systems, and spreadsheets;
• Demonstrated experience in establishing and facilitating strategic goals;
• Exhibit a strong emphasis on student development philosophy;
• Ability to articulate collegiate recreation’s role within Student Affairs and higher education;
• Commitment to the Marianist tradition of education that includes educating the whole person through a learning community of challenge and support; connecting learning to leadership and service; and collaborating for adaptation and change;
• Demonstrated analytical skills to identify problems, assess alternatives, and render consistent, logical decisions;
• Demonstrated experience and success in assessing programmatic effectiveness;
• The ability to write concise, logical, and persuasive reports;
• Technological proficiency with a strong working knowledge of various computer applications, specifically experienced in Innosoft Fusion, Connect2, and WhenToWork software programs;
• Capacity to independently manage a variety of tasks with frequent interruptions and shifting priorities;
• Demonstrated integrity, dependability, sound judgment, teambuilding, and resourcefulness to establish and maintain collaborative, positive, and effective working relationships with multiple constituency groups;
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and ability to develop and maintain inclusive environments;
• Evidence of multicultural competencies and advancing diversity in hiring and retaining professionals from diverse backgrounds; and
• Ability to thrive in an environment that values high expectations, accountability, servant leadership, and balanced lifestyles, while possessing enthusiasm, positive attitude, and be a self-starter with the ability to instill the same in others.

Special Instructions to Applicants:

Applications must be submitted electronically through the University of Dayton Human Resources on or before October 23, 2022 (employment.udayton.edu). Please be prepared to furnish at least three professional references. To apply please submit a cover letter addressing each minimum qualification and any applicable preferred qualifications that you meet.

Address inquiries to Melissa Longino at mlongino1@udayton.edu or 937/229.2701.

A federal court on December 7, 2021, issued a ruling that suspends the COVID-19 vaccine requirement that applies to federal contractors nationwide. With this development, the University will pause any enforcement action against employees who have not complied with the requirement to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8, 2021 or to have requested an exemption to maintain their employment status.

The University will continue to monitor the state of the pandemic on campus and in the community as well as developments in federal and state requirements, and also will continue to regularly consult with public health officials and our medical panel. As has been the case throughout the pandemic, our protocols and requirements are subject to change depending on conditions on campus or in our community, and government requirements.

Closing Statement:

Informed by its Catholic and Marianist mission, the University is committed to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Informed by this commitment, we seek to increase diversity, achieve equitable outcomes, and model inclusion across our campus community. As an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer, we will not discriminate against minorities, women, protected veterans, individuals with disabilities, or on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.