Assistant Director, Campus Recreation

Details

Posted: 18-Feb-25

Location: Flagstaff, Arizona

Type: Full Time

Salary: 67714

Categories

Associate Director

Internal Number: 608284

Reporting to the Director of Campus Recreation, the Assistant Director provides strategic oversight of the Outdoor Adventures program, ensuring delivery of innovative, high-quality programs and services that align with the department's mission and goals, and includes the supervision of the Manager and Coordinator of Outdoor Adventures. In addition to program leadership, the Assistant Director fosters and strengthens academic partnerships across campus, promoting collaboration between academic units and Campus Recreation to support student recruitment, retention, and overall success. The Assistant Director also leads the development, implementation, and monitoring of comprehensive risk management processes and procedures, ensuring the highest standards of safety and operational excellence across all Campus Recreation programs and services.

This position emphasizes continuous improvement, leveraging data-informed insights to enhance existing initiatives, streamline operations, and design new processes that contribute to an effective, efficient, and dynamic team environment.

Program Management & Development - 40%

• Oversee a comprehensive outdoor recreation program, including an equipment rental service, challenge course, adventure trips, and guide training initiatives.
• Makes and approves decisions within outdoor adventures program area, academic partnerships, risk management, and training. This includes oversight of designated budget areas.
• Collaborate with staff and faculty to develop co-curricular learning and career readiness opportunities, enhancing leadership development, student retention, and post-graduation readiness through outdoor adventure programming.
• Develop and implement civic engagement programs, integrating service-learning initiatives and creating academic collaborations to support for-credit service learning and outdoor leadership courses.
• Design and evaluate training programs and leadership competencies for Campus Recreation student staff.
• Utilize assessment data to evaluate program impact, inform decision-making, and drive innovation.
• Develop and offer CPR and First Aid course offerings to academic units and other program areas across campus.
  
  

Team Management and Development - 20%

• Works closely with Campus Recreation Director for all hiring and performance management decisions within the outdoor adventure program area.
• Supervise and mentor the Manager and Coordinator of Outdoor Adventures, ensuring adherence to established risk management protocols, student travel policies, and safety procedures.
• Supervises two full-time staff members and approximately 25–30 student and/or part-time employees, fostering a collaborative and inclusive team environment.
• Recruit and supervise interns from various academic units to participate in Campus Recreation internship opportunities.
• Facilitate reflective learning experiences for student leaders, promoting the integration of leadership skills into future endeavors.
• Ensure that projects are executed within the established budget.
• Assign staff to projects based on their strengths, interests, skillsets, and professional/personal growth needs. Balance workload and assignments and identify professional development opportunities for skill building.
• Set objectives for projects and assignments, provide coaching, guidance, and feedback through project/assignment lifecycle, and review and approve work products.
• Leads the design and implementation of comprehensive training and leadership development initiatives for all Campus Recreation staff, ensuring consistent professional growth, skill enhancement, and adherence to departmental standards.
  
  

Risk Management and Compliance - 20%

• Lead the development, implementation, and monitoring of risk management processes and procedures, ensuring compliance with safety standards across all Campus Recreation programs.
• Provide guidance on risk management and safety protocols, offering expertise on outdoor recreation best practices.
• Oversee comprehensive training program for all campus recreation staff to ensure everyone is certified in CPR and first aid.
• Ensure compliance with applicable university, state, and federal policies and regulations related to outdoor recreation and student programming.
  
  

Academic Partnerships and Collaboration - 15%

• Cultivate and maintain partnerships with academic units to promote collaboration between Campus Recreation and academic departments.
• Work with university faculty and staff to integrate outdoor recreation programming with academic initiatives to support student success and retention.
• Serve as a liaison to relevant campus and community organizations, representing Campus Recreation in meetings, committees, and collaborative initiatives.
  
  

Other - 5%

• Participates in division and department meetings.
• Participate in university-wide and Student Affairs division committees and work groups to advance institutional goals.
• Engage in professional organizations such as NIRSA, NASPA, and/or ACPA to remain informed of emerging trends and contribute to the advancement of the recreation profession.
• Perform other duties as assigned, supporting departmental and divisional objectives.
  
  

Work Environment

• Working indoors in an office environment for 80% of the position. 20% is standing working at in-person career development events.
• Working nights or weekends 2 to 6 days per month.
  
  

Knowledge

• Knowledge of college student learning and development, health and wellness, and recreational sports theories and models.
• Knowledge of supervisory practices and principles.
• Knowledge of risk management standards, policies, and practices.
• Knowledge of recruitment techniques and laws related to internships and employment.
• Knowledge of higher education administrative systems and related business principles.
• Knowledge of higher education law, including FERPA, Title IX, etc.
  
  

Skills

• Group facilitation skills.
• Organizational and project management skills.
• Strong computer skills, including competence using Microsoft Office programs (for example, but not limited to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams).
• Conflict resolution and customer service skills.
• People management skills.
• Interpersonal, collaborative, and team-building skills.
  
  

Abilities

• Able to alter course/direction when necessary.
• Possesses strong leadership practices.
• Communicates effectively.
• Strong problem solving, organizational, and analytical capabilities.
• Self-motivated and able to work independently.
• Ability to work successfully with highly diverse students, colleagues, and partners.
  
  

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About Northern Arizona University

Northern Arizona University is a residential campus of over 25,000 students, located at 7,000 feet in Flagstaff Arizona. NAU is surrounded by forests, mountains, lakes, and miles of hiking & biking trails, all within a short drive of Phoenix or Grand Canyon National Park. It is an excellent city and university in which to live and work, and we are excited to grow our professional recreation staff with the addition of this position.Our Recreation Center is located within the 335,000 square foot Health and Learning Center (HLC), opened in 2011. This unique building engages students in holistic learning by integrating recreation, health services, athletics, and classrooms into one central location. Opened in February 2016, the Aquatic & Tennis Center features two world class pools and six indoor tennis courts, with six additional outdoor tennis courts as well as an outdoor grass playing field. The department also features three outdoor sports facilities and an outdoor challenge course. www.nau.edu/recreation

Connections working at Northern Arizona University

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