Division Administrator for Parks and Outdoor Recreation

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.

Please remember to attach the required documents Cover Letter and Resume listed in this announcement. Applications missing the requested documents will be considered incomplete and may not progress further in the process. Documents not requested will not be considered in the recruitment process. The State Application is not a substitute for a Resume. This position closes at 11:59 PM Mountain Time on May 27, 2024. You must apply through the State of Montana Career site.

Special Information:

Identity of applicants who become finalists may be released to the public if the Department deems it necessary. Employees who exceed 1,040 hours in a calendar year are also provided health, dental and life insurance. Other benefits include retirement, paid vacation, sick and holidays. This position may be covered by a VEBA (Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association).

A successful applicant will be subject to a background investigation. Women and minorities are under-represented in this job category and are encouraged to apply.

The Parks and Outdoor Recreation Administrator is responsible for statewide parks and outdoor recreation program development, implementation, administration, and associated outreach and communication of those programs. The position provides leadership and oversight of parks and recreation programs including historic, cultural and archaeological state resources. The position oversees water/river recreation, recreation planning, permitting, and commercial use of all FWP lands as well as maintenance of those lands including the development, management, and maintenance of infrastructure. The division manages the outdoor recreation grant programs that benefit public recreation, including recreational trails, off-highway vehicles, and snowmobiling and also provides access and recreational opportunities to all FWP lands, consistent with the primary purposes of those lands. FWP access programs for hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation on non FWP lands are also administered by this division. The incumbent will have responsibility for developing and proposing to the Fish & Wildlife Commission or the Parks and Recreation Board all recreational use rules for FWP lands, ensuring consistency, enforceability, and clarity in these rules. These shall not include hunting, trapping, or fishing regulations. In addition to supervising staff, this position is responsible for vibrant volunteer and AmeriCorps programs, which both provide tens of thousands of hours annually, equivalent to almost 30 FTE. This Administrator is also responsible for an annual budget of $25 million and a capital construction program of $6-8 million per biennium.

Job Duties:

A. Program Development

· Program Development: Develops statewide parks, access, maintenance, and recreation programs using knowledge of strategic planning, public involvement, federal and state statutes and policy, natural resource issues and management, natural resource policy development, recreation management, and federal and state budgeting.

· Program Evaluation: Ensures the periodic review of division programs and takes the lead in developing, revising as necessary, and implementing a system to review programs.

· Program Implementation: Implements and evaluates programs as directed by the director to ensure policy is consistent throughout the division.

· Coordinates statewide programs administered by the division.

B. PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

· Manages division personnel under direct/indirect supervision, using knowledge of personnel management theory, public organizational theory, and supervisory practices.

C. FISCAL MANAGEMENT /BUSINESS FUNCTIONS

· Responsible for the development, allocation, and monitoring of the State Parks and Outdoor Recreation Division program budget using knowledge of funding sources, program operations\\ state and federal budgeting process, and legislative direction.

· Prepares and presents legislative budget requests.

D. EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

· The incumbent works with other division administrators and the Director's Office to integrate the work of the department's divisions and regions so that the overall department functions in a consistent, efficient, and effective manner. Responsible for coordinating and overseeing cross functions of the department that involve multiple divisions to ensure that program direction and administration best meet the needs of the department as a whole. The incumbent identifies emerging and long-term department issues, priorities, and strategic direction.

· The incumbent serves as a member of the Department's Management Team which determines the department's strategic vision, mission and goals and which sets the framework and standards of accountability for the development and implementation of department policies and programs.

E. LEGISLATIVE/COMMISSION and BOARD/PUBLIC INFORMATION & INVOLVEMENT

· Works with the Director's office to provide testimony, prepares, and delivers presentations to the commission, board, legislature, and the public using knowledge of public involvement, federal and state statutes and policy, natural resource issues and management, natural resource policy develop ment, recreation management, and federal and state budgeting.

Physical and Environmental Demands:

Professional office environment with regular pressure to meet important deadlines. Potential stressful situations result from the demands of developing quick and precise interpretations of complex scientific principles and social and political issues in an often politically volatile public arena. Must be physically capable of keeping several projects moving toward their timely completion while still remaining available to respond to immediate and unexpected events whenever they may arise.

Hours in addition to the regular workday and work week are routinely necessary; i.e., greater than a 40-hour work week and work on weekends. Considerable travel is required, in many instances, more than 1,000 miles per month.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Requires thorough knowledge of state, regional, and national environmental and related natural resource, recreation, and access issues and their impact on Montana; considerable knowledge of natural resource and environmental technologies and principles; considerable knowledge of recreation management; considerable knowledge of personnel and program development and management concepts and practices, including identification of professional staffing requirements, recruitment and selection, training, professional development, effective delegation of authority and accountability for performance, workload planning and human motivation; knowledge of team dynamics, strategic thinking, and management theory; knowledge of management and reporting requirements and procedures. Requires skills in relationship building; collaborative problem solving and achieving consensus in groups with divergent interests; negotiating for results; facilitating meetings and resolving disputes to effectively communicate complex natural resource, recreation, and access issues to the media and general public; to plan, implement, and evaluate the achievement of agency goals, objectives, and mission; to interpret and apply federal and state statutes, past and present administrative rules, and policies governing program operations; to respond effectively to the most sensitive inquiries or complaints; to direct preparation of informational and/or persuasive speeches and articles for each intended audience; to make effective presentations on controversial or complex topics to top management, public groups, and/or public officials; to see issues in a broad perspective, tolerance for some degree of ambiguity, and the ability to share decision-making within a decentralized working environment.

Minimum Qualifications (Education and Experience):

The above knowledge, skills, and abilities are typically acquired through a combination of education and experience equivalent to a Master's degree in recreation management, natural resource management, public administration, or a related field and 10 years progressively responsible related experience with five years in a supervisory capacity. Other combinations of education and experience will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Shift: Day Job

Travel: Yes, 25 % of the Time