Recreation Manager

Located in California’s great Central Valley, Stockton has grown from a community with rich agricultural roots to an urban destination with a rich arts and culture scene, fine dining, shopping, sports, recreation, and family activities. With a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural population of over 320,000 residents, Stockton is the 11th largest city in California. It is centrally located 60 miles east of the San Francisco Bay Area and 45 miles south of Sacramento, offering an easy and scenic drive to numerous world-famous attractions such as Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, and the California Coast. In addition, Stockton has many local natural resources, including the San Joaquin Delta.

Stockton is home to the Stockton Center, San Joaquin Delta College, and a variety of private and vocational schools. The city offers year-round events and cultural attractions, including the award-winning Stockton Flavor Fest, the Brubeck Jazz Festival, the Haggin Museum, the historic Bob Hope (Fox California) Theatre, the Children’s Museum of Stockton, and the Stockton Symphony. The 10,000-seat waterfront Stockton Arena hosts the Stockton Kings, G-League affiliate of the NBA Sacramento Kings, while the nearby Banner Island Ballpark—consistently ranked among the nation’s top minor league ballparks—is home to the Stockton Ports, a single-A minor league affiliate of the Oakland Athletics.

The City of Stockton is a full-service charter city operating under a Council-Manager form of government. With approximately 1,790 full-time employees and a FY 2024–2025 budget of $955 million, the City is one of Stockton’s largest employers.

The City of Stockton’s Community Services Department is committed to building a healthy, active, and connected community by delivering high-quality, innovative recreation programs and services for all. Through integrity, innovation, inclusion, collaboration, and service excellence, we create welcoming spaces where children, teens, families, and adults thrive.

The Recreation Division takes pride in exceptional customer service and in designing responsive programs that reflect the evolving needs of Stockton’s diverse residents. We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Recreation Manager to provide visionary leadership with a strong emphasis on youth and teen engagement, sports programming, aquatics, and comprehensive recreation services. The incumbent will develop and implement structured staff training, mentorship, succession planning, and performance management systems to strengthen organizational capacity. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker and hands-on leader who understands the power of recreation in advancing public safety, youth development, workforce readiness, and overall quality of life.

The Recreation Manager oversees the operations of citywide recreation programs and facilities, providing leadership in planning, implementation, and evaluation of a broad spectrum of services. This role carries significant responsibility for:

• Children, youth and teen development initiatives
• Competitive and recreational sports programs
• Aquatics operations and safety compliance
• Community-based recreation programming across multiple sites

The Recreation Manager is a division level manager responsible for operations of the City’s recreation programs and facilities. The incumbent is responsible for developing goals and objectives, supervising staff, administering, and monitoring the Division’s budget, and directing day-to-day activities. Assignments allow for a high degree of administrative discretion and judgment in their execution. 

• Directs the implementation of goals, long-range plans, objectives, policies, procedures, and work standards for the Recreation Division.
• Implements and directs a broad recreational program of activities and services for children, youth, and adults.
• Administers and monitors the Division’s budget.
• Plans, organizes, assigns, reviews, evaluates, and directs the work of staff; selects personnel and provides for their training and professional development.
• Works closely with other departments and City staff to provide comprehensive recreation services to City residents and to solve a broad range of service delivery, community, and administrative problems.
• Develops, revises, and implements administrative programs and procedures, including workload planning and assignments, computerization, and physical space allocation.
• Coordinates, delegates, and follows up on the work of assigned staff; sets work priorities and coordinates and schedules assignments.
• Advises the Deputy Director of Community Services - Recreation on aspects of recreation program and facility planning; presents and justifies proposed plans, plan revisions, and recommendations.
• Surveys the community to determine recreation needs and implements programs to satisfy these needs.
• Evaluates and monitors Citywide and regional recreation programs and recommends improvements.
• Prepares a variety of periodic and special reports related to recreation programs and activities; develops and writes manuals and instruction procedures.
• Recruits and trains volunteers to assist in recreational programs and events.
• Represents the Division on committees, boards, and commissions in the absence of the Deputy Director of Community Services - Recreation.

Education/Experience:

Possession of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university with major course work in recreation, physical education, or a related field; AND three (3) years of supervisory experience in recreation which has included recreation program planning and administration.

Other Requirements:

Must possess a valid California driver’s license.

Knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of recreation program planning, development, implementation, and administration;
• Principles of budgetary administration and control;
• Principles, practices, and methods of needs assessments and program evaluation;
• Public recreation trends and community needs and resources;
• Principles and methods of administration, including goal setting, policy and procedure development, work and program evaluation, and employee work supervision;
• Theories, principles, methods, and equipment used in recreation operations and maintenance;
• Rules, regulations, and ordinances pertaining to recreation programs and facilities; and
• Principles of prevention and intervention; practices and methods of implementation.

Skill in:

• Planning, organizing, assigning, directing, reviewing, and evaluating the work of assigned staff;
• Selecting, motivating, and evaluating staff and providing for their training and professional development;
• Developing and implementing goals, objectives, policies, procedures, work standards, and internal controls;
• Planning, organizing, and implementing multi-faceted recreation programs and activities;
• Identifying community recreational needs and recommending alternative or enhanced programs;
• Exercising sound independent judgment within general guidelines;
• Preparing, clear, concise, and complete reports and other written correspondence;
• Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of the work; and
• Developing cooperative working relationships with other agencies or organizations.

Physical/Mental Abilities:

• Mobility – Occasional sitting, walking, bending, squatting, climbing, kneeling, crawling, and twisting;
• Lifting – Occasional lifting and carrying of 40 pounds or less;
• Vision – Ability to read fine and normal type size and detect color; ability to read and see visual display terminals; ability to read and produce printed material and information displayed on a visual display terminal;
• Hearing/Talking – Ability to detect specific noises, proper equipment operation; ability to understand what people are saying in normal conversation, over the telephone, and frequently over noise;
• Dexterity – Occasional power grasping with either hand, pushing and pulling with either hand, reaching; frequent fingering, simple grasping, and fine manipulation with either hand;
• Special Requirements – Must be able to work occasional evening, nights, and weekends; frequent driving;
• Emotional/Psychological –  Must be able to concentration, make decisions, work with the public, exercise sound judgment, handle stressful situations, and work alone;
• Environmental Conditions – Must be able to work in outdoor conditions, and walk on uneven ground; and
• Working Conditions – Must be able to work in an office environment and out of doors.

This class specification should not be interpreted as all inclusive. It is intended to identify the essential functions and requirement of this job. Incumbents may be requested to perform job-related responsibilities and tasks other than those stated in this specification. Any essential function or requirement of this class will be evaluated as necessary should an incumbent/applicant be unable to perform the function or requirement due to a disability as defined by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). Reasonable accommodation for the specific disability will be made for the incumbent/applicant when possible.