City of Kitchener Careers

Manager, Parks and Open Space Design and Development

Competition Number

2024-524

Job Code

1218

Posting Date

November 26, 2024

Closing Date

December 10, 2024 (at 6:00pm)

Job Status

Permanent Full-Time

The City of Kitchener is a vibrant and dynamic city of approximately 292,000, in the heart of southwestern Ontario. As the largest municipality in Waterloo Region, Kitchener continues to be poised for development and growth, enhancing its reputation as a leader in city-building and innovation, with nationally recognized strategies to build its neighbourhoods, its digital infrastructure and its diverse economy.

The City of Kitchener is WHERE you want to work! Learn more about the top reasons to join us:

Why work at the City of Kitchener

Position Overview:

Leading and coordinating multi-disciplinary projects, the Manager of Parks and Open Space Design and Development ensures the delivery of park, recreation, environmental and urban design solutions throughout Kitchener. This role facilitates collaboration in planning, design, and project management within the Parks & Open Space Design & Development Team.

Responsibilities:

• Provide leadership to ensure the design, development and project management of an annual capital works program in parks, trails and open space project delivery.
• Responsible for planning and assigning resources to the 10 year capital forecast to meet parks and city strategic directions and goals.
• Provide leadership and mentoring to full-time and contract staff within the team.
• Supervise project manager/landscape architects responsible for contracts for tendered projects, providing technical direction, quality assurance inspections, issuing PO’s, payments, and ensuring adherence to contract schedules, specifications, and budgets. 
• Lead, develop and ensure compliance with process, practice and policy to support project delivery success and lead an efficient and effective team.
• Responsibility for works within and influence on an annual capital budget of between $5M - $10M.
• Coordinate and ensure consistency of response to plans of subdivision, site plan and development related applications as they impact trails, forestry and parks and open spaces.
• Provide oversight and leadership for a complex program of projects concurrently of various scales.
• Contribute toward the delivery of messages to the Corporate Leadership Team, Council and Caucus through written reports, emails and verbally.
• Provide leadership in establishing high quality engagement and consultation with communities.
• Deliver a range of parks and open space design functions in collaboration across City divisions and departments that are aligned with various strategies to include (but not limited to) the Parks and Open Space Strategy, Sustainable Urban Forest Strategy, Cycling and Trails Master Plan, the Leisure’s Facilities Master Plan and other such strategies as developed from time to time.
• Prepare and oversee the development of parks related tender documents (RFT, RFP, RFI) including cost estimates, in compliance with the city’s procurement bylaw.
• Ensure the work of contractors and trades are compliant to project specification, budgets and timelines.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Requirements:

• 4-year Honours degree in landscape architecture, urban planning, environmental science, or other relevant discipline.
• Professional designation (with stamp) as a Landscape Architect in good standing per the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects Act.
• Minimum 4-7 years of related experience.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to communicate within team, other teams, divisions and departments, members of the public and media.
• Professional designation as a Project Manager, in good standing with the Project Management Institute (PMI) an asset.
• Demonstrated experience successfully managing teams overseeing a broad range of complex and high-profile projects with multidisciplinary issues and extensive community engagement.
• Must be comfortable in high pressure situations and demonstrate agility in adapting to evolving planning frameworks and community expectations.
• Demonstrated excellence in communication and engagement skills with ability to manage community engagement on controversial park development projects and initiatives with empathy and transparency to foster trust and relationship building with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Must have strong interpersonal and public relations skills; including well developed promotion, presentation skills and media relations.
• Must have an MTO Class “G” driver’s license in good standing with personal vehicle which can be used for City business.
• Reliable with a good attitude and employment record.

The City of Kitchener is committed to an equity-driven, inclusive, accessible, and barrier-free recruitment and selection process, and to ensuring our workforce reflects the full diversity of the community we serve. We welcome applications from Indigenous, Black, racialized and 2SLGBTQ+ persons, as well as other equity deserving groups.

We will accommodate the needs of applicants under the Human Rights Code and Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) throughout all stages of the recruitment and selection process. Please contact Human Resources at [email protected], or 519-741-2200 ext. 7261 to make your needs known, so that we can support your full and equal participation throughout the hiring process.

We appreciate the interest of all applicants. Only candidates whose skills, experience and qualifications meet the requirements of the position will be contacted.

Please note that as per Human Resources Policy HUM-HIR-110, "Employment of Relatives of Staff Members and Elected Officials":

"The immediate relatives of staff of the Human Resources Division, all Directors, General Managers, or the Chief Administrative Officer and Elected Officials shall not be employed by the City in any capacity.

The immediate relatives of all other Management personnel shall not be employed where such employment would be:

1. within the same Department in the case of permanent full-time, temporary full-time and part-time classifications.

2. within the same Division in the case of students."

Department

Infrastructure Services

Division

Parks and Cemeteries

Union Affiliation

Non-Union/Management

Number of Positions

1

Hours of Work

35 hours per week, Monday to Friday

Location

Initial Location

Kitchener Operations Facility 

City

Kitchener

Compensation

Salary Range

$129,788 annually

Grade/Band

11 (under review)