Admin, Business & Management Operations

Wage: $24-$27 per hour, based on experience and qualifications (2016 rate)

Education and Experience

• Experience/knowledge on invasive plant identification and treatment
• Past supervision and work planning experience
• Industrial Vegetation/Noxious Weed Pesticide Applicator Certification (optional)

Skills

• Valid Class 5 (or 4) BC Driver’s License (required)
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Ability to travel and work in variable environmental conditions
• Strong and effective communications skills
• Ability to read maps and operate a GPS unit
• Experience working with online databases and/or IAPP
• Practical field experience or certification, or working towards a technical diploma or
• degree in natural resource science
• Current WCB Level 1 First Aid certification (preferred)
• Experience with the Microsoft Office Suite- Word, Excel or PowerPoint

I’m Dave Turner. I’ve worked as a Parks Section Manager for the City of North Vancouver, BC, and before that the Town of Caledon, Ontario for the past 26 years. Here is my story…

Q: What do you love about your job?

A: I love working with the people in parks and recreation. I love that I have the freedom to go outside and inspect our parks and trails frequently. I love it when we make the city look great and when we hold great events in the parks.

Q: How did you come to decide to pursue a career in this occupation?

A: I acquired a degree in Landscape Architecture and started working for a design/build/maintain firm whose main client was one of the largest developers and managers of luxury condominiums in Mississauga and Brampton. From there I moved into the public sector as Supervisor of Parks Operations and Development in Caledon.

Q: What are good traits or skills that someone should have when considering this career?

A: You need to be able to stay calm when everything seems to be falling apart. It’s a position that’s in the public eye so you have to be able to handle criticism and need to be able to motivate staff to perform well. There’s plenty of human resource aspects to the job and you have to be good at managing budgets.

Q: What advice would you give someone considering a career in the Parks Sector?

A: You can’t really beat the work but if pressure gets to you then consider something else. The good times are great but you will be dealing with large numbers of people and in the public eye so it can be too much for some. On the plus side how can you beat being a key person in helping to make a city look great!

Q: Do you have any hiring practices tips to share?

A: I think getting a strong grounding in the private sector as a manager of a landscape company is a good approach. It will help you gain the experience in dealing with the pressure and all of the people, financial and service provision aspects that will come into play in the public sector managers role.

As the ideal candidate you will bring a combination of vision leadership and guidance with directing the operations and administration of Parks and Recreation Services.

Education and Experience

• a Degree in a relevant discipline such as Public or Business Administration or Recreation Services
• You will have along with 10-15 years’ experience leading diverse and complex projects and teams
• You have extensive experience of Recreation Operations, ideally in a municipal government setting, worked in a large, complex, Matrix organization, and have experience working in a highly unionized environment.
• Ability to look for opportunities to improve operations and approaches, and have a track record of initiating change in a positive manner.

Average Parks Supervisor Salary: $54,666

Source: payscale

Skills and Certifications

• Valid BC Class 3 Drivers License with Air Endorsement
• Playground Inspector
• Irrigation and Turf Management
• Occupational First Aid Level 1
• Certificate of Apprenticeship or Trades Qualification Certificate in Horticulture

Experience and Education

• Grade 12, supplemented by up to 6 months of related community college and / or technical certification
• A minimum of 3 years of related experience including experience in turf management, irrigation, equipment operation, minor sports field layout and trail maintenance
• Strong supervisory skills and experience
• Excellent communication skills (both oral and written)

Annual Salary: $73,279 to $95,569 (2016 rate)

I’m Len Walters. I’m the Superintendent of Parks Operation for the City of Langley, where I’ve worked for the past 17 years. Before that I was with Vancouver Parks for 22 years. Here is my story…

Q: What do you love about your job?

A: So many things. The interaction with staff and members of the community. You have an opportunity to build relationships.

Q: How did you come to decide to pursue a career in this occupation?

A: I started working for Vancouver Parks when I was 18 years old and worked up through the system. I sampled all of the positions and departments. After 10 years I realized I wanted to be in a leadership role and took night school.

Q: What are good traits or skills that someone should have when considering this career?

A: Enjoy working in the outdoors. Don’t be afraid of the rain. Have a passion for what you do.

Q: What advice would you give someone considering a career in the Parks Sector?

A: Visit Kwantlen University career days to speak to people in the field. If I had to start over I would get a diploma in horticulture and pursue supervisory and computer skills and apprenticeship (gardening). If I were to do it again I would become an arborist as well. Attend the BCRPA Annual Provincial Parks and Grounds Spring Training. This is geared to front line workers and a student rate is provided.

Q: Do you have any hiring practices tips to share?

A: Consider taking the Kwantlen University two-year horticulture program. I hire summer staff from this program. The program gives you the tools you need such as pesticide applicators’ licence and supervisory skills. It’s a broad introduction to the horticulture field.

Education

• Completion of a recognized Degree or Diploma program at a recognized college or university or Horticulture Trades Apprenticeship, or a combination of relevant education and experience.

Experience and Skills

• The successful candidate should have a minimum of six (6) to eight (8) years of experience, including three (3) to (5) years of supervisory experience with progressively increasing responsibility preferably within a public sector unionized environment.
• Demonstrated ability to operate as a member of a management team and self-directed work team, working cooperatively with front line staff, other Park Board divisions and City departments, different levels of government, bargaining units, consultants, contractors, not-forprofit organizations, associations, and the general public.
• Considerable knowledge in the core functions of park operations including horticulture, turf management, sport court and artificial turf maintenance, general grounds maintenance, ice and snow control, and traffic control.
• Extensive knowledge of the methods, materials and equipment used in park and sports field operations.
• A high level of personal and professional skills including demonstrated ability to plan work, set priorities, meet deadlines, and create and maintain accurate records.
• Considerable experience in procurement and budget management and strong working knowledge of BC Statutes, including WorkSafeBC Occupational Health and Safety regulations, Collective Agreements and other relevant legislation.
• Developed interpersonal skills including strong verbal and written communication skills, ability to train and coach others, conflict resolution, and effective customer service. Demonstrated experience in HR management, including recruiting, attendance management, performance evaluations, corrective discipline, application of collective agreements and representing the Employer at grievance hearings.
• Proficiency in the use of corporate productivity software including MS Outlook, Word, Excel, LAGAN and SAP.
• A valid B.C. Class Five (5) driver’s licence is required. The licence must not include any restrictions that would affect the ability to legally and safely carry out job responsibilities.