Trails Program Coordinator (Part Time)

The Position

The Community:

The City of Carlsbad is ideally situated in north San Diego County where a great climate, beautiful beaches and lagoons, and abundant natural open space combine with world-class resorts, family attractions, well planned neighborhoods, excellent schools, and a charming village atmosphere to create the ideal California experience. Covering nearly 40 square miles, the City of Carlsbad is currently home to about 115,000 residents. Thanks to an award-winning growth management plan, the city's infrastructure and services keep pace with development and promote an excellent quality of life. A full-service city, Carlsbad has its own police and fire services, a water district, parks and recreation, and library and cultural arts departments, in addition to standard administrative and public works functions. Known for its financial stability, the city maintains an AAA credit rating and has a substantial general fund reserve balance.

DEI Statement:

The City of Carlsbad embraces diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and recognizes the vital relationship of a culturally diverse, engaged work environment and innovative excellence. A diverse, equitable and inclusive work climate comprises personal experiences, values, and views shaped from differences of culture and circumstance. Our organization appreciates belonging, creativity, recognition and retention of its employees and is committed to hiring and developing motivated, productive and talented employees who provide services and enhance our quality of life. We work to embrace open and equitable access to opportunities for learning and development as our responsibility and goal.

The Department :

The Parks & Recreation Department offers a wide range of programs and services including youth and adult sports, instructional classes, camps, aquatics, preschool, teen and senior programs and special events. The department also maintains over 51 miles of beautiful trails that are accessible year around.

Citywide Trails Program Mission Statement : The citywide trails program strives to meet the leisure and recreational needs of Carlsbad residents while protecting and preserving open space and costal resources in accordance with the City of Carlsbad General Plan.

The Position :

From an easy stroll along one of our lagoons to a more challenging hike amongst our many foothills; there are many options for our residents and visitors when deciding where to hike. The person selected for this position will be responsible overseeing the City of Carlsbad Trails Program, including coordinating trails volunteers with applicable maintenance staff, and ensuring that our trails system is kept in good condition for the optimal enjoyment of the community.

Key Responsibilities

• Under supervision of the Parks Superintendent, assist with planning, set up, and management of multiple trails volunteer events, such as trails workdays, ranging from small groups (4-8 people) to large groups (30-50 people), quarterly volunteers’ meetings, and periodic community hikes.
• Provide face-to-face volunteer coordination, suggest program improvements (i.e. volunteer training, trail inspection program, trail user feedback, trail use monitoring software) recommend and suggest guidelines and procedures for assigned responsibilities.
• Create marketing plan, maps and various documentation for trails volunteer events.
• Select equipment and supplies for program and activities; prepare routine administrative reports.
• Assist on trail maintenance projects and events through training, oversight, scheduling, and hands-on support; respond to requests and inquiries from the general public and relevant partner organizations
• Coordinate related projects to ensure that the goals and objectives of trails program are met by performing the duties personally or through other team members / staff.
• Recruit, train and schedule volunteers for the program.
• Perform related duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

Knowledge of:

• Professional presentations and effective public speaking.
• Methods, processes, and procedures used in volunteer programs and volunteer event planning.
• Professional communication techniques, both oral and in writing.
• Organizational strategies and task implementation processes.
• Principles of leading and/or supervising staff and providing guidance to volunteers.
• Safe work practices and regulatory compliance obligations.
• Public relations, marketing practices and community outreach.
• Trail Maintenance techniques and appropriate state and local regulations that impact trail maintenance and operations, such as the California State Parks Trail Design and Maintenance Guidelines.

Ability to:

• Effectively organize and schedule volunteer programs.
• Proficiently use computers and related software applications (MS Office: Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint).
• Manage programs and projects, including monitoring resources and results.
• Communicate well with others, including interaction with coworkers, supervisors, volunteers and the general public.
• Implement program assignments and make adjustments in current and future programs.
• Work in an outdoor environment, including hiking over uneven terrain and performing maintenance on trails.

Experience & Education

• Must have high school diploma or G.E.D; some college coursework preferred.
• Minimum 1 year of experience and/or training performing duties comparable to a Program Coordinator, preferably supplemented by college level courses in parks and recreation, general education, or related field.
• Experience working with the public.
• Experience administering and implementing basic maintenance / improvements; preferably in an outdoor setting, such as trails. Necessary Special Requirement: Possession of an appropriate California Driver’s License.