Director of Parks and Open Space

The Town of Brookline, a culturally diverse community of 62,000 surrounded on three sides by Boston, is accepting applications for the Director of Parks and Open Space position. The Town of Brookline has an exceptional network of historically significant, well-maintained, and beautifully designed parks and open spaces that are highly valued community assets critical to our residents' quality of life.

The Director reports to the Public Works Commissioner and is responsible for managing, organizing, and directing all activities of the Parks and Open Space Division, including the planning, design, acquisition, construction, and maintenance of Town parks, playgrounds, cemeteries, street and park trees, school grounds, town grounds, athletic fields, conservation areas, and small green open spaces. The Division administers environmental laws and policies, open space protection and management, water resources management, and open space planning initiatives and is responsible for weather-related emergency response operations, including snow, ice, forestry and severe storm events. A demonstrated leadership role that prioritizes diversity and inclusion; the Director coordinates park and open space projects and operations with all Public Works Divisions, other Town Departments, boards, commissions, and outside agencies to ensure the professional and timely completion of Division goals and initiatives.

The Director of Parks and Open Space oversees the management of fifty (50) full and part-time technical, operations, labor and administrative staff, maintains labor relations, and monitors the tracking/reporting of all work functions. The Director assures the Division has adequate resources to fulfill its mission through proper budgeting, planning, partnerships, grants, contractual services, personnel selection, training, and development. The Director is responsible for preparing and updating the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) budget, successful execution of projects and providing oversight of expenditures. The Park and Open Space Division CIP's 6-year budget through FY 2030 is estimated at over $25 million.

The Director plans the Division's seasonal and long-range work program, facilitates extensive public review processes, oversees the development of stewardship and maintenance plans for the care of open space, and acts as a technical advisor and liaison to several Town agencies and boards. The Director researches, develops, and implements policies, procedures, and practices to accomplish objectives, provides best in class services and programs; prepares reports, and makes appropriate recommendations. The Director presents projects, interprets policies, and addresses issues and concerns at meetings, often outside regular working hours during evenings and weekends, and provides staff support for the Town's Park and Recreation Commission, Cemetery Trustees, and Tree Planting Committee; and acts as a liaison with the Brookline Greenspace Alliance and others as appropriate.

Job Requirements

This position requires a Master's Degree in horticulture, planning, engineering, natural resource management, forestry or related field; with at least ten years of experience designing, planning, and directing the operation and maintenance of public lands and forestry at the management level; or any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience. The job requires an individual who:

• Has exceptional management abilities, values teamwork and staff development;
• Is creative, has excellent organizational skills and flexibility to perform a wide variety of tasks;
• Works collaboratively and strategically towards providing services to the community;
• Demonstrates strong capital improvement program experience and success in delivering projects on time and on budget in a hands-on environment;
• Successfully prepares, receives and administers State and Federal grants;
• Has extensive knowledge of principles, methods and practices as applied to public parks, open space and civic projects, maintenance activities, planning, development, design and construction;
• Understands Federal, State, and local laws or regulations, including OSHA and EPA, and Town procedures affecting land development, management and protection;
• Demonstrates experience in leading environmentally proactive practices and technologies to reduce the Town's impact on climate change;
• Values and supports a diverse and inclusive work environment;
• Understands the principles and practices of policy development and implementation;
• Possesses outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write extensive reports and to provide effective presentations to small and large groups;
• Manages professional, labor and support staff to ensure that work products are completed to a high standard and on schedule;
• Is an exceptional and proactive communicator, both internally and externally, who thrives in a high touch customer service environment with demonstrated experience with community engagement including web and social media;
• Effective leadership and vision for long range planning and policy development; and,
• Understands the principles of human resource management, supervision, training, and performance evaluation.

The Ideal Candidate

In addition to the technical requirements of the job, the ideal candidate:

• Is comfortable working in a Town with significant public process, that demands sophistication, sensitivity, accountability, and high-quality work;
• Will quickly grasp and embrace the values of the Town of Brookline;
• Understands the needs and abilities of staff and employs strategies to build a strong team;
• Is forward-thinking and can use this skill in developing a detailed long-term capital asset plan and strategy for the six-year Capital Improvement Program;
• Will effectively drive the successful completion of the Town's scheduled capital improvement projects;
• Adeptly manages a well-functioning Parks and Open Space services team;
• Is a proactive, innovative, and practical problem solver;
• Models behavior expected throughout the Department, including a strong work ethic, high level of motivation and initiative, commitment to quality, dedication to diversity and inclusion and uncompromising integrity;
• Has a strong customer service orientation and will take extra steps whenever possible to actively problem-solve with stakeholders
• Understands the recreational, social, and cultural needs of the community
• Excellent management and leadership skills; and,
• Will be a trusted, valued and productive member of the senior leadership team of the Department of Public Works.

Compensation & Benefits

The salary range for this position is $128,284 - $151,112. The Town of Brookline offers an attractive compensation and benefit package. The position is open until filled. Please apply with confidential resume and letter of interest.