Assistant Director of Outdoor Pursuits

Position Overview

KU RECREATION SERVICES, a department within Student Affairs, provides a campus-wide impact by improving the quality of life for all students, faculty, staff, affiliates, retirees, alumni, spouses, and domestic partners through our fitness and wellness initiatives. RECREATION SERVICES offers state‑of‑the‑art recreational programs, facilities, and services. The University of Kansas RECREATION SERVICES department seeks an Assistant Director of Outdoor Pursuits to manage and support the Outdoor Pursuits program, contributing to core values of Community, Excellence, Experience, Growth, and Integrity.

Programs include Fitness, Intramurals, Sport Clubs, and Outdoor Pursuits. The Assistant Director will oversee a program that serves up to 900 participants and 5,000 participation events, and will manage 20 student employees.

• Provide leadership for the rock wall, rental center, and trip program through the following:
  Recruitment, selection, training, supervision, payroll, risk management and evaluation of student program managers, wall assistants, and route setters.
• Create a schedule for the rock climbing wall that is open for 30+ hours per week.
• Schedule Climbing Wall activities and special events including marketing to revenue-producing off‑campus groups.
• Work closely with the Rock Climbing Club during their use of wall, including the development of risk management practices.
• Research industry trends and assess new and current programming.
• Make recommendations for changes to the programs that are safe and fiscally responsible.
• Assist the Assistant Director of Marketing in promoting the program.
• Plan and schedule 4-6 educational workshops throughout the year.
• Develop a comprehensive risk management plan for the program.
• Create annual program reports for participation, injuries, and incidents.
• Develop annual budgets of approximately $70,000.
• Develop annual schedule for rock the wall and equipment rental center.
• Teach American Heart CPR/AED classes for department employees.

• Develop, implement, maintain and evaluate a comprehensive student leadership program.
• Develop structured workshops, curriculum, and programs.
• Facilitate training on leadership theories and styles.
• Create intentional learning outcomes tied to student employment experiences.
• Support career readiness initiatives (resume, mock interviews, transferable skills).
• Update student staff manual and establish a leadership pipeline.

• Conceptualize, develop, and implement ongoing departmental and unit assessment and data collection program.
• Collect and maintain needed data and statistics related to the mission of the department and communicate monthly with Student Affairs.
• Member of the Student Affairs Assessment Committee.

• High School diploma or GED equivalency and five years related experience OR Bachelor's degree plus one year related experience.
• One year of programming experience to include supervision, organizational tasks and training, as evidenced in application materials.
• Excellent written communication skills as evidenced by the application materials.

• Master's degree in Recreation, Sports Administration, Health/Physical Education, Exercise Science, Higher Education or related field.
• Demonstrated knowledge and management of an outdoor pursuits program as evidenced in the application materials.
• Experience supervising staff, as evidenced in application materials.
• Work experience in a university setting, as evidenced in application materials.
• Experience in the administration of a similarly sized comprehensive outdoor pursuits program, as evidenced in application materials.
• Professional involvement such as presenting or committee work, particularly involvement with organizations such as AORE, NIRSA, NRPA, NASPA or ACPA, as evidenced in application materials.
• Team-oriented and independent to work on multiple tasks, as evidenced in application materials.
• Experience with computer applications such as Fusion, When to Work, Connect2
  
  Concepts or Connect2, as evidenced in application materials.
• Experience with program budgets and risk management procedures, as evidenced in application materials.
• Certification as an instructor for American Heart Association CPR/AED training, or current CPR/AED certification with a willingness to obtain instructor certification within one month of the start date.

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