Full Text
Director of Vibrant Community and Neighborhoods A r v a d a , C o l o r a d o ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 I City of Arvada - Director of Vibrant Community and Neighborhoods Nestled near the base of the majestic Rocky Mountains, Arvada is a large city with a small- town vibe. A suburb of Denver, Arvada is home to nearly 120,000 people who enjoy a vast array of indoor and outdoor recreational opportunities throughout the year, a highly rated school system, a safe community, and easy access to the entire metropolitan area by highway or rail. Arvadans have educational levels, incomes, and home ownership rates higher than both the state and national averages. Arvada supports a dynamic and varied business community in sectors ranging from medical and manufacturing to bio-science and energy. Arvada is known for its historic Olde Town area. This area, served directly by commuter rail from downtown Denver, features quaint shops and interesting entertainment venues. Spurred on by commercial and residential growth, Olde Town is home to a growing variety of restaurants and a vibrant bar and brewery scene. Arvada’s parks system, in existence for 100 years, has grown to include dozens of parks and outdoor recreational spaces. Arvada boasts 5,232 acres of park properties, including more than 93 neighborhood parks, five community parks, and one regional park facility. These parks offer a mix of active sports fields and passive recreation areas. Arvada also features nine special purpose parks, including an equestrian center, an off-leash dog park, and even a park for model airplane enthusiasts. Arvada is home to Two Ponds National National Wildlife Refuge and the Majestic View Nature Center. In addition, Arvada has seven sports complexes featuring world-class soccer, baseball, hockey, basketball, tennis, and swimming facilities. Arvada is home to three golf courses, including the 27-hole West Woods golf course and its award-winning club facility. Together with more than 154 miles of off-street trails and nearly 4000 acres of parks and open space, Arvada offers unmatched recreational opportunities to its residents _ and with hundreds of days of sunshine, Arvadans enjoy these opportunities year-round. Arvada is home to a wide variety of cultural and historic facilities. The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, a multi-disciplinary arts center featuring highly acclaimed musical theater performances, dramatic plays, a sculpture garden and art galleries, and a museum. The Center offers hundreds of arts, dance, and other specialized classes each year. Gold was first discovered in Colorado in Arvada in 1850; Arvada’s Gold Strike Park commemorates this event. Served by Jefferson and Adams counties public schools, Arvada is home to five high schools. The State’s flagship university, the University of Colorado (Boulder) is nearby, and Red Rocks Community College maintains a campus in the city. The Community ---PAGE BREAK--- City of Arvada - Director of Vibrant Community and Neighborhoods I 3 Founded in 1904, Arvada is a home rule city with a Council-Manager form of government. There are seven members of City Council: the Mayor, two councilmembers elected at large, and four members elected from a single district. The City Council adopts multi-year strategic plans and sets priority areas for the City. The City’s priority areas are: Community and Economic Development, Infrastructure, Vibrant Community and Neighborhoods, Safe Community, and Organizational and Service Effectiveness. Arvada provides a variety of essential services to residents through its municipal court, community and economic development (planning), parks, police, public works, and utilities departments. Several internal support service departments including human resources, finance, and the innovation and technology management department assist in accomplishing the City’s mission. Fire protection services and certain recreational services in Arvada have historically been provided to residents by partner organizations. The City employs just over 777 full-time employees and 300 temporary/ part-time employees; many of which fall within Vibrant Community and Neighborhoods. These positions support Parks Maintenance, Arvada Reservoir, and Majestic View Nature Center. Its total budget is $22,787,605. Arvada continuing journey strives for excellence and has been recognized with both the “Foothills” and the “Timberline” performance awards by the Institute. The City’s vision statement is: We dream big and deliver. This encapsulates the City’s “can-do” attitude. The City has adopted an integrated work system model in which the work of city employees is based on strategic standards and results closely aligned with the City’s priority areas. This approach encourages collaboration and enhances communication across departments; it also works to reduce redundancies in processes. The Organization Every City employee is expected to perform their job to the highest professional standards. This includes upholding the City’s values and expectations of integrity and accountability, acting in a manner that is respectful and inclusive towards others, and adhering to the City’s policy on conduct as detailed in the personnel rules sec. 70-143. Vision: We Dream Big and Deliver Mission: We are dedicated to delivering superior services to enhance the lives of everyone in our community. Values: Innovation: We excel in creativity, flexibility and the use of best practices while valuing diverse backgrounds, ideas and perspective Passion: We are a high performing, inclusive team inspiring each other to pursue excellence. Opportunity: We value our diversity, embrace possibilities, face challenges, persevere and take action to deliver quality results. ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 I City of Arvada - Director of Vibrant Community and Neighborhoods The Director of Vibrant Community and Neighborhoods (VCN) leads Parks and Urban Design, Parks Maintenance, Golf Course Management and Maintenance, Hospitality Services, Majestic View Nature Center, sustainability, and Arts and Culture. The Director of VCN is responsible for oversight and administration of the entire work system and plays a key role in strategic planning and policy development for the City of Arvada. The Director of VCN responsibilities are broad in scope and require a high degree of managerial discretion. The Director of VCN assembles necessary resources to solve a broad range of programmatic and systemic problems in the delivery of services. The Director of VCN will have strong communication skills and will be responsible for communicating effectively with a variety of interests including but not limited to: elected officials, government, and quasigovernment representatives, board and commission members, community groups, citizens, and others as needed to perform the duties and functions of the position. The Director of VCN will be responsible for presenting information and participating in discussions with the City Council, City Manager, Executive Management Team, board and commission members, resident groups, individuals, and others on city-wide issues. The Director of VCN will serve as an effective and contributing member of the Leadership Team by providing input and counsel to the City Manager on a wide range of community wide and organizational wide topics and issues Distinguishing Features of the Position ---PAGE BREAK--- City of Arvada - Director of Vibrant Community and Neighborhoods I 5 The Ideal Candidate Our ideal candidate will have a demonstrated track record of successful collaboration on interdepartmental or team projects with proven success leading and developing a diverse team. They will display knowledge within parks, golf, hospitality, sustainability, arts and culture. They will be innovative and value diverse backgrounds, ideas, and perspectives. They will display passion to pursue excellence and promote an inclusive environment. They will embrace opportunity by facing challenges to persevere and take action to deliver quality results needed as part of our Leadership Team. The ideal candidate will have a refined ability to understand the City’s strategic and operational priorities, expectations, and needs as set forth by elected and other team leaders, and use them to prioritize and manage multiple ongoing tasks. The ideal candidate must be personable yet assertive, and serve as a politically astute representative of the City’s interests when interacting with other entities and the public. Possessing a robust work ethic and strong organizational skills, the ideal candidate will have a demonstrated knowledge of best management and safety practices, a history of successfully coaching or mentoring others, the ability to successfully delegate work, and the capacity to hold employees accountable. As a proven leader who values and supports the team, this candidate will be conscientious, diligent, and resilient. The ideal candidate will model the highest ethical standards while holding the team to the same standards, and they will exercise discretion and sensitivity in handling complex or confidential issues. The ideal candidate needs to be cooperative, collaborative, and be willing to be a part of the leadership team as their first team. ---PAGE BREAK--- 6 I City of Arvada - Director of Vibrant Community and Neighborhoods Compensation The salary range for Director of VCN is $165,240 - $225,940. Placement will depend on the successful candidates experience, qualifications and internal equity which is typically mid range. As a City employee, the Director of VCN is offered a wide range of benefits including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, as well as access to a flex spending plan, an employee assistance program, and a dedicated health care clinic. In addition, the Director of VCN participates in the executive retirement plan, and may opt into the City’s 457 plan. The Director of VCN is eligible for a variety of leave time including sick leave, vacation leave, and paid holidays. Application Process Applicants interested need to apply online: GovernmentJobs.com/careers/arvada. Please include a resume, cover letter, and preferred salary requirements. For more information about this position, contact: Annie Swan Human Resources Manager [EMAIL REDACTED] • [PHONE REDACTED] Initial Interviews are tentatively scheduled for the week of August 22, 2024.