Park Ranger Supervisor

General Description

The Park Ranger Supervisor provides supervisory level support for the Park Ranger Program to ensure safe, enjoyable, and responsible use and stewardship of park spaces and professional internal and external customer service support. Through dedicated staff, this individual will ensure parks are programmed and given purpose to promote health and wellness, equity, inclusion, accessibility, safety, sense of belonging, and connection with the environment throughout the entire parks system.

This is a highly independent supervisory position responsible for organizing, directing, monitoring, and evaluating numerous aspects and activities of the Parks Division. This position serves as the direct supervisor for the Park Rangers, Volunteer Coordinator, Lake Access, Dogs in Parks, and Disc Golf programs. Additionally, this position is the primary point of contact for police, fire, 911-call center, community outreach teams, and park patrons.

The selected candidate will be responsible for Manager-on-Duty schedules, assignments, and trainings; ordinance evaluation and policy development; will ensure dog park and disc golf access; will work with "Adopt Ice" groups; will oversee monitoring of ice rinks and snow routes for maintenance issues; will support winter concessions; and will coordinate and oversee volunteer activities. Additionally, this position facilitates successful park special events, athletic and shelter rental experiences, and has frequent interaction with park patrons through promoting the Parks Behavioral Policy and providing onsite customer service.

Employees may be eligible for loan forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Examples of Duties and Responsibilities

• Hire, train, supervise, schedule, and evaluate full-time and part-time staff and volunteers, ensuring adequate staffing levels for operations, programs, and events.
• Oversee new employee onboarding and training.
• Approve employee payroll and process personnel actions.
• Provide staff performance feedback and make decisions on disciplinary actions and terminations.
• Conduct regular all staff, one-on-one, and on-the-spot meetings to ensure clear communication. Set expectations, share information, inspire creativity, receive feedback, and include employees' voices in planning, problem solving, and decision-making processes.
• Develop and manage operating budget and capital improvement plan.
• Ensure effective and efficient services, including administrating the Parks Behavioral Police and reviewing, analyzing, and enforcing Madison General Ordinances.
• Prepare and maintain operational reports, records, and statistics, including calls for service, areas of high incidents, special events, and sound-level monitoring.
• Review citations and manage challenging customer issues, including representing the Parks Division in Municipal Court for ordinance violation matters.
• Develop and implement process improvements to enhance staff and patron safety, increase efficiency, improve patron experiences, and establish documented operating standards.
• Make recommendations for new and existing policies.

• Ensure adequate staff coverage for night and weekend service needs.
• Serve as manager on duty for all scheduled days of work, responding to situations that occur outside of regular working hours.
• Use independent judgment to manage situations, including emergencies, as they develop, including reassigning or calling in staff as needed.
• Serve as primary point of contact to manage weekend customer service issues.
• Support special events, park athletics, shelter reservation and other recreational programs, exercising sound judgment to address complaints and requests, while providing excellent and timely customer service.
• Ensure compliance with approved conditions and park facility user expectations, maintain documentation of issues, and notify proper staff to resolve situations.
• Support winter concession operations as needed.

• Schedule proper ranger coverage to support specialized operations.
• Track and monitor Dog Park Fund and Disc Golf Fund expenditures.
• Track supply usage. Order supplies as needed.
• Coordinate repair and maintenance needs with section supervisors and Park Planning.
• Make recommendations for capital improvement needs.
• Interact with park patrons and related Friends groups that focus their needs in these areas.
• Ensure snow removal and necessary salt and sand are applied at dog parks in the winter.

• Supervise the Parks Volunteer Coordinator and assist with developing policies and procedures for volunteer opportunities.
• Respond to inquiries from various user groups, residents, and other departments or agencies.
• Communicate park volunteer opportunities to outside organizations and ensure compliance with policies and procedures.

• Oversee, enhance, and increase Ranger Program outreach initiatives, including the Junior Ranger Program and the Disc Golf Lending Program partnership with the Madison Public Library to increase park access and strengthen community relationships.
• Support the Parks Equity Action Plan and the City’s Racial Equity and Social Justice Initiative to enhance knowledge and skills in antiracism and develop an equity lens for Parks programs and services.
• Review and update manuals and standard operating procedures (SOP).
• Develop complex reports and make presentations to various boards, committees, and commissions.
• Foster clear communication to promote cross-sectional collaboration and effective resource use between service areas.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Two (2) years of experience in applying the following:
  • Training techniques;
  • Principles of directing the independent actions of staff, including assigning, supervising, and inspecting crew activities;
  • Computer software applicable to the duties of the position, including Microsoft Office, New World LERMS, Badger TraCS, and Mobile Data Terminals or comparable programs/applications; AND
  • Conflict resolution while maintaining composure, empathy, and situational awareness.

• Three (3) years of related experience in code enforcement similar to that gained as a Parks Ranger with the City of Madison.

• Associate's (or higher level) degree in a related field such as Criminal Justice, Natural Resources, Recreation Management, or Sociology; AND
• One (1) year of related experience in code enforcement similar to that gained as a Parks Ranger with the City of Madison.

Special Requirements

• Possession of a valid driver's license.
• Possession of the following certifications or the ability to obtain the certifications within the probation/trial period: First Aid/CPR, FEMA IS-700, IS-100LEb, and IS-240b. Failure to obtain these certifications within the probation/trial period will result in the employee not passing probation/trial period, absent extenuating circumstances.
• The selected candidate may be expected to attend a variety of meetings outside normal working hours, including occasional evenings and weekends.
• This position will participate in the Parks Manager-on-Duty program, including responding to phone calls outside of normal work hours.

• Ability to physically access and inspect all Parks facilities throughout the City.
• Ability to traverse uneven terrain.
• Ability to work outdoors in all types of weather.
• Ability to perform work at a desk using a computer, telephone, and other traditional office equipment.

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  Payroll title for this position is Recreation Services Coordinator