Description

The City of Derby is seeking an experienced, creative, and forward-thinking leader to serve as its next Parks Director. This is a pivotal role in shaping the future of Derby’s parks, green spaces, public landscapes, and recreation facilities. The Parks Director will guide the development, management, and operation of a diverse and growing park system, advancing the City’s mission to create vibrant neighborhoods, nurture a strong business community and preserve beautiful greenspaces.

The Parks Division oversees a broad range of essential services, including the maintenance of fully developed parks, natural areas, stormwater facilities, urban forestry, athletic fields, playgrounds, aquatics, and 25 miles of multi-use paths. The division also manages key community destinations such as rental facilities, Rock River Rapids Aquatic Center, and regional-level sports complexes. Parks staff support community events and festivals each year and maintain approximately 500 acres of parkland and rights-of-way.

As a division within the Public Works Department, Parks benefits from strong cross-department collaboration, shared resources, and a supportive team culture. This partnership enables the division to meet the evolving needs of a growing community. The Parks Director serves as an integral member of the Public Works leadership team, working closely with colleagues to achieve departmental goals and uphold organizational values. The ideal candidate will be a positive, professional, and inspiring leader who models service excellence and fosters a strong team environment.

The city is currently undertaking more than $22 million in park development projects, with overall administration provided by the Parks Director.

The Parks Division operates with an annual budget of approximately $3 million and includes 20 full-time employees, and 13 part-time/seasonal staff.

Pay Range for 2026: $107,827.20 – $150,924.80 DOQ

Requirements

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Parks and Recreation Management, Natural Resource Management, Business or Public Administration, Landscape Architecture, Arboricultural or related field, required.

Master’s Degree in Parks and Recreation Management, Public Administration, Business Administration preferred

Certified Park and Recreation Professional Certificate through the National Recreation and Parks Association, preferred. 

Five years’ experience in administrative and supervisory experience in park management, turf management, facility management, public works, or related field, required.

Valid Kansas driver’s license and driving record must meet commercial liability insurance requirements.

FEMA National Incident Command Systems (NIMS) courses IS-100, IS-200, IS-300, IS-400 and IS-700 within 24 months of employment.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

Excellent communication skills sufficient to express ideas and agreements concisely and persuasively, both orally and in writing, to a variety of audiences. Negotiation, persuasion, tact, and diplomacy are essential for effectively performing tasks.

Ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders, including city elected officials, all levels of staff, vendors, community partners and the public.

Ability to think creatively, develop innovative ideas, and communicate a progressive vision for the division.

Skill in solving problems and making decisions independently and in a team environment. 

Ability to identify issues, analyze situations, and devise creative solutions to challenges within the park system.

Ability to effectively engage a wide variety of stakeholders in all aspects of planning new projects.

Thorough knowledge of park maintenance and repair, turf management, park planning and operations.

Knowledge of event preparation and management, including managing volunteers.

Ability to read and prepare construction contracts and work with architects, engineers and planners on park projects. 

Ability to prepare budgets, manage within the budget process, monitor expenditures, and stay within budget.

Ability to operate office-related equipment, including ability to access and retrieve information from various computer software systems.

Ability to read and use blueprints.

Ability to effectively plan and delegate the work of others.