Recreation Specialist I – Community Fitness and Wellness, Events and Programs Specialist

Duties

• Creatively plan, develop, coordinate, supervise, evaluate, and assist with outdoor/indoor community events and programs for a diverse audience.
• Assist in duties to secure, recruitment and coordination of internal and external stakeholders, food vendors, exhibitors, entertainment, and other contractual services for outdoor/indoor community events and programs
• Coordinate and assist with deliveries of equipment and contractual equipment to program/event sites for various events/programs.
• Assist with unit programs as needed including but not limited to teaching group fitness class, personal training, and small group programs
• Manage and respond to questions, inquiries, and complaints from customers, contractors, and vendors
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment
• Ensure all programs/events are accessible, inclusive, culturally responsive and meet the need (s) of the intended population
• Provide leadership and supervision for part-time staff, volunteers, contract staff, and interns to include training, scheduling, mentoring, evaluating, and disciplining.
• Develop and maintain strong internal communications and working relationships among department staff and external communications and working relationships with other City agencies, public/private/nonprofit group partners, citizens, and customers
• Prepare required reports and documents
• Track required participant data
• Utilize microcomputers (Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and ACTIVE Net databases for financials and programs) in daily functions and tasks
• Assist in finding, conducting and maintaining community outreach, partnerships, and collaborations with local businesses, City agencies, other public entities and schools
• Research and provide statistics and other data to support program/event creation.

Perform other job duties requiring skills, knowledge and physical requirements as demanded by those duties described or less. Individual assignments will be determined by the supervisor based on the current workloads and department needs.

MINIMUMS: Requires a Bachelors degree in recreation management, therapeutic recreation, exercise science, or a related field; OR any combination of education (above the high school level) and/or experience equivalent to four (4) years in fields utilizing the required knowledge, skills, and abilities and associated with such positions as recreation leader or recreation program supervisor. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Please see job link in the posting description.

This position is being advertised as a pool, and applications could be used to fill and any other similar Recreation Specialist I positions that become available within six (6) months from the closing date of this posting .

Your responses to any "Supplemental Questions", if attached to this requisition, must be supported by the information you give us in the work experience section of this application.

Be sure you are thorough in describing your skills and duties as you complete the work experience section. If the information cannot be verified, you will not receive credit.

The individual selected for this position will be housed at a primary site but may be scheduled between other park sites/facilities. Schedules will be adjusted seasonally and will vary weekly based on events, facility coverage, and weather.

Must be available to work varied hours (mornings, nights, weekends, and holidays) to meet operational and event needs. Some assignments may require overtime or split shifts to cover operational needs.

All employees may be expected to work hours in excess of their normally scheduled hours or maybe be relocated to another location or job assignment in response to short-term, department needs and/or City-wide emergencies including weekends, evenings and holidays.

The employee’s work location and job responsibilities may change based on operational and programming needs.

This position is a mixture of an office setting and field setting.

This is an Alpha I position, which may require reporting to work during periods of emergency or inclement weather, regardless of the City’s operational status.

Must possess a current national level Personal Training and/or Group Fitness certification(s) from NASM, ACE, or comparable. Certification must be recognized by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).

Please note that the City of Virginia Beach will be transitioning from a Paid Time Off (PTO) program to a separate Annual Leave and Sick
Leave structure. This change will take effect in January 2026. While your initial leave benefits will follow the current PTO policy, the new structure will take effect in January. More details about the revised leave program will be shared closer to the implementation date.

As a condition of employment, all employees must attend P&R Connection (Department Orientation). If selected for the position, you will be provided an approximate training date at the time of hire. Training is held from 8:30am-5:00pm, every other Friday, at the Parks & Recreation Administration Building. When an exemption is permittable, a hybrid version of the training is available, but will require training attendance on a weekend.