Park Supervisor
To manage city, county or national parks
For those with a yen for the outdoors, a distinctly social bent and a
keen business and political mind, the career of park supervisor offers
a varied and independent workday.
Driven by an underlying desire to benefit the public, park supervisors
often work behind the scenes, letting the park's splendor speak for
itself.
"You've got to understand that your role is to serve the public and
meet the public's needs as opposed to running your own agenda," said
Bob Addison, director of the Kern County Parks Department in
Bakersfield, California.
With a background in rural forest management, Addison said the growing
shift to urban forestry demands a high degree of professionalism and
the ability to develop effective working relationships with a wide
variety of people including political leaders and the media.
Often working under the umbrella of federal, state or local government,
park supervisors must be well-versed in the laws, regulations and that
often play a part in the daily workings of the park from public safety
to county building codes.
While overseeing and directing the day-to-day activities of the park,
supervisors are called on to meet a variety of challenges ranging from
program planning to coordinating staff and resources often under tight
budget restraints.
"You get competing demands for the same space, and trying to figure out
how to accommodate and mitigate conflicts is quite a balancing act,"
Addison said. "You draw on your experiences all the time to find
practical solutions. A lot of it is common sense and being able to
adjust because you never know what's going to happen."
For Allen Abe, assistant director of Recreation and Parks for the City
of Bakersfield, California, meetings and more meetings are part and
parcel of the career of park supervisor.
"You deal with personnel matters, listen to citizens' complaints and
try to find solutions," Abe said. "So that the public has available to
them the use of the parks and recreation programs."
Working for the betterment of the community is a driving force for many
park supervisors, like Abe, who strive to provide enhanced park
facilities for a variety of users from bicyclists to softball teams.
"We create a world, an atmosphere, so people can relax," said Allen
Abe, assistant director of parks and recreation for the City of
Bakersfield, California. "It's becoming more and more important in
today's world."
Requires: 4 year degree plus 3 years
experience and a class C driver's license. Salaries start at about
$60,000 and peak at about $75,000.
|
|
