Scheduled hours per week: 40
Scheduled months per year: 12
Remote work eligibility: Onsite only
Position purpose
The Director of Children’s & Family Programming is responsible for creating, launching, and growing a robust suite of year-round recreation programs and experiences for children and families, with a primary focus on youth ages 5–13. Program offerings range from lessons, clinics, camps, competitions, birthday parties, and special events designed to meet community needs, generate revenue, and strengthen connections between Dartmouth College Athletics & Recreation Department and Upper Valley families.
Key accountabilities
Reporting to the Associate AD for PE & Recreation, the Director leads the development and day-to-day operation of Children’s & Family Programming in alignment with departmental priorities. The Director identifies opportunities, develops recommendations for growth, builds and launches programs, and oversees their successful delivery. The initial portfolio will prioritize establishing a children’s swim instruction program and additional indoor winter recreation programming, followed by developing and launching DCARD children’s summer camps. From this foundation, the Director will continue to expand Children’s & Family Programming in response to community interests, program performance, and departmental priorities.
Program Development & Growth
- Create, launch, evaluate, and grow a year-round portfolio of lessons, clinics, camps, competitions, free-play opportunities, birthday parties, and special events for children and families, initially focusing on youth ages 5–13.
- Research community needs, participation trends, market opportunities, and facility capacity to identify and develop new programs, events, partnerships, pricing models, and revenue opportunities.
- In alignment with college and departmental priorities, recommend a multi-year roadmap for Children’s & Family Programming that identifies priorities for program expansion, participation and revenue growth, staffing, facilities, equipment, partnerships, and resource needs.
- Monitor unit objective and key performance measures, including enrollment, retention, utilization, participant satisfaction, revenue, expenses, and program quality; use results to evaluate effectiveness and inform program and operational decisions.
- Be knowledgeable, maintain and meet regulatory requirements for child safety in all programming.
Program Operations, Staff Supervision, Youth Safety & Compliance
- Recruit, hire, train, schedule, and supervise professional, student, seasonal, instructional, and other program staff, as assigned, including establishing responsibilities, evaluating performance, and providing ongoing coaching and development.
- Prepare, manage and execute contracts for children’s programming
- Manage day-to-day operations, including registration, reservations, facility coordination, equipment and promotional inventory, participant and parent/guardian communication, and financial reconciliation.
- Exercise day-to-day decision-making authority within established policies, budgets, and program parameters; communicate regularly with the Associate AD and elevate significant personnel, financial, safety, compliance, or resource matters as appropriate.
- Ensure compliance with applicable youth protection, camp, aquatics, supervision, safety, emergency response, incident reporting, and other institutional or regulatory requirements.
Sales, Events & Community Engagement
- Develop and execute marketing, sales, and promotional efforts that build awareness, drive participation and event bookings, support retention, and generate revenue, including cross-marketing opportunities.
- Build relationships with schools, youth leagues, local businesses, families, and community organizations throughout the Upper Valley to expand participation, partnerships, and community engagement.
- Develop, promote, and manage revenue-generating and engagement experiences, including birthday parties, family and special events, and designated game-day programming, in coordination with appropriate DCARD and Dartmouth Athletics partners.
Program Delivery & Instruction
- Teach and provide direct program leadership as needed across Children’s & Family Programming, including swim instruction, physical education, recreation activities, clinics, camps, and other skill-development programs.
- Set expectations for program quality and safety, and train and support staff to deliver high-quality programs, including aquatic staff training and certification.
- Foster welcoming, age-appropriate environments that promote belonging, skill development, confidence, teamwork, safety, and enjoyment.
Other Duties
- Performs other duties as assigned by the Associate AD for PE & Recreation and contributes to DCARD strategic priorities.
- Maintains relevant professional knowledge and certifications and demonstrates integrity, accountability, sound judgment, flexibility, and a team-first approach to support a welcoming environment for participants, families, and colleagues.
Required qualifications: education and experience
Bachelors plus 1-2 year(s) of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience
Required qualifications: skills, knowledge and abilities
- Bachelor’s degree in recreation management, physical education, marketing, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- 1+ years of progressively responsible experience in recreation, youth programming, camps, physical education, aquatics, sports programming, event management, or a related field.
- Experience working with children and families, preferably including youth ages 5–13.
- Experience recruiting, training, scheduling, and supervising student, part-time, seasonal, instructional, or recreation employees.
- Ability to use participation and financial data to make day-to-day decisions and recommendations related to programming, pricing, staffing, scheduling, and resource allocation.
- Ability to manage program resource needs, including facilities, equipment, supplies, and staffing, and identify and recommend future investments needed to support program growth.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, events, operational priorities, facilities, and stakeholders.
- Ability to develop, implement, evaluate, and grow recreation programs.
- Knowledge of youth programming, instruction, safety, supervision, and risk management.
- Proven project-management, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with diverse participants, families, colleagues, and community partners.
- Ability to manage budgets and resources and use data to inform decisions.
- Proficiency with standard office, digital communication, and program-management technologies.
- Ability to work a flexible schedule, including early mornings, evenings, weekends, school breaks, special events, and summer programming periods.
Preferred qualifications
- Experience developing and managing youth recreation, camps, instructional programs, or special events.
- 3+ years of progressively responsible experience in recreation, youth programming, camps, physical education, aquatics, sports programming, event management, or a related field.
- Experience with revenue-generating programs, including pricing, budgeting, marketing, sales, and partnerships.
- Knowledge of regulations and industry standards for youth recreation, camps, aquatics, and special events.
- Advanced aquatic certification, such as Lifeguard Instructor, Water Safety Instructor, or equivalent; CPR/AED and First Aid certifications preferred.
- Demonstrated experience developing and launching new programs, events, or initiatives from concept through implementation and evaluation.