Job Title: Assistant Director, Sport & Active Living
Job Number: X-395 | VIP: 1653
Band: EXEMPT-8
Department: Athletics & Recreation
Supervisor Title: Director, Athletics & Recreation
Job Purpose:
The Assistant Director, Sport & Active Living provides strategic leadership in the development and delivery of Trent University’s sport programs including varsity athletics, recruiting, sports information, campus recreation, youth development, and fitness programs. This role supports high-performance student-athlete development and services, fosters student wellness and promotes inclusive participation across the Trent community.
The Assistant Director is responsible for aligning sport programming with the Canadian Sport for Life Long-Term Development model, while also ensuring strong revenue performance, community engagement, and student/customer satisfaction. This position plays a key role in enhancing the visibility and reputation of the Trent Excalibur brand.
Key Activities:
Strategic Leadership & Program Development
- Contributes to the Department’s overall strategic planning and operational goals. Develops annual and long-term strategic plans for functional areas of the role.
- Sets performance targets and monitors outcomes ensuring team accountability.
- Leads a high-performance sport structure that provides programming to support and develop coaches, student-athletes and teams.
- Collaborates with internal departments (e.g. Kinesiology) to enhance experiential learning and program offerings.
High-Performance Varsity Sport Program
- Oversees the operations of the varsity sport portfolio (currently 12 varsity teams, 3 varsity clubs, and approximately 320 student-athletes), leading the growth of the varsity program and enhancing the visibility of the Excalibur brand.
- Provides direction and ensures adequate resources to support the evolving needs of a high-performance varsity program, including resources safe sport practices, mental health, hazing prevention, drug education, risk management, health and safety, injury prevention and treatment and strength and conditioning training.
- Serves as the primary liaison and advisor to the OUA, U Sports and CUFLA and ensures compliance with appropriate league regulations.
- Fosters strategic community partnerships (e.g. sports clubs) to strengthen and enhance the department’s profile.
- Manages academic eligibility checks, the athletic therapy program, strength and conditioning program, medical coverage, and varsity code of conduct issues.
- Oversees the student-athlete recruitment process, ensuring compliance with institutional and league regulations. Serves as the primary liaison between coaching staff and the Registrar’s Office to coordinate academic eligibility, enrolment, and admissions support.
- As designated by the Director, represents the university at league meetings and where applicable, assumes voluntary positions on OUA/U Sports committees.
Student Active Living
- Oversees the strategy and operations of active living programs that encourage participation and contribute to student wellness.
- Develops special events for students and new student engagement programs around Orientation week and Reading week.
- Develops collaborative active living programming with Trent student service departments, including the Office of Student Affairs, Colleges, TCSA, FPHL, CareerSpace, Trent International, and Student Clubs.
- Community Fitness & Sport Development
- Oversees the strategy and operations of sport, recreation, youth development fitness and strength training programs, sport rental and community sport partnership opportunities to align with the Department’s overall strategic plan.
- Provides overall leadership and coordination to Athletics-delivered camps and clinics, including responsibility for Trent Excalibur Camp.
- Ensures programs prioritize customer satisfaction and align with the Canadian Sport for Life Long-Term Development in Sport and Physical Activity model.
- Implements strategies to enhance revenue generation and ensure proper structures, policies, and procedures are implemented for the safe and successful delivery of programs.
- In conjunction with the Director, develops and maintains relationships with municipal, provincial and national sport organizations to advance sport program opportunities and new program development.
Budget & Revenue Development
- Develops and manages the annual budgets for all portfolio programs to meet the goals of the annual and long-term strategic plans. Adjusts operating needs based on expenditure trends.
- Reviews performance data, including revenue, participation rates, retention, and customer satisfaction and provides program direction to support revenue growth.
- Identifies and manages all sport granting opportunities including submissions, reports and communication to support long-term funding strategies.
Human Resources
- Responsible for hiring new staff, training, ongoing supervision, scheduling, managing performance, setting goals, and assigning work within the portfolio. Responsible for hiring varsity coaches in collaboration with Director.
- Provides strategic leadership and guidance to direct reports in coordinating programs and the related supervision of part-time/casual positions (e.g. personal trainers, fitness instructors, lifeguards, camp staff, etc.).
- Oversees coordination of payroll for all direct and indirect report staff, including designated stipends for varsity coaches.
- Acts on behalf of the Director, Athletics & Recreation and/or Assistant Director, Business Operations and Facilities as needed. .
- Ensure ongoing compliance with university risk management and insurance policies and procedures related to workplace safety and travel management.
Other
- Represents the Athletic Department on a variety of institutional and provincial committees and working groups (e.g. Collaborative Programming Committee and Athletics Advisory Subcommittee).
- Provides incident management guidance and support to all staff and is contactable outside of working hours (e.g. evenings/weekends/holidays) to support emergent issues as needed.
- Due to the nature of Athletics & Recreation operations, requires flexible work hours, including evenings and weekends as needed.
Education Required:
- Honour’s Bachelor’s Degree (4 year) in Sport/Recreation Management, Business Administration, or related discipline required. Master’s Degree preferred.
- Experience/Qualifications Required:
- Seven (7) to ten (10) years of experience in a sport program development role with progressive leadership experience required. Experience in a multi-sport organization or University Athletic Department is preferred.
- Proven ability to lead and motivate large, diverse teams in a fast-paced, multi-functional environment.
- Strong planning, organizational, and decision-making skills with excellent attention to detail and the ability to innovate while managing multiple priorities and meeting deadlines.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including giving presentations and stakeholder engagement.
- Passionate leader with demonstrated ability to build trust and collaborate effectively with student-athletes, coaches, staff, and external partners.
- Comprehensive knowledge of related legislation, Safe Sport, and OUA/U Sports compliance and eligibility as well as knowledge of high-performance sport models and the Canadian Sport for Life framework are an asset.
- Excellent relationship building and interpersonal skills with experience working with diverse populations and a commitment to equity, inclusion, and respectful engagement. Able to cultivate respectful and reciprocal relationships with racialized and equity-deserving communities.
- Strong financial and budget management skills.
- A satisfactory Vulnerable Sector Check (“Police Record Check”), dated within the past six (6) months is required as a condition of employment.
Supervision:
Direct Reports (6):
- High-Performance Varsity Sport Coordinator
- Sport & Aquatics Coordinator
- Youth Development Coordinator
- Campus Recreation & Varsity Game Day Coordinator
- Varsity Athletic Therapist & Wellness Coordinator
- Sports Information Officer
- Excalibur Varsity Coaches (sixty (60) contract positions) & Varsity Club Coaches (eight (8) volunteer positions)
Indirect Responsibility
- Part-time Student Staff & Program Instructors (60 individuals)
- Contracted Varsity Strength & Conditioning Coaches
- Contracted Sports Medicine Providers
- Departmental Placement Students