Assistant Director of Aquatics (Recreation Leader), Recreational Sports

The Office of Student Life focuses on 3 key areas to support the student experience and their success: Care and Advocacy, Health and Well-being, and Involvement and Belonging.  

Recreational Sports is a critical part of supporting student well-being and is a primary entry point at Indiana University (IU) Bloomington for supporting students in their health and wellness. Our mission is to connect, inform, and inspire people to lead an active, healthy lifestyle. We serve over 36,000 students, faculty, staff, and public participants annually. Our team consists of 46 appointed staff members, and over 800 part-time student staff members. Our organization fosters a team focused, collaborative work environment that emphasizes strong business practices, operational excellence, and participant development. Our organization is committed to a student development philosophy that encourages student involvement in decision-making and leadership.  

Recreational Sports is committed to promoting learning while maintaining an environment that respects all individuals. We commit to creating and maintaining an environment where all are supported. 

Department-Specific Responsibilities

• Reports directly to the Director of Aquatics.
• Collaborates closely with various departments.
• Plays a vital role in advancing the unit's priorities, ensuring a seamless and effective Aquatics program for the university community.
• Leads and manages a dedicated team, which includes 1 Coordinator, 2 Program Assistants, 70 lifeguards, 35 swim instructors, 12 head lifeguards, and 8 outdoor pool managers. These personnel work across 8 pools located at 4 distinct aquatic facilities: the Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center (CBAC) at the Student Recreational Sports Center (SRSC), Royer Pool, Pool 194 at the School of Public Health (SPH), and the IU Recreational Sports Outdoor Pool.
• Oversees all facets of the Aquatics program and caters to the needs of students, faculty, and staff at IU Bloomington.
• Leads the recruitment, hiring, training, supervision, scheduling, and performance evaluation of 120 part-time student hourly staff members. 
• Directly supervises and evaluates 1 Coordinator and 2 Program Assistants, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and fostering a productive work environment.
• Integrates student development principles into all staff training and performance evaluations. 
• Creates and facilitates opportunities for staff within the Aquatics team to enhance their professional skills, leadership capabilities, and personal growth.
• Maintains high-quality, personalized service by actively engaging with participants, responding to feedback, and prioritizing relational service excellence in all staff training and interactions. 
• Encourages a culture of customer-focused care among the entire Aquatics team.
• Oversees the scheduling and use of 5 indoor and 3 outdoor swimming pools on IU's campus, coordinates lifeguard assignments for academic, athletic, rental, and recreational events, manages pool set-ups for varsity practices and competitions, and supervises all aquatic facility rentals to ensure smooth operations.
• Contributes to the annual development of program and unit goals, using assessment results to guide the creation of new programs and policies. 
• Evaluates existing programs to recommend improvements, ensuring alignment with department priorities and enhancing the student experience.
• Develops, assesses, and updates the Recreational Sports Aquatic Risk Management Plan, ensuring compliance and safety protocols across all aquatic facilities and equipment. 
• Leads staff training on safety measures, maintains certifications, and remains prepared to respond swiftly to emergencies, ensuring a safe and secure environment for participants.
• Works collaboratively with teams across Outreach, Information Systems and Analytics, Operations, Financial Affairs, Member Services, Programming, Student Personnel, Risk Management, and Research to meet organizational goals and drive the success of the Aquatics program.
• Assists with supply receiving, event coordination, inventory management, and space renovations to maintain smooth day-to-day operations.
• Ensures effective communication, monitors staff performance, and actively participates in strategic goal setting and operational planning.
• Contributes to budget monitoring, provides input into operational documentation, and supports financial management processes.
• Assists in coordinating department-wide special events and provides coverage during nights, weekends, and breaks as part of the professional staff rotation.

General Responsibilities

• Provides day-to-day operational management of recreational programming staff.
• Establishes short-term operational objectives.
• Identifies operational issues and/or areas of improvement and implements solutions to improve processes and/or operational efficiency.
• Analyzes, monitors, and evaluates performance of assigned staff; establishes work priorities, conducts performance reviews, and provides corrective action as needed.
• Ensures adequate staffing and effective scheduling; participates and informs employment decisions for assigned staff.
• Provides direct supervision and oversight of assigned staff and activities; impacts, and is held accountable for, the performance of team and/or assigned staff.
• Ensures and provides training to assigned staff to improve user support operations; researches and identifies development opportunities for assigned staff.
• Keeps next-level leader(s) informed of trends as well as significant problems.