Campus Recreation Manager

We're Hiring: Campus Recreation Manager

Location: United Arab Emirates (Remote)Employment Type: Full-TimeExperience Level: Mid-Level to SeniorWork Arrangement: Fully RemoteAbout UsWe are committed to creating engaging, inclusive, and accessible recreation programs that promote health, wellbeing, community connection, student engagement, and active lifestyles.Our recreation teams collaborate across athletics, student services, facilities, wellness, events, community programs, marketing, safety, and external partners to deliver high-quality recreational experiences for diverse campus communities.The RoleWe are seeking an experienced Campus Recreation Manager to lead campus recreation programs, facilities, activities, memberships, events, and participant services.The ideal candidate will oversee daily recreation operations while developing programs that increase participation, improve wellbeing, strengthen community engagement, and provide safe, inclusive, and enjoyable recreational experiences.Key ResponsibilitiesDevelop and implement the campus recreation strategy, annual plans, policies, procedures, and service standards.Manage recreation programs and services including fitness, sports, wellness, outdoor activities, intramural programs, clubs, classes, camps, tournaments, and special events.Assess participant interests, demographic trends, community needs, and emerging recreation trends.Develop and maintain a diverse portfolio of recreational programs for students, employees, faculty, families, and eligible community members.Establish program schedules, calendars, participation requirements, registration procedures, and operating standards.Manage daily operations of recreation facilities, activity spaces, fitness areas, courts, fields, studios, pools, and other recreational venues as applicable.Coordinate facility opening, closing, access, staffing, cleaning, inspections, and operational readiness.Establish standards for participant service, facility cleanliness, equipment condition, accessibility, and overall recreation experience.Manage recreation memberships, registrations, bookings, passes, and participant accounts.Coordinate fitness classes, instructional programs, leagues, tournaments, recreational activities, and community events.Recruit, schedule, train, supervise, and evaluate recreation staff, instructors, coaches, lifeguards, officials, fitness professionals, and student employees as applicable.Develop staff training programs covering customer service, program delivery, safety, emergency procedures, safeguarding, and operational standards.Manage instructors, coaches, contractors, vendors, volunteers, and external recreation partners.Establish vendor requirements, service levels, quality standards, and performance measures.Coordinate equipment procurement, inventory, maintenance, inspection, replacement, and lifecycle planning.Monitor facility and equipment conditions and coordinate preventive and corrective maintenance.Develop risk-management procedures for recreational activities, facilities, equipment, events, and participants.Ensure compliance with applicable health, safety, accessibility, safeguarding, and regulatory requirements.Maintain emergency response procedures for injuries, medical incidents, facility emergencies, severe weather, and other operational risks.Coordinate first-aid, emergency response, evacuation, incident reporting, and safety procedures.Conduct safety inspections, program risk assessments, incident reviews, and corrective-action activities.Manage participant complaints, service requests, disputes, and escalations.Develop effective service-recovery procedures to address participant concerns.Coordinate recreation events, tournaments, competitions, wellness initiatives, community activities, and promotional programs.Work with marketing and communications teams to promote recreation programs, memberships, activities, and events.Develop participant engagement and retention strategies.Monitor enrollment, attendance, facility utilization, program demand, and participation trends.Develop budgets, forecasts, pricing structures, revenue plans, and expenditure controls for recreation services.Monitor program costs, staffing expenses, equipment investments, facility costs, and financial performance.Support sponsorships, partnerships, grants, memberships, and other revenue opportunities where applicable.Use recreation-management systems, booking platforms, registration tools, access-control systems, dashboards, and analytics to improve operations.Maintain accurate participant, program, facility, equipment, financial, incident, and vendor records.Develop performance dashboards and regular reports for leadership.Benchmark campus recreation services against relevant universities, institutions, community recreation organizations, and industry practices.Identify opportunities to expand participation through new programs, digital services, technology, partnerships, and innovative recreation models.Promote inclusive participation and ensure programs accommodate diverse abilities, interests, backgrounds, and accessibility requirements.Develop wellness and healthy-lifestyle initiatives in collaboration with appropriate campus teams.Coordinate with facilities, security, health services, student services, athletics, events, and other departments.Develop contingency plans for facility closures, equipment failures, staffing shortages, emergencies, and unexpected demand.Lead continuous-improvement initiatives to enhance program quality, participant experience, operational efficiency, safety, and community engagement.Key Performance IndicatorsRecreation program enrollment.Participation and attendance rates.Participant retention and repeat participation.Facility utilization.Membership growth and retention.Program fill rates.Class and activity attendance.Participant satisfaction.Net promoter or participant recommendation scores.Customer complaint volume and resolution time.Program revenue.Program profitability or cost recovery.Revenue per participant.Operating cost per participant.Budget variance.Instructor and coach performance.Staff productivity and utilization.Staff training completion.Equipment availability and reliability.Preventive maintenance completion.Facility readiness and availability.Safety incident frequency.Injury and emergency response performance.Risk assessment and corrective-action completion.Regulatory and safety compliance.Accessibility performance.Vendor service-level performance.Event and tournament performance.Digital registration and booking adoption.New program launch performance.Community engagement and participation growth.Overall campus recreation experience.Ideal CandidateThe successful candidate should have strong experience in campus recreation, university recreation, sports and fitness management, community recreation, wellness programming, leisure services, or related environments.The candidate should demonstrate:Strong knowledge of recreation program and facility management.Experience developing and managing sports, fitness, wellness, leisure, or community recreation programs.Experience managing recreational facilities, equipment, schedules, memberships, and participant services.Strong understanding of recreation safety, risk management, emergency procedures, and safeguarding.Experience recruiting, scheduling, training, and supervising recreation personnel.Strong budgeting, financial management, procurement, and resource-planning skills.Experience managing instructors, coaches, vendors, contractors, and community partners.Strong customer-service and participant-experience capabilities.Familiarity with recreation-management, registration, booking, access-control, and analytics systems.Strong program-development and event-management skills.Ability to use participation and financial data to improve program performance.Strong understanding of accessibility and inclusive recreation practices.Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills.Strong leadership, organization, and problem-solving capabilities.Ability to manage multiple programs, facilities, events, schedules, and priorities simultaneously.Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.Strong commitment to health, wellbeing, inclusion, safety, and community engagement.