Parks Urban Ecology Project Manager I | Parks Planning, Design, and Construction

About Our Job

With competitive pay, great benefits, and endless opportunities, working for the City and County of Denver means seeing yourself working with purpose — for you, and those who benefit from your passion, skills, and expertise. Join our diverse, inclusive, and talented workforce of more than 11,000 team members who are at the heart of what makes Denver, Denver.

Application Deadline

This position is expected to stay open until 11:59PM on Sunday, January 13. Please submit your application as soon as possible and no later than Sunday, January 13 at 11:59 PM.

What We Offer

The City and County of Denver offers a competitive salary commensurate with education and experience. The salary range for this position is $82,540.00 - $100,000.00/year. We also offer generous benefits for full-time employees which include, but are not limited to:

A guaranteed life-long monthly pension, once vested after 5 years of service

457B Retirement Plan

140 hours of PTO earned within first year + 11 paid holidays, 1 personal holiday and 1 volunteer day per year

Competitive medical, dental, and vision plans effective within 1 month of start date

Note: This is a limited position with an expected end date of December 31, 2030.

More information about the perks and benefits we provide to full-time employees to allow them to find balance, thrive, and build a mile high career can be found on our website.

Location

The City and County of Denver supports a hybrid workplace model. Employees work where needed, at a job site several days a week and off-site as needed. In this position you can expect a mix of office and field work including construction administration and native landscape establishment monitoring in the field, which require site visits to active construction sites in various weather conditions. Personal protective equipment will be provided. Employees must work within the state of Colorado on their off-site days.

In this position, you can expect to work on-site at the Denver Post Building (101 West Colfax Avenue, Denver) 3 days per week.

About Us and What You’ll Do

As stewards of Denver’s legacy park system, the City and County of Denver’s Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) is committed to delivering exceptional customer service and improving the health of our residents and environment. Through innovative programs and the creation of safe, beautiful, and sustainable spaces, DPR manages a dynamic system of 30 recreation centers and nearly 20,000 acres of urban and mountain parkland, including off-street trails, parkways, and natural areas. This work is made possible by a dedicated team of professionals who design, promote, and preserve these world-class spaces for generations to come.

Denver Parks and Recreation’s Planning, Design and Construction's Urban Ecology and Trails Team is excited to promote the opportunity to join this incredible workforce as an Urban Ecology Project Manager I. This crucial position will be responsible for managing, coordinating, and monitoring departmental projects from inception to completion, ensuring parks projects make Denver a more livable, resilient, and inclusive city. This position will focus primarily on projects that support Denver Park’s resilience and natural resource restoration goals including landscape transformations, water conservation, waterway restoration, and ecosystem restoration projects while balancing human access to nature and recreation.

Please note that this position is limited (fixed-term) with an expected end date of December 31, 2030.

As a Project Manager I with the Urban Ecology Team, you will act on:

Project Management: Assumes a leadership role in the development, coordination, and implementation of a wide variety of parks design and construction projects, both large and small. The Urban Ecology Project Manager’s role includes oversight of park improvement projects focused on resilient landscapes, while participating in citywide programs and policies that meet DPR goals established in The Game Plan for Healthy City. This PM’s responsibilities include the management of scope, schedule, and budget for several concurrent projects. These involve working with consultants on public and stakeholder engagement, providing technical design guidance, coordinating inter-departmental reviews, procurement of construction, contracting and oversight of implementation.  Project Managers are responsible for ongoing collaboration with DPR leadership and staff, reporting on project progress, and identifying and addressing project opportunities and challenges

Planning and Design: Advances the mission, vision, and values of DPR’s strategic plan by managing the work of  design and ecological consultants to lead design of various urban and open space parks projects. The work includes reimagining and improving landscaped and natural areas, park green infrastructure, and trail projects throughout the Denver Parks system

Design Standards and Best Practices: Participates and advocates for application and updating of Denver Park Planning Design and Construction standards, and refinement of best practices driven by innovation and the input of experts inside and outside the Department.  DPR’s goal is for Denver to become a highly resilient City through the application of DPR and city-wide policies.  Identifies and cultivates potential partnerships between DPR and other internal and external interest groups.  Applies established quality assurance and control process to ensure high quality design, construction, operations, and maintenance

Communication & Production: Successfully collaborates in the exchange of information between city staff, consultants, contractors, stakeholders, and the public, through clear and effective written, graphic, and verbal communication.  Builds consensus and support for DPR efforts and participates in outreach with diverse neighborhood residents, stakeholders, partner agencies, and city leadership, balancing a variety of interests to successfully complete projects.  Cultivates and contributes to positive public relations for the Department. Utilizes a systematic and responsive methodology in managing projects and collaboration to accomplish goals.  Initiates and supports efforts to secure and apply project funding

Other duties, as assigned

What You’ll Bring

We are looking for an accomplished professional with a passion for parks and recreation projects that positively impact communities.  Our ideal candidate will have strong technical knowledge of best practices for design and construction, demonstrated communication and collaboration skills, and the ability to work independently and as part of a team under time constrained and highly visible situations.  We are looking for someone with good writing skills, particularly in scope of work documents, contracts, technical specifications, and correspondence.

Additionally, our ideal candidate will possess a combination of the following:

Experience with parks, open space, waterway, and ecosystem restoration, design, and implementation. Experience with capital projects funding and management

Experience with the oversight and management of multidisciplinary consultant teams

Technical knowledge and experience with landscape construction procurement, methods, and administration

Knowledge of Colorado native landscapes, planting and seed mix design, landscape transformation from bluegrass to prairie, and irrigation system design and construction

DPR recognizes the importance of diversity in the representation of our organization to best serve our customers and community. To that end, DPR is committed to: 

Examining department policies and processes that value diverse perspectives and eliminate barriers to inclusion.

Identifying where inequities exist and implementing strategies to ensure equitable outcomes.

Strengthening diversity in Parks and Recreation services by transforming policies to institutionalize equity.

Reinvesting in resources aimed at ensuring DPR is an equitable and just organization.

We value diversity of ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, sexual identity, gender, religion, language, ability, and experience and exemplify this through the makeup of our team at all levels. You'll be right at home here if you cultivate strong relationships and push yourself, your work, the people around you and Denver to the next level.

Required Minimum Qualifications

Education requirement: Bachelor's Degree in Project Management, Natural Resource Management, Engineering, Architecture,  Landscape Architecture, Ecology, or a related field.

Experience Requirement: Two (2) years of professional project management experience in the related occupational group including coordinating, administering, and monitoring projects.

Education/Experience Equivalency: One (1) year of the appropriate type and level of experience may be substituted for each required year of post-high school education. Additional appropriate education may be substituted for the minimum experience requirements.

License/Certifications: Requires a valid Driver's License at the time of application. Licenses and certifications must be kept current as a condition of employment.