Area / Division Leadership

At this level, one is leading a variety of disciplines at multiple locations within a geographic area or region. Decision-Making and Impact may include decisions affecting area/ division-wide performance; influencing culture, profitability, and growth of the specific area/division.  This is the EXPANSION stage of one’s journey – applying practice with increasing independence in familiar or low/medium-stakes contexts.

 DOWNLOAD THE AREA/DIVISION LEADERSHIP SECTION IN AN EXCEL SPREADSHEET

Audience – This is the usual group of people with which an individual at the specified responsibility level will interact. The interaction may take many forms; who you communicate with, who you influence, and who you serve.
Focus – What the interaction is about in the moment.  Think of it as what needs to occur if one is to achieve the goal.
Tools – These are resources that an individual at this responsibility level may access or deploy to interact with the specified audience.  
Goal – This is an indicator of what the intended outcome of the audience interaction is.
Development Guide - This section lists examples of where an individual can gain education, knowledge and experience in the skill areas that will aide in mastering a skill and preparing one to move to the next level of skill and/or responsibility level.

Quick Jump
Communications, Public Relations & Marketing  
Critical Thinking & Decision Making
 Data Analysis & Research  
Financial Management 
Interpersonal
Leadership
Natural & Cultural Resource Management
Organizational Design
 Planning (Operational)
Planning (Strategic, Master, Comprehensive & Asset Management)
Policy Compliance
Program/Event Management
Project Coordination/Management
Relationship Building
Resource Management  
Risk Management & Safety
 Supervision & Oversight 
Technology 

• Articulate division-wide strategy and vision
• Communicate with data and insight to justify priorities
• Manage up and down effectively
• Develop and approve area/divisional marketing plans
• Oversee crisis communication plans

• Storytelling to inspire and drive engagement
• Design comprehensive public relations campaigns
• Foster partnerships with external agencies and stakeholders
• Lead market research and audience segmentation

• Oversee crisis communication protocols and training
• Analyze public relations campaign impact and report to senior leaders
• Drive brand messaging aligned with organizational values

• Attend training on executive presentation skills
• Learn about change communication frameworks (e.g. Kotter's model)
• Build partnerships with external stakeholders
• Executive brief writing training

• Lead comprehensive public relations campaigns aligned with organizational strategy
• Analyze and report public relations outcomes to leadership

• Align marketing plans with organizational strategy and community goals
• Lead market research and audience segmentation
• Public speaking training/practice

• Strategic thinking and planning
• Budget and financial oversight of the area/region
• Risk assessment and mitigation

• Change management
• Talent management across teams

• Cross-department alignment
• Lead through others (indirect leadership)

• Executive MBA modules, CPM programs
• Actively participate in strategic planning retreats

• Attend advanced leadership programs

• Attend budget and finance workshops

• Utilize program/project/event management software
• Optimize resources and balancing conflicting needs/wants of patrons

• Maintain risks, assumptions, issues, dependencies logs and templates
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration between teams and facilities

• Develop integrated program/project/event plans, balancing scope, cost, time, and quality
• Approve staffing levels and instructors needed for program implementation

• Attend training on program/project/event  management software 

• Attend training on portfolio dashboards
• Regularly read industry publications

• Understand performance metrics for program/project/event - measuring impact as well

• Facilitate strategic planning and goal setting
• Lead through influence and inspiration

• Apply advanced conflict management
• Financial acumen and budget oversight

• Talent development and succession planning

• Lead strategic initiatives
• Engage in executive leadership training

• Develop and implement talent management plans

• Network with community and government partners

• Strategic stakeholder engagement - moving to partnerships
• Public speaking and representation

• Build alliances and coalitions
• Manage complex interpersonal dynamics

• Advocate for area/division interests

• Represent division in community and government meetings
• Lead coalition-building efforts

• Participate in stakeholder engagement training

• Facilitate conflict resolution at higher levels

• Oversee internal controls and reporting standards for area-wide operations.
• Conduct compliance reviews and oversee financial audits

• Manage contracts and vendor performance at the divisional level
• Evaluate and recommend division-wide pricing or fee adjustments

• Lead financial crisis response planning at the division level

• Participate in strategic financial planning sessions or workshops
• Lead audit/review preparation and compliance reviews

• Coach emerging leaders in financial stewardship
• Collaborate with finance teams on strategic funding initiatives

• Develop division-wide financial dashboards or budget scorecards
• Mentor emerging financial leaders in the area/division

• Align technology with organizational goals
• Evaluate and implement new technology solutions

• Manage vendor relationships and budgets for technology investments

• Promote digital transformation and staff technology literacy

• Align technology with strategic goals
• Evaluate and implement new technologies

• Manage vendor relationships and IT budgets

• Promote digital literacy and transformation

• Long-term capital planning (equipment, fleet, facilities)
• Forecast and prepare for seasonal/resource demands

• Align resources with area/division level priorities and Key Performance Indicators

• Secure and allocate grant or capital funds

• Attend capital improvement planning sessions
• Oversee cross are/division resource planning meetings

• Grant writing and financial forecasting training

• Establish key performance indicators for monitoring resources

• Lead resource inventory and long-range planning
• Apply regional sustainability and climate data
• Prioritize high-impact conservation efforts

• Manage environmental compliance and permits
• Balance natural and cultural resource priorities
• Evaluate program effectiveness and compliance

• Integrate cultural resource management into multi-park operations and budget
• Engage in cross-organization and cross-jurisdictional partnerships

• Lead multi-stakeholder natural resource planning teams
• Secure external funding for natural resource management
• Complete advanced cultural resource management programs

• Understand regulations and laws impacting natural/cultural resource management
• Develop regional cultural resource management strategies and policies
• Facilitate cross-training among teams

• Engage with local planning and zoning departments
• Lead stakeholder engagement processes, including tribal consultation

• Develop and implement risk management frameworks, and lead area/division wide safety evaluations
• Integrate risk management into strategic planning

• Lead crisis preparedness and response planning, develop emergency preparedness and communication partners
• Align safety goals with operational plans

• Engage with external regulators and stakeholders, ensure compliance with ADA, OSHA, CDC and local codes
• Analyze risk trends and recommend policy adjustments

• Lead risk management sessions
• Foster relationships with regulatory agencies

• Align safety policies with national standards (CAPRA)
• Participate in crisis simulation exercises

• Ensure budget planning for safety resources
• Participate in division-wide crisis simulations

• Translate organizational policies into operational procedures
• Conduct area/division-wide compliance reviews

• Liaison with legal and government bodies

• Advise on policy development and updates

• Attend leadership level compliance workshops
• Read and review legal policy briefings (ADA, OSHA, Title IX, etc.)

• Translate organizational policies into practical procedures and run scenarios

• Coordinate with legal and HR on needed policy updates

• Lead area/division planning processes
• Conduct feasibility studies and site assessments

• Forecast community needs and infrastructure capacity
• Conduct benchmarking of operations and facilities

• Align plans with stakeholder input

• Conduct feasibility and community needs assessments in coordination with Planning and Capital staff
• Oversee community impact analyses

• Incorporate sustainability and equity in planning
• Lead stakeholder engagement sessions

• Apply national benchmarking and accreditation standards
• Use operational data to inform future plans

• Develop and manage comprehensive master and capital improvement plans
• Align plans with community goals, equity, and sustainability
• Guide park land acquisition efforts

• Lead public engagement and stakeholder collaboration
• Oversee funding acquisition and budget alignment

• Conduct benchmarking related to parks and facilities
• Ability to build consensus around conflicting stakeholder interests

• Lead long-range capital and master planning efforts for area/division
• Engage community and stakeholders in planning
• Participate in national planning and policy conferences

• Align plans with sustainability and equity goals
• Attend advanced level GIS and modeling tool training

• Conduct benchmarking of parks and facilities
• Understand legal requirements and land restrictions for parks

• Develop data governance and quality frameworks
• Communicate data-backed rationale for operational decisions to stakeholders

• Oversee research projects and analytics teams
• Interpret complex data for forecasting and planning

• Present data-driven insights to senior leadership
• Lead data-driven strategy development

• Executive level data strategy seminars
• Attend cross-agency benchmarking training

• Guide divisional key performance indicators and outcome measurement frameworks

• Interpret large-scale data for strategic planning
• Supervise area/division wide analytics projects

• Align project/grant/contract portfolios with strategic goals
• Negotiate project/grant/contract terms and conditions

• Lead large-scale project/grant/contract acquisition and reporting processes
• Manage stakeholder engagement and expectations

• Develop capacity-building strategies for grant staff
• Lead complex project/grant/contract negotiations and renewals

• Develop skills in strategic negotiation of Memos of Understanding and contracts
• Lead grant acquisition and reporting processes
• Mentor grant staff and build team capacities
• Monitor and improve vendor performance

• Mentor managers on project coordination best practices
• Align  project/grant/contract strategy with organizational goals
• Align contract strategy with organizational goals
• Monitor contract management teams

• Negotiate project/grant/contract  agreements and conditions
• Lead division-wide compliance and reporting efforts
• Lead complex negotiations and renewals

• Integrate organizational goals into decisions
• Use data-driven insights and forecasting

• Manage stakeholder input and consensus building
• Address complex problems with innovative solutions

• High-impact decisions affecting divisional performance
• Influences culture, profitability, and growth of an area

• Integrate strategic goals into decision-making
• Use advanced data analytics and forecasting

• Manage stakeholder engagement in decision processes

• Drive innovative problem-solving

• Implement strategic communication
• Inspire and engage diverse stakeholders

• Build partnerships and alliances
• Handle complex interpersonal dynamics

• Lead through change and uncertainty

• Deliver presentations to internal and external audiences
• Lead change management initiatives

• Participate in stakeholder engagement training

• Network with community partners and funders

• Design scalable organizational models
• Drive culture and change management

• Integrate cross-functional team structures

• Develop leadership pipelines

• Design scalable and flexible organizational models
• Integrate cross-functional team structures

• Lead change management initiatives focused on culture and process

• Develop leadership pipelines within the area/division