Deputy City Manager for Community Services

The community services portfolio is the part of city government that residents encounter most directly. When a parent brings their kids to the community pool, when a senior picks up their weekly transit pass at the senior center, when a job seeker uses the library's career resources center — those interactions define how people experience local government at its most human level. The Deputy City Manager for Community Services is responsible for the quality of that experience across multiple departments.

The role requires translating the City Manager's priorities and the council's policy decisions into operational reality across a diverse set of service departments, each with its own professional culture, workforce, and constituency. A parks director thinks about capital projects, maintenance, and athletics programming. A library director thinks about collections, digital equity, and community programming. A social services director thinks about case management, benefits navigation, and vulnerable population outreach. The deputy has to understand each domain well enough to give useful direction without pretending to know more than the department heads who live in those spaces every day.

Budget management at this level means defending program expenditures against competing priorities in the city budget process while also managing the grant funding streams — federal housing funds, library e-rate programs, recreation fee revenue — that supplement general fund spending. Community services are often perceived as more discretionary than public safety or infrastructure, which means the deputy has to make the case for the portfolio's value in ways that resonate with finance staff and elected officials.

Community relations are always active. There is always a constituency group advocating for a dog park, opposing a library branch closure, or pushing for expanded senior transportation. Managing that advocacy honestly — listening to it, incorporating legitimate concerns, and explaining decisions that can't accommodate every demand — is an ongoing responsibility.

Education:

• Master of Public Administration (MPA) or related graduate degree strongly preferred
• ICMA Credentialed Manager designation valued
• Degrees in public health, social work, recreation administration, or urban planning relevant for entry into community services management

Experience:

• 10–15 years of progressively responsible local government experience
• 3–5 years at the department director or assistant city manager level
• Track record of managing multiple service departments or a large single department
• Grant management and federal program administration experience

Subject area knowledge:

• Parks and recreation administration: capital planning, fee programs, recreation programming
• Public library management: collection development, technology services, community programming
• Social services: federal program compliance (CDBG, HOME, HUD), case management, community partnerships
• Housing: affordable housing programs, tenant services, housing authority relationships

Leadership and management:

• Managing department directors who are professionals in their own fields
• Budget development for operating and capital programs at the multi-department level
• Managing union workforces (SEIU, AFSCME) in public sector labor relations environments
• Community engagement facilitation: public meetings, advisory commissions, neighborhood council relationships

Partnerships and networks:

• County social services and public health agencies
• School districts and after-school program providers
• Nonprofit and community-based service organizations
• Regional foundations and philanthropic partners

Deputy city manager positions exist in every city large enough to have a management structure above the department director level, and the community services portfolio is one of the standard ways of dividing executive management responsibility. As cities have grown in complexity — expanded social services obligations, homelessness management, federal grant programs — the community services deputy role has gained relative importance within city executive offices.

The policy environment in 2026 creates particular demand for competent leadership in this portfolio. Federal housing and infrastructure funds have flowed into city government at unprecedented levels over the past several years, requiring management capacity that many city offices are struggling to build. Community services departments that administer housing programs, nutrition assistance, youth employment, and library services are often the primary recipients of this funding, and the deputy overseeing them must manage the compliance and reporting obligations that come with it.

Retirements in local government executive ranks are ongoing and creating openings. The ICMA workforce data consistently shows that assistant and deputy city manager supply does not fully cover the pace of retirements and promotions. Cities are competing for a limited pool of experienced candidates with the right combination of MPA credentials, ICMA standing, and demonstrated management track records.

For professionals who genuinely care about the quality of community life — parks, libraries, youth programs, support for vulnerable residents — and want to manage at a level where their decisions have real impact, the community services deputy role is an unusually direct way to translate those values into operational outcomes. The City Manager track is available to those who want it; many community services deputies build long and satisfying careers in senior service management without necessarily seeking the top position.

Dear [City Manager],

I am applying for the Deputy City Manager for Community Services position at the City of [City]. I have served as the Director of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services for the City of [City] for the past six years, overseeing a $42 million operating budget and a team of 280 full-time and 180 seasonal employees.

During my tenure I've led the department through a parks master plan update, completed the renovation of our central community center, and built a nonprofit partnership program that has brought $3.8 million in outside program funding into our youth services and senior enrichment programs. I understand the operational realities of running parks and recreation, but I've also developed close working relationships with our library director and social services manager that go beyond my immediate portfolio — we run a joint summer youth employment program and have coordinated on our homelessness outreach response for the past two years.

What I want at this stage of my career is the broader organizational leadership that the deputy role provides — the ability to help multiple departments achieve their missions, advocate for the community services portfolio in the city budget process, and take on the cross-cutting challenges that don't fit cleanly in any single department's jurisdiction. The work on housing services coordination that [City] has undertaken interests me specifically, as it closely mirrors a model I've been developing here.

I hold an MPA from [University] and the ICMA Credentialed Manager designation. I'm prepared to speak in detail about any aspect of my work.

[Your Name]