Community Aquatics Program Operations Specialist

About Asphalt Green 

Asphalt Green is a nonprofit organization that transforms lives and builds community through sports, fitness, and play for all. 

Each year, Asphalt Green serves thousands of New Yorkers through sports, aquatics, fitness, camps, and community programs that promote health, personal growth, and lifelong participation in physical activity. Across three campuses and numerous community partnerships, Asphalt Green is committed to providing high-quality programs that are inclusive, accessible, and rooted in excellence. 

Asphalt Green believes that access to movement, sport, and wellness can change lives. Our work helps young people develop confidence, resilience, leadership skills, and healthy habits that extend far beyond the playing field. 

About the Role 

The Community Aquatics Program Operations Specialist serves as a key operational leader supporting the workforce and infrastructure behind Asphalt Green’s Community Aquatics Programs, including Wave Makers NYC and other community-based aquatics initiatives. Reporting to the Community Aquatics Program Manager, the Operations Specialist helps ensure Community Aquatics maintains the staffing, systems, processes, compliance, and operational readiness necessary to deliver high-quality programming across a growing network of locations. 

The Operations Specialist owns and coordinates critical workforce operations throughout the employee lifecycle, including recruitment, hiring, onboarding, New York City Public Schools clearance, certification tracking, payroll administration, training coordination, employee communications, and workforce readiness. The role works closely with Human Resources, Payroll, Site Supervisors, the Field Supervisor, and Aquatics leadership to ensure frontline employees are successfully hired, prepared, supported, and able to contribute to program operations. 

With no direct reports, the Operations Specialist leads through operational ownership, cross-functional coordination, sound judgment, and consistent follow-through. The position is responsible for developing and maintaining scalable systems and standard operating procedures that create a consistent employee experience and allow Community Aquatics to respond effectively to changing staffing needs, new program launches, and continued citywide expansion. 

This is a hands-on leadership position for an experienced aquatics professional who combines strong people skills with exceptional organization and execution and is comfortable moving between recruitment, employee support, administrative systems, and on-site program needs. 

Why This Role Matters 

This is a hands-on leadership position for an experienced aquatics professional who combines strong people skills with exceptional organization and execution and is comfortable moving between recruitment, employee support, administrative systems, and on-site program needs. 

What You’ll Do 

Workforce Planning, Recruitment & Hiring

• Partner with the Community Aquatics Program Manager to continuously assess current and anticipated staffing needs across Community Aquatics programs, locations, schedules, and expansion plans. 

• Coordinate ongoing recruitment efforts with Human Resources, Marketing, Aquatics leadership, and existing staff to maintain a strong pipeline of qualified swim instructors, lifeguards, and other frontline aquatics employees. 

• Manage candidate pipelines, screening, interviews, follow-up, and hiring workflows, maintaining clear and timely communication with candidates throughout the recruitment process. 

• Conduct candidate interviews and share responsibility for candidate selection, extending offers and initiating the hiring process for approved candidates in coordination with the Community Aquatics Program Manager and Human Resources. 

• Monitor vacancies, candidate pipelines, employee availability, turnover, and anticipated staffing needs to identify potential workforce gaps before they disrupt programming. 

• Support staffing readiness for new programs and locations by initiating recruitment and hiring activity sufficiently in advance of anticipated expansion needs. 

Onboarding, Compliance & Workforce Readiness

• Own and coordinate the operational onboarding process for Community Aquatics frontline staff, ensuring new employees progress efficiently from accepted offer through readiness for program assignment. 

• Partner with Human Resources and Aquatics leadership to ensure required employment documentation, background checks, certifications, system access, and other onboarding requirements are completed accurately and on time. 

• Administer the employee-facing New York City Public Schools/PETS clearance process, guiding employees through required steps, tracking progress, following up on outstanding requirements, and coordinating with the Community Aquatics Program Manager as the department’s primary point of contact with PETS. 

• Maintain accurate and current records of employee certifications, clearances, onboarding requirements, training completion, availability, and other workforce-readiness information. 

• Identify onboarding, clearance, or compliance barriers and proactively work with employees, Human Resources, the Community Aquatics Program Manager, and other stakeholders to resolve issues and prevent unnecessary delays in deployment. 

• Coordinate initial employee orientation to Asphalt Green expectations, policies, systems, culture, and Community Aquatics operations, partnering with the Field Supervisor and program leadership on instructional and site-specific components. 

Workforce Operations, Payroll & Employee Communication

• Serve as a central operational resource for Community Aquatics employees and leadership regarding hiring, onboarding, payroll, compliance, certifications, training requirements, and other workforce processes. 

• Serve as a timecard approver for assigned Community Aquatics employees, reviewing timekeeping and payroll information for accuracy and completeness and coordinating corrections with employees, Site Supervisors, Payroll, and the Community Aquatics Program Manager as necessary. 

• Support accurate and timely payroll processing through proactive communication, follow-up, documentation, and adherence to established organizational procedures. 

• Develop, maintain, and automate recurring workforce communications related to payroll, timekeeping, onboarding, certifications, compliance, training, deadlines, and other operational requirements to create clear and consistent processes for employees and supervisors. 

• Maintain and continuously improve standard operating procedures, templates, workflows, trackers, and communication systems that promote consistency, accountability, and an effective employee experience across Community Aquatics. 

• Monitor workforce availability and readiness across locations and provide timely information to the Community Aquatics Program Manager to support staffing and deployment decisions. 

Training, Certification & Employee Development Support

• Partner with the Community Aquatics Program Manager and Field Supervisor to coordinate Community Aquatics training and professional-development operations, ensuring employees receive required and appropriate development throughout their employment. 

• Coordinate training logistics, communications, attendance, completion records, certification requirements, and follow-up while supporting the Field Supervisor and other Aquatics leaders responsible for instructional training and coaching. 

• Maintain comprehensive certification records and proactively identify employees requiring initial certification, recertification, or other required training to remain deployment-ready. 

• Obtain and maintain American Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor certification and support the delivery of lifeguard certification, recertification, and other applicable training opportunities for Community Aquatics employees. 

• Support employees pursuing additional certifications, responsibilities, and professional-development opportunities and help connect high-performing staff with appropriate pathways for continued growth. 

• Gather feedback and workforce information from employees, Site Supervisors, the Field Supervisor, and Aquatics leadership to identify recurring training, onboarding, and employee-support needs. 

Program Operations & Expansion Support

• Maintain operational awareness of Community Aquatics staffing, program schedules, site needs, and upcoming launches to anticipate workforce and administrative requirements. 

• Support the launch and expansion of new Community Aquatics programs and locations by coordinating hiring, onboarding, compliance, certifications, employee communications, training logistics, and other workforce-readiness needs. 

• Deploy to Community Aquatics locations during new program launches, staffing transitions, or periods of elevated operational need to provide hands-on support and help stabilize operations. 

• Collaborate with Site Supervisors and the Field Supervisor to address workforce or operational challenges while maintaining clear ownership of respective staffing, instructional-quality, and site-management responsibilities. 

• Provide additional operational leadership and on-site support when needed to maintain safe, organized, and uninterrupted programming. 

• Support special events, staff initiatives, department-wide projects, and other Community Aquatics priorities as assigned. 

What Success Looks Like

• Community Aquatics maintains a strong and responsive workforce pipeline, with recruitment and hiring activity aligned to current staffing needs and anticipated program growth. 

• New employees move efficiently from candidate to hire to deployment, with onboarding, PETS clearance, certifications, systems, and other requirements actively tracked through completion. 

• Workforce information is accurate, organized, and readily available, allowing the Community Aquatics Program Manager to make informed staffing and deployment decisions. 

• Payroll and timekeeping processes are accurate and timely, with clear procedures and automated communications reducing recurring errors, missed deadlines, and unnecessary follow-up. 

• Standard operating procedures, workflows, trackers, and employee communications create a consistent and effective workforce experience across Community Aquatics locations. 

• Employees receive clear information regarding onboarding, payroll, certifications, compliance, training, and other employment requirements and know where to go for operational support. 

• Training and certification infrastructure is organized and proactive, helping maintain a qualified, compliant, and deployment-ready workforce while creating opportunities for employee development. 

• New programs and locations receive the staffing and hands-on operational support needed to launch successfully and stabilize quickly. 

• Operational challenges are identified early and addressed practically, with the Operations Specialist demonstrating ownership, follow-through, and appropriate escalation. 

• Site Supervisors, the Field Supervisor, Human Resources, Payroll, and Aquatics leadership experience the Operations Specialist as a reliable operational partner who strengthens the systems supporting frontline employees and program delivery. 

Required Qualifications 

• Minimum of 2–3 years of progressive experience in aquatics, recreation, youth programming, workforce operations, or a related environment, including experience supporting staff, programs, or operational systems. 

• Experience participating in recruitment, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, or other employee lifecycle processes. 

• Exceptional organizational skills and demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent workflows, deadlines, employee needs, and operational priorities. 

• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with candidates, frontline employees, managers, and cross-functional partners. 

• Strong attention to detail and demonstrated ability to maintain accurate employee, payroll, compliance, and operational records. 

• Ability to develop and maintain clear processes, workflows, standard operating procedures, and recurring communications. 

• Sound judgment, initiative, and ability to identify operational problems, develop practical solutions, and appropriately escalate issues requiring management attention. 

• Ability to lead through influence, coordination, and subject-matter expertise without formal supervisory authority. 

• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with Human Resources, Payroll, Aquatics leadership, Site Supervisors, the Field Supervisor, and other internal partners. 

• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office and ability to effectively utilize Paycom, Salesforce, and other organizational systems. 

• Ability and willingness to regularly travel among Community Aquatics locations throughout New York City based on workforce, launch, and operational needs. 

• Schedule flexibility based on program needs, including early mornings, evenings, occasional weekends, trainings, hiring activities, and new-site launches. 

Employment Requirements

• Employment is contingent upon successful completion of all required background checks and New York City Public Schools Personnel Eligibility Tracking System (PETS) clearance. Employees must obtain and maintain an Active and Eligible PETS status throughout employment. 

Required Certifications

• American Red Cross Lifeguarding certification, including First Aid and CPR/AED, is required for the position but does not need to be held at the time of application. Candidates must obtain the required certification within an established timeframe following hire; Asphalt Green will provide access to required certification training. 

• American Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor certification is required within one year of employment. Asphalt Green will provide access to the necessary instructor-level certification and professional-development opportunities. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting high-volume or multi-site aquatics, recreation, education, nonprofit, or youth-development operations. 

• Experience working with Paycom or a comparable HRIS/timekeeping platform. 

• Experience coordinating employee certifications, background clearances, or other workforce-compliance processes. 

• Experience developing automated or standardized employee communications and administrative workflows. 

• Experience facilitating staff orientation, certification courses, or professional-development activities. 

Schedule and Work Environment 

This role is based at Upper East Side; Off-site and requires the schedule and availability described in the Job Overview above. 

Community Aquatics programming operates across multiple locations throughout New York City, including Asphalt Green’s Upper East Side campus, River East Elementary School, Lehman College, BronxWorks, College of Staten Island, and George Washington Educational Campus. 

The Operations Specialist will maintain a regular administrative base while traveling among Community Aquatics locations based on recruitment, onboarding, training, workforce, program-launch, and operational needs. MetroCard/public transportation expenses associated with required work-related travel will be reimbursed in accordance with Asphalt Green policy. 

Physical Requirements

• Ability to perform the physical requirements associated with lifeguarding, staff training, and emergency response, including entering and exiting the pool, performing water rescues, and assisting participants during emergency situations. 

• Ability to remain actively engaged and mobile during trainings, new-site launches, and periods of on-site operational support, including extended periods on pool decks and movement throughout aquatic facilities. 

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.