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What does a park manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read

Park Managers are responsible for overseeing the operations of parks. Their duties include organizing work schedules and assignments, supervising park maintenance activities, conduct park inspections, and assess revenue channels. They are also responsible for administering park programs, facilitating park constructions, and helping staff training and recruitment initiatives. Park Managers also assist in resource protection services as well as educational outreach operations. They collaborate and foster good relations with the government, local communities, and non-profits in managing natural resources.

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Park manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real park manager resumes:

  • Manage mobile home park, monthly meter reading, manage maintenance crew, monthly billing and collection of rent.
  • Manage ATV trail system by creating a safe and fun environment for outdoor enthusiasts.
  • Lead seminars refreshing guards on their CPR and rescue skills as well as recertified some of them.
  • Manage natural areas including vegetation removal, planting, herbicide work, tree care, and mowing.
  • Provide leadership and supervision by managing day-to-day operations for a county park facility.
  • Manage all brewery operations including special project management, raw material ordering and handling, production scheduling, and client interfacing.
  • park care, weed whacking and push mowing
  • Perform investigations patron/cashier complaints, parking lot maintenance reports, mobile patrol.
  • Teach CPR classes to lifeguards, slide attendants and managers of the resort.
  • Assist park visitors with shelter and pavilion reservations, campsite locations and set-up and park activities.
  • Repair and preventative maintenance of plumbing, electrical, building structures, water and sewer dept.
  • Hire vendors, handle all maintenance issues and ensure small water and sewer plant are operational.
  • Monitor the maintenance of the facility to ensure that cleanliness and maintenance according to company policy and procedures.
  • Schedule and process reservations for overnight camping, RV parking, use of cabins, and use of yurts.
  • Perform personal repairs (electrical, plumbing, carpentry, air conditioning / ceiling fan installation) for tenants.

Park manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 9% of Park Managers are proficient in Payroll, Human Resources, and Public Safety. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Physical stamina, and Speaking skills.

We break down the percentage of Park Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Payroll, 9%

    Monitored payroll and cash handling to help ensure profitability.

  • Human Resources, 8%

    Facilitated Equal Employment Opportunity Training, and assisted with completion of forms for Human Resources.

  • Public Safety, 7%

    Provide public safety through patrols, emergency response plans, collaborative efforts with local law enforcement agencies and emergency personnel services.

  • Customer Satisfaction, 6%

    Improved customer satisfaction and retention by encouraging customer feedback and conducting frequent quality inspections.

  • Cleanliness, 5%

    Monitored the maintenance of the facility to ensure that cleanliness and maintenance according to company policy and procedures.

  • POS, 5%

    Implemented new systems for the restaurant involving POS systems, Open Table, internal computer network.

"payroll," "human resources," and "public safety" are among the most common skills that park managers use at work. You can find even more park manager responsibilities below, including:

Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a park manager to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "conservation scientists and foresters must be able to evaluate results from field tests and experiments to determine potential impacts on soil, forest lands, and the spread of fires." Park managers often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "analyzed past financial reports to minimize expenses and maximize growth potential for profit. "

Physical stamina. Another essential skill to perform park manager duties is physical stamina. Park managers responsibilities require that "conservation scientists and foresters may walk long distances in challenging terrain, such as steep or wooded areas, and may work in all kinds of weather conditions." Park managers also use physical stamina in their role according to a real resume snippet: "monitored the performance of employees provided oversight of physical condition and appearance of deck. "

Management skills. A big part of what park managers do relies on "management skills." You can see how essential it is to park manager responsibilities because "conservation scientists and foresters must be able to lead the forest and conservation workers and technicians they supervise." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical park manager tasks: "report losses, employee behavioral issues, serious customer complaints and other significant issues to upper level management. "

Most common park manager skills

The three companies that hire the most park managers are:

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Compare different park managers

Park manager vs. Interpretive naturalist

Assistant directors are employees in show business who directly support directors. They may be working on a film, television show, or theatre production. Assistant directors are the second-in-command on the set. They take over for the director when he/she or she is unable to work. Assistant directors should be familiar with the script and the scenes. They are usually heavily involved in the conception of the production. They ensure that the plans are executed well by assisting in the selection of the cast and crew, production sets, and other set providers. They also make sure that shoot days or performance days go without a hitch by ironing out all the details in advance and preparing alternatives.

We looked at the average park manager salary and compared it with the wages of an interpretive naturalist. Generally speaking, interpretive naturalists are paid $356 higher than park managers per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both park manager and interpretive naturalist positions are skilled in customer service, cpr, and natural resources.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between park managers and interpretive naturalist. For instance, park manager responsibilities require skills such as "payroll," "human resources," "public safety," and "customer satisfaction." Whereas a interpretive naturalist is skilled in "natural history," "interpretive programs," "public speaking," and "dnr." This is part of what separates the two careers.

On average, interpretive naturalists reach similar levels of education than park managers. Interpretive naturalists are 0.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Park manager vs. Assistant director

Naturalists are people who educate the public on environmental-related matters. The core responsibilities of this position are preserving, restoring, maintaining, and protecting natural habitat. Other duties performed by a naturalist are; guide work, conducting field studies of local and natural habitats, educating and providing the general public with recreational activities, assisting with administrative tasks that relate to parking admission, and leading and offering guidance during trips and nature walks for both adults and children.

Assistant director positions earn higher pay than park manager roles. They earn a $20,078 higher salary than park managers per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both park managers and assistant directors have skills such as "payroll," "human resources," and "customer service. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that park manager responsibilities requires skills like "public safety," "customer satisfaction," "cleanliness," and "pos." But an assistant director might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "child care," "alumni," "direct supervision," and "professional development."

Assistant directors earn higher levels of education than park managers in general. They're 9.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Park manager vs. Natural resource educator

On average scale, natural resource educators bring in lower salaries than park managers. In fact, they earn a $3,193 lower salary per year.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from park manager resumes include skills like "payroll," "human resources," "public safety," and "customer satisfaction," whereas a natural resource educator is more likely to list skills in "education programs," "public speaking," "environmental education," and "water quality. "

When it comes to education, natural resource educators tend to earn higher degree levels compared to park managers. In fact, they're 7.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 4.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Park manager vs. Naturalist

Naturalists typically earn lower pay than park managers. On average, naturalists earn a $622 lower salary per year.While both park managers and naturalists complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like cpr, natural resources, and visitor services, the two careers vary in some skills.While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "payroll," "human resources," "public safety," and "customer satisfaction" are skills that commonly show up on park manager resumes. On the other hand, naturalists use skills like nature programs, cultural history, natural history, and outdoor education on their resumes.naturalists reach similar levels of education compared to park managers, in general. The difference is that they're 0.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of park manager

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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