Position Description

For nearly a century, Providence has been a Christian academic community in the evangelical tradition that teaches people to grow in knowledge and character for leadership and service. Our vision is to become a leading Canadian Christ-centered university that transforms students into leaders of knowledge, character, and faith to serve Christ in a changing world.

POSITION OVERVIEW

Reporting to the Director of Athletics, the Head Coach for Men’s Volleyball is responsible for following the vision set by the Providence Athletics Department, recruiting a full roster, and developing an environment that fosters academic success, Christ-centered personal growth, and athletic excellence.

The Head Coach will be tasked with leading and developing the program to be competitive nationally within the CCAA, especially as it anticipates the MCAC’s hosting of the 2025 CCAA Men’s Volleyball National Championships.

This position requires an individual who possesses an exceptional ability to plan strategically and execute the plan tactically. The individual must be able to develop contract and volunteer staffing, maintain and develop a strong model for sustainability and growth for their team, and work with athletes and assistant coaching staff to develop Christ-centered personal growth, character, servant leadership, interpersonal skills, academic success, and athletic excellence. This will be done within a strong commitment to the Christian faith and in support of the strategic plan of the University.

The individual must possess knowledge of industry leading practices in the sport of volleyball and recruiting, experience in the use of marketing and branding awareness, fundraising, and the ability to clearly and enthusiastically articulate vision, to build a program that is highly missional and nationally competitive while supporting institutional strategic initiatives.

SUMMARY OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Missional Goals: Actively participate in achieving our mission of providing student-athletes with an environment that fosters academic success, Christ-centered personal growth, and athletic excellence.
• Character, Faith & Leadership: Continue, and build on, established strategies for intentionally investing in the character, faith, and leadership development of student-athletes. Demonstrate a desire and willingness to lead and mentor student-athletes in all these areas in both one-on-one and team settings.
• Service & Volunteering: Continue, and build on, established strategies for intentionally creating a culture and framework of service to others. In collaboration with the Athletic Ministry & Community Coordinator, schedule, organize, and keep players accountable to all Field Ed volunteering opportunities and requirements.
• Recruiting: Establish and maintain recruiting networks to recruit a minimum of a full roster (16 players), making strategic use of the athletic scholarship budget and institutional scholarships & bursaries, while using the Recruitment Pipeline and Athlete Rubric frameworks provided. Work collaboratively with the Enrollment department, following the established policies and procedures to ensure proper communication, follow up, and documentation of all potential recruits, campus visits, and newly signed players.
• Training & Competition: Create and execute annual season plans that encompass off-season and in-season strength & conditioning expectations, a pre-season training camp, team and individual training sessions, individual and/or team video sessions, and competition schedules including pre-season, regular season, post-season and national championships, all of which should maintain a healthy balance that upholds academic priorities, physical recovery, and engagement in the larger Providence community.
• Player Development: Actively provide a high degree of technical development of each player, specific to the position(s) they play, while teaching the theoretical framework of the game and how it can be applied practically in competition. This should include providing sport psychology-related strategies for individuals, and the team, to manage and overcome challenges in training and competition.
• Team Strategy: Actively teach, train, and implement various team strategies and decision-making frameworks that are appropriate and effective for university-level competition.
• Team Commitments: Provide leadership and intentional scheduling of team orientation and training sessions, Media Day, volunteering initiatives, team meetings, individual player meetings, study sessions, team Bible studies, Re-Fuel events, and the Athletic Awards Banquet.
• Academics: Maintain a positive and collaborative spirit with academic leadership and faculty. Continue to maintain and develop a high priority for academic success, expectations, and supports, ensuring athletic schedules and commitments allow for the opportunity of student-athlete success.
• Assistant Coaches and Managers: Recruit, hire, and manage all assistant coaches and volunteer managers within the budget provided, providing clear direction and active guidance regarding roles and expectations, creating a positive culture of consistent goal setting, efficient execution, and regular accountability.
• Compliance: Ensure understanding and compliance with Providence policies (institutional & athletic department), MCAC and CCAA handbooks, eligibility, etc., through active participation and support of formal athlete orientation sessions & training, and by ensuring ongoing support and accountability throughout the year.
• Reporting & Nominations: Ensure the timely submission of all game scores and relevant stats to the Sports Information Coordinator. Nominate any athletes who should be considered for various weekly or end-of-season MCAC and CCAA awards.
• Budgets: Plan and operate within the team’s annual budget as it relates to travel, recruiting, team events, and athletic scholarships. Compile and submit all credit card receipts and purchase approval forms by the institutional deadlines.
• Scheduling: Working together with the Director of Athletics and the opposite gender’s volleyball coach, create season schedules, travel plans and practice schedules that fit within the budget provided, course attendance policies and schedules, and minimum/maximum training expectations for teams at Providence.
• Team Travel: Be the lead supervisor for all team travel, ensuring players have a clear understanding of all expectations and policies, and ensure all team activities are coordinated and players have access to all resources to ensure a positive, team building experience.
• Department Meetings: Be present, and actively participate, in all Athletic department meetings.
• Institutional Meetings & Events: Be present for all Town Hall meetings, Staff/Faculty Orientation, Welcome Week activities, Welcome Banquet, Christmas Banquet, Graduation Banquet, Graduation Ceremony, and the annual Employee Appreciation Dinner.
• Alumni: Working together with the Director of Athletics and Coordinator of Alumni Relations, develop, maintain, and steward strong connections with alumni, providing opportunities for engagement and staying connected to the program and teams.
• Athletics partnerships: manage all team-specific activities, solicitation, cultivation, engagement, and stewardship of internal, external, and third-party partnerships, as assigned or directed.
• Marketing & Branding: Ensure all activities including website, social media, publications, signage, etc., follow the Providence Pilots and Providence University College branding guidelines.
• Team-Specific Social Media: Maintain consistent and regular postings on the team-specific social media accounts provided, throughout the entire year, following the Providence Pilots and Providence University College guidelines.
• Collaboration & Relational Commitments: Maintain positive, collaborative working relationships with all Providence athletics staff, Providence staff & faculty, and external partners. Aspire to establish and maintain positive, respectful relationships with opposing coaches, athletic department staff, referees, and all game day staff.
• Internal Committees: Participation in internal committees, as assigned.
• External Committees: Participation in relevant MCAC and CCAA committees, as assigned.
• Sports Camps & Club Volleyball: Serve as a feature instructor for our summer volleyball sports camps and be available to support, assist, and develop coaches and training sessions for our Junior Pilots Club Volleyball program.

PERSONAL COMMITMENT

• Be in good standing with a local church.
• An enthusiastic personal faith commitment.
• A commitment to Christian higher education and to Christian ministry.
• Affirm the Statement of Faith of Providence University College and Theological Seminary as outlined in the Employee Handbook.
• Able and willing to uphold the Covenant of Community Life and model conduct accordingly.

COMPETENCIES 

• Strong missional understanding.
• Excellent organizational and management abilities.
• Proven strengths in relationship management.
• Strong understanding of student-athlete recruitment and retention.
• Strong understanding of coaching and leadership of post-secondary varsity sports.
• Strong understanding of interpersonal and motivational skills.
• Ability to manage a budget and consider the relative costs and benefits of potential actions.
• Lead and motivate others.
• Establish and achieve clear outcomes.
• Work independently and in conjunction with others.
• Strong solution orientation to challenges with a keen ability to develop, evaluate, and implement solutions.
• Thorough knowledge of league regulations, requirements, and reporting systems.
• Ability to give full attention to what other people are saying and to use logic and reason to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions.
• Willingness to lead, model behaviour, demonstrate, and offer direction.
• Proven ability to maintain composure, keep emotions in check, and avoid aggressive behavior, even in difficult situations.
• Foster a philosophy of student recruitment and emphasize the value of academic excellence as an athlete.
• Willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
• Ability to work on multiple tasks at one time.
• Attentive to detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
• Excellent oral and written skills.
• Ability to move about campus and interact with students, faculty, staff, and guests, visiting teams.
• Capable of moving athletic and recreation equipment.
• Tact, persuasiveness, persistence, and diplomacy.
• Reliable, responsible, dependable, good judgment, initiative, flexibility, creativity, and latitude.
• Proficient in MS Office 365.

EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of an undergraduate degree.
• Minimum one year of collegiate or university athletic experience required.
• Prior coaching experience at the collegiate and/or university level is a strong asset.
• Minimum of 3 years head coaching experience required, either at club, high school, or post-secondary levels.
• Proven background in oversight and management of multiple athletes throughout a full season and off-season.
• Level 2 Certified. Commitment to pursue coaching levels until fully certified at Level 3.
• Related experience in post-secondary athletics, or equivalent, is an asset.
• Strong understanding of post-secondary athletics, academics, enrolment, branding, and administration.

WORK ARRANGEMENT

This is a full-time position, with 50% of the responsibilities being Head Coach Men’s Volleyball and 50% being administrative responsibilities within the Athletics department, the details of which will be discussed and determined as part of the hiring process.

Coaching responsibilities will require an average of 18.75 hours per week over 12 months (May-April). More hours per week are expected during the volleyball season (September-April) and fewer hours per week are expected during the off-season (May-August).

A time off framework and policy will be provided as part of the hiring process.

Coaching work hours will be primarily during evenings and weekends, with administrative responsibilities taking place during regular business hours. Flexibility in start and end times for daily work hours is provided. Travel will be required for this position.

APPLY

Submit a cover letter and resume by email to:

Scott Masterson, Vice President Operations & Director of Athletics

c/o Marlin Reimer, Human Resources Manager

Email: hr@prov.ca 

Start Date: April 2023.  Some flexibility with a later start date, if needed.   

Consideration of applications will continue until the position is filled. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply, however, Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents will be given priority. Applications from members of underrepresented groups are especially welcome. We thank all applicants for their interest. However, only those selected to proceed in the application process will be contacted.

Further information about Providence University College and Theological Seminary may be found at prov.ca.