Middle School Athetlic Director

Middle School Athletic Director

West Ottawa Public Schools is seeking a high-energy, student-centered, and relationship-driven Middle School Athletic Director to lead and support athletic programming at Harbor Lights Middle School and Macatawa Bay Middle School. This position will help build a unified vision for West Ottawa Middle School Athletics while creating meaningful opportunities for students to belong, compete, lead, and grow. At West Ottawa, athletics are an extension of the educational experience. Participation, character development, leadership, school pride, and student belonging are central to the purpose of middle school athletics. The Middle School Athletic Director will support coaches, coordinate athletic operations, strengthen student participation, reinforce school-wide PBIS expectations, and help align local youth programming, middle school, and high school athletic programs. The ideal candidate is visible, organized, innovative, competitive, and focused on student growth and development in the middle years.

Core beliefs include that athletics are an extension of the educational experience, participation matters as much as performance, every student deserves opportunities to belong, winning programs are built on a strong culture, student leadership and character development are essential, athletics should reinforce school-wide PBIS expectations, and youth, middle school, and high school programs should operate with aligned values.

Essential duties and responsibilities include athletic leadership, culture, and student engagement; student-athlete development; coach leadership and program alignment; operations, events, and logistics; and family, school, and community communication.

The work schedule and expectations include varying schedules by athletic season, practice schedules, and contest calendar, with evening availability required during athletic seasons and occasional weekend availability. Consistent and reliable in-person attendance is required.

Required qualifications include a high school diploma, successful coaching experience, strong organizational skills, relational capacity, passion for working with middle school students, ability to communicate clearly, professionally, and proactively, ability to lead, motivate, and support adults and students, ability to build systems, traditions, and a positive athletic culture, strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, high ethical standards, integrity, and professionalism, and ability to work evenings and occasional weekends.

Preferred qualifications include teacher certification and teaching experience, successful coaching experience at the high school or college level, familiarity with strength and conditioning programming, experience with athletic scheduling, transportation coordination, event supervision, and athletic management systems, and demonstrated ability to increase student participation and expand access for all students.

Compensation will be commensurate with experience and in accordance with district policies.

Application procedure: Interested candidates should apply online through the West Ottawa Public Schools employment portal and submit a resume and professional references. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled.