Overview

Sports Facilities Planning & Project Consultant

| Columbus / Dublin, Ohio | Full-Time

Prepare to Play

This COMPANY helps clients move from field and facility problems to clear plans, realistic budgets, aligned stakeholders, and implementable projects.

About

This COMPANY helps schools, parks and recreation agencies, municipalities, and sports organizations make better decisions about their athletic facilities.

We work at the intersection of sports, turf, design, construction, operations, and public process. Our clients bring us in when the issue is bigger than just a bad field, a failing track, or a frustrated user group.

Often, there is a deeper gap between expectations, funding, operations, maintenance, and long-term planning. Our job is to help clients identify the real issue, define it clearly, and create a practical path forward.

They are hands-on, practical, and low ego. We focus on getting the details right because those details determine whether a facility performs well for the next ten years or becomes a problem again in two.

We do not just help clients build projects. We help them prepare to operate, sustain, and justify those projects over the long term.

The Role

We are seeking a Sports Facilities Planning & Project Consultant who can help lead the work that happens between the initial client conversation and a clear, defensible plan of action.

This role is part project manager, part analyst, part client advisor, and part on-the-ground facility strategist.

You should be comfortable sitting in meetings with city managers, public works directors, recreation staff, and passionate user groups—understanding both what is being said and what is not being said—and helping translate that into productive next steps.

One day you may be walking a site evaluating grading, drainage, wear patterns, and field layout.
Another day you may be reviewing maintenance costs, fee structures, and usage data.
The next day you may be preparing a report or presentation for a school board, city council, or community stakeholder meeting.

This is not purely a design role, not purely operations, and not an entry-level coordinator position.

It is a client-facing consulting role for someone who can connect technical, financial, operational, and political factors and help move projects forward.

This role is also well suited for someone with meaningful experience in sports facilities, parks and recreation, public-sector projects, construction, or a related field who is looking to grow further.

We brings deep experience in sports field planning, construction, operations, and maintenance. This role will work closely with senior leadership and technical staff who will provide guidance, mentorship, and hands-on training.

What You’ll Do

• Attend client meetings, site visits, and stakeholder sessions to gather information and understand the operational, social, and political context of projects

• Conduct sports facility and field assessments including natural grass and synthetic turf conditions, grading, drainage, irrigation, infrastructure, circulation, and safety

• Analyze maintenance practices, operational costs, fee structures, agreements, schedules, usage levels, staffing, and cost recovery

• Benchmark facilities, usage levels, and operational models against peer communities and accepted standards

• Identify root causes behind field and facility issues—not just visible symptoms

• Develop project budgets, implementation schedules, and scope frameworks as part of planning and feasibility studies

• Prepare written assessments, recommendations, and presentations that are clear, practical, and defensible

• Coordinate with engineers, landscape architects, contractors, and owner representatives during project development

• Review drawings, specifications, and technical documents and flag potential issues between plans and real-world conditions

• Help guide clients through conversations about priorities, funding, phasing, expectations, and long-term sustainability

• Support procurement and project development, including scopes of work, RFP support, and consultant coordination

• Manage multiple active projects with strong communication, follow-through, and sound judgment

What We’re Looking For

The right candidate is a strong listener, analytical thinker, and credible presence in both the field and the meeting room.

You don’t need to know everything on day one, but you should be someone who can walk into complex situations, ask the right questions, organize information, and help clients move from frustration to clarity.

You should have a practical understanding of how sports facilities operate both physically and financially, including familiarity with operational budgets, facility economics, and revenue streams across public and private organizations.

You should also be comfortable working across both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the work—discussing stakeholder dynamics in one conversation and analyzing budgets or field usage data in the next.

Most importantly, you should understand sports facilities beyond just terminology—how they function, how they fail, what they require, and why the details matter.

Preferred Experience & Qualifications

• 3–7 years of relevant experience in sports facility consulting, parks and recreation, athletic facilities, owner’s representation, project management, construction management, public works, or a related field

• Strong project management and organizational skills

• Strong writing and communication skills with the ability to produce clear reports and client-facing materials

• Analytical skills and comfort working with budgets, maintenance costs, fee models, cost recovery concepts, and project schedules

• Ability to read and interpret construction drawings and technical documents, or the aptitude to learn quickly

• Working knowledge of sports facilities and sports surfaces, or adjacent experience demonstrating the ability to learn quickly

• Ability to travel for site visits and meetings across Ohio

• Valid driver’s license

• Based in or willing to relocate to the Columbus / Dublin, Ohio area

Strong candidates may not check every box. If your experience aligns with the spirit of this role and you are eager to grow, we encourage you to apply.

Additional Helpful Experience

• Background in parks and recreation, sports turf, landscape architecture, athletics, construction, or municipal operations

• Experience working with municipalities, school districts, parks departments, or public agencies

• Familiarity with field drainage, irrigation, grading, surfacing systems, and sports infrastructure

• Experience with feasibility studies, capital planning, cost recovery analysis, or public project development

• Experience preparing scopes of work or procurement documents

• Experience with AutoCAD, Civil 3D, or similar tools (helpful but not required)

• Certifications such as CSFM, CPRP, PLA, PMP, or related credentials are a plus

What Success Looks Like

Within your first year, you are contributing meaningfully to client meetings, running portions of site visits and facility assessments, helping produce high-quality deliverables, and building confidence with clients and project partners.

You learn to identify the underlying issue behind facility challenges and help structure projects that are technically sound, operationally realistic, and politically defensible.

Over time, clients trust you because you are prepared, thoughtful, and steady. Internally, you become a key contributor who helps move complex projects from early conversation to clear action.

Why

This role offers the opportunity to work on projects that are both interesting and impactful.

You will gain exposure to the full lifecycle of sports facility projects—assessment, planning, stakeholder engagement, budgeting, design coordination, implementation, and long-term operations.

You will work on real issues affecting communities, schools, athletes, and public agencies. Your judgment will matter, your growth will be meaningful, and your work will help shape facilities that people rely on every day.

COMPANY is a small team environment, which means you will have the opportunity to contribute directly and make a visible impact.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary: $80,000 – $90,000, depending on experience

Additional benefits and support will be discussed during the interview process.

How to Apply

Send your resume and a brief note describing a project, facility, or situation in which you had to identify the root problem before recommending a solution.

Email: [Meliza Dae Garcia mdcarino@archipro.com]
Subject: Sports Facilities Planning & Project Consultant Application

If you have work samples, writing samples, project summaries, or other materials that demonstrate your approach to problem-solving, please include them.

Tagged as: Construction Managment, Landscape Architecture, Landscape Design, Project Managment, Sports Facilities Consultant