The Environmental Health Services (EHS) Division of Public Health – Seattle and King County is seeking applicants from diverse backgrounds who are representative of our King County population to apply for the position of Assistant Division Director for Community Environmental Health.
Working collaboratively with four program leaders and supporting approximately 30 staff, the Assistant Division Director is responsible for overseeing the On-site Sewage System (OSS) Permitting, Operation and Maintenance, and Plumbing and Gas Piping Inspection programs, and supporting the development of new bodies of work. This senior division leadership position reports to the Director of the Environmental Health Services Division and is one of three Assistant Division Directors.
The Assistant Division Director will serve on the senior management team and act on behalf of the director in the director’s absence in state and regional environmental public health discussions. This role requires partnership and coalition building with many different work units, external partners, and regulatory agencies. You will represent the division and department in interagency partnerships and processes, and in regulatory, policy and political arenas. You will also work with staff and subject matter experts to align land use planning, environmental regulatory codes, gas and plumbing codes to inform decisions.
To be successful, you must be able to facilitate open dialog with a wide variety of contributors, sometimes balancing conflicting interests or opinions. You will enjoy working in a fast-paced, political environment to strategically advance safe and healthy water and wastewater treatment. You will be able to work with program subject matter experts to use evidence-based best practices and scientific data to make and communicate decisions. You will enjoy developing people and teams and be effective at developing productive relationships with agency partners and regulated entities.
Background
Through the work of over 160 dedicated employees, the Environmental Health Services Division promotes healthy and equitable environmental conditions and prevents disease through sanitation, safe food, air, and water, and reduction of exposure to hazardous materials. In addition to permitting and inspecting public pools, spas, pet businesses, plumbing installations, on-site septic systems, and solid waste facilities, the division also works in partnership with community to address unhealthy environmental conditions and leads the department’s climate change efforts. Our vision is healthy, safe, and vibrant communities that are free of health disparities based on race, gender, or economic status. The Division’s core values include equity and social justice, integrity, community service, collaboration, a supportive work culture, and learning from each other and the communities we serve. To learn more, please visit here.
Work Schedule
Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, 40 hours per week. This position is Exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Work Location
This position is based out of the Chinook Building, located at 401 5th Ave, Seattle, WA, 98104 on the 11th floor. Some of the work associated with this position will be performed through teleworking, and will report to office location and to meetings as needed. Travel to other work locations may be necessary. Employees will have access to shared workspaces at various King County facilities. Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.
What you will be doing:
- Effectively lead and manage work in the Community Environmental Health (CEH) section managing the daily operations and be responsible for directing and supervising the work of supervisors, professional, and technical staff.
- Finding creative solutions to provide unfunded, mandated services.
- Solving wicked problems that require collaboration with industry, government agencies, and the public.
- Mediating between staff, customers, labor representatives, and other interested parties.
- Providing customer service for escalated issues raised by customers, staff, county leadership, and elected officials.
You will:
- Serve as a liaison for the division director and provide information, communicate decisions, and represent the mission, goals and values of the Environmental Health Services Division with diverse internal and external groups.
- Collaborate and support program supervisors in navigating challenging situations and supporting programs in carrying out their missions.
- Engage in division, section, and program strategy development, as well as budget planning and development.
- Collaborate with managers in the Section on collecting data and creating effective reports to guide and meet strategies and priorities and ensure accountability.
- Use available data resources to craft evidence-based environmental public health policy and further processes and partnerships to advance these policies.
- Advance integration of racial equity work into the services and functions of the section and ensure that services are delivered in equitable and culturally competent ways.
- Foster and advance positive relationships with regulated customers, community residents, local and state agencies, and elected officials.
- Support program supervisors in working with Human Resources Division, including hiring, training, staff development, and disciplinary actions. Ensure that employees are treated with respect and fairness.
- Respond rapidly emerging environmental public health issues and incidents.
- Other duties as assigned by the Environmental Health Services Director.
Our ideal candidate will demonstrate the following (Minimum):
- A minimum of five (5) years of recent and verifiable management experience in a large organization, with a well-developed broad range of management skills (including staff supervision, collaborative leadership, team consensus building, and strategic planning). Experience must include full oversight of personnel assigned to one of the following work disciplines serving environmental programs:
- community services;
- environmental planning;
- regulatory compliance and land use; OR
- education and engagement.
Knowledge and skill in the principles and practices of successful supervision, employee coaching and performance management. A minimum of four (4) years of experience directly supervising diverse personnel.
Competencies You Bring:
- Manages Complexity - Making sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
- Makes Courageous Decisions - Making good and timely decisions that align regulatory and political context while also meeting customer needs and promoting racial equity.
- Ensures Accountability - Holding self and others accountable to meet commitments through strategic planning, using data and other tools.
- Supports Effective Teams – Providing guidance to program supervisors and leads to build strong teams that apply their diverse skills and perspectives to achieve a common goal, including addressing personnel issues.
- Navigates political pressures – Working with elected officials, partner agencies, and the public to build systems that enhance current and future services, using advanced skills in communicating, negotiating, and identifying solutions that balance everyone’s interests within the financial capacity and staffing constraints.
- Transferable skills: Your transferable skills are any skills you have gained through education, work experience (including the military), volunteer experience, or life experience that are relevant for this position. Be sure to describe any transferable skills in supplemental question #1 and how they apply to this position.
The most competitive applicants will have the following experience and qualifications (Desired):
- Master of Science degree in Environmental Health/Sciences, Master's Degree in Public Health, Public Administration or Public Policy, OR a closely related field OR equivalent professional experience.
- Demonstrated experience with grants and contracts.
- Demonstrated experience in policy and strategy development.
- Ability to successfully navigate in a union environment to support staff and ensure program needs are met.
- Knowledge of and experience applying change management principles.
To Apply
If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.
Who May Apply
This Career Service position is open to all qualified applicants.
Application Process
The following items are required to be considered for this vacancy:
- NeoGov Job Application (The responses on your job application should be thorough and complete and will be used in the screening process)
- Supplemental Questions (The responses to the supplemental questions should be thorough and complete and will be used in the screening process)
- Cover Letter, describing how you meet or exceed the experience and competencies listed in the Minimum Qualifications (will be used in the screening process)
Your application may be rejected as incomplete if you do not include the relevant information in the application. Cover letters and/or resumes are not accepted in lieu of a completed application. Applications and/or Supplemental Questionnaires that state "see my resume" or "see my personnel file" are considered incomplete and will not be accepted.
Necessary Special Requirements
- The selection process may include evaluation of application materials and supplemental questions, interviewing, and testing. You must completely fill out the application with your relevant education and work experience.
- The selected candidate must be able to pass a thorough background investigation, but findings may not necessarily disqualify an applicant for employment.
- Employees are required to protect the privacy and security of protected health information as defined in State and Federal Law.
- Regular and reliable attendance, effective communication skills, and development of effective working relationships are requirements of all Public Health positions.
Union Membership
Not represented
Contact
For questions about the application process, contact Catherine Fitzpatrick, Sr. HR Analyst at Catherine.fitzpatrick@kingcounty.gov.
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