Abstract Technician - Senior

Full Job Description

With a growing portfolio of commercial and residential property parcels, King County’s Department of Assessments is looking for interested applicants to apply for the Abstract Technician – Senior position. This position plays a vital role in advancing our mission to ensure fair and equitable property tax administration by performing complex legal description analysis and review, as well as providing outstanding customer service to our taxpayers.

King County’s Department of Assessments is looking for a dynamic and collaborative property legal description and chain of legal custody analyst to support the daily administration of the County’s legal property description maintenance. We are looking for action oriented creative thinkers who can multi-task and bring their property parcel and chain of title administrative skill and desire for excellence to this role. This position will focus on customer service and support to help the department achieve its commitment to be "The Best Assessments Department in North America".

ABOUT THE POSITION:
The Department of Assessments is seeking an employee who possesses strong functional and technical skills when working with legal descriptions, cadastral maps, chain of title, or property issues and who understands the value of maintaining the configuration and integrity of King County’s real property tax assessment parcel data while overseeing the work of the department's mapping/abstract unit employees and for providing support to the King County Assessor, Accounting Division Director, and/or designee in resolving property, taxpayer, chain of title, or personnel issues.

Are You....

A seasoned and senior research-oriented professional with the ability to identify the chain of custody and ownership of properties using varied sources of information?

Can you back up your decision and title searches with verifiable data? Can you interpret, research, and resolve complex parcel discrepancies based on deeds, customer requests, or court orders?

Business and complex legal/property boundary description writing savvy and able to write concise legal descriptions; proportion or prorate assessed value or revise maps to reconfigure parcels based on segregations, mergers, or lot line adjustments, following recorded conveyances, court documents, and taxpayer requests?

A senior customer service star? Do you have strong property and title research skills? Or real property knowledge relating to problems/resolutions of title and taxes?

Can you correspond with property owners and other representatives regarding problems/resolutions relating to title, taxes, and other situations?

Organized and attentive to detail? Can you work to resolve a variety of complex tax parcel/property identification problems? Can you apply tax status changes to parcels based on legal conveyances between public and private entities, and other property transactions?

If so, then read on to see if this position is right for you.

Requirements

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY: The Department of Assessments has an Abstract Technician Senior position in our Accounting Division’s Abstract & Mapping Unit. This position serves a vital role in meeting our mission of ensuring fair and equitable property tax administration by performing complex legal description reviews or changes; working with complex right of way issues, formal plats, and condominiums; and providing technical assistance, guidance, and training to entry level technicians. The work includes analysis and research of surrounding properties; problems determining ownership; and involves several legal descriptions requiring historic research or where a chain of title problem affects the current property; and contentious issues or those involving several represented parties. The ability to be flexible, adapt to a changing daily routine, and process complex and technical assignments while maintaining a production schedule, all while in a remote, telework environment. Daily interaction with staff and the public requires collaborative, analytical, customer service, and application processing and research skills. The successful applicant who accepts this position will work a 4-day per week schedule, 8.75 hours per day schedule for thirty-five (35) hours per week.

The successful candidate will:

• Maintain the configuration of King County’s real property tax assessment parcel structure.
• Read and write concise, complex legal descriptions; proportion or prorate assessed value and revise maps to reconfigure parcels as related to complex segregations, mergers, plats, condominiums or lot line adjustments, based on recorded conveyances, court documents and taxpayer requests.
• Research and resolve challenging and complex parcel discrepancies based on deeds, customer requests or court orders.
• Work to resolve a variety of complex tax parcel problems.
• Alter tax status of parcels based on conveyances between public and private entities, create split accounts, prorate assessed values.
• Review/process formal plats and condominiums.
• Interpret complex legal descriptions and technical documents for internal and external customers.
• Correspond with property owners and other representatives regarding problems/resolutions relating to title, taxes and other situations.

Qualifications

WE ARE LOOKING FOR CANDIDATES WITH:

• Strong background in real estate terminology, principles & practice.
• The ability to perform complex property title research, chain of custody, & conveyance.
• Solid analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills and the ability to work independently as well as part of a team in a collaborative, team-centered environment.
• Strong Customer focus with a dedication to integrity, ethics, trust, and values.
• The ability to read, write, and interpret property legal descriptions, surveys, real estate documents, property title and sales documents, paying close attention to detail and a need for accuracy.
• Proficiency and ease in using business productivity tools and business technology tools in your everyday work; (We use Microsoft Office Suite and ArcGIS, plus other internal applications & assessment related tools)
• Exceptional listening skills and the ability to keep up with evolving business needs through flexibility and rapid integration of new concepts.
• Demonstrated skill in reading & interpreting cadastral maps.
• A strong understanding of applicable federal, state, and local codes, regulations, policies, and procedures as they relate to physical & legal property changes or other complex policies and procedures.

BONUS IF CANDIDATES HAVE THESE ADDITIONAL DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience in land surveying, mapping software, and technology.
• Knowledge of property title search practices.
• Familiarity with Washington State property tax rules.
• Experience as an Abstract Technician.

Additional Information

Forbes named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.

Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference?

Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work, and play.

Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion, and belonging in our workplace and workforce.

To reach this goal, we are committed to workforce equity.

Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles - we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards.

We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF ASSESSMENTS
An award-winning leader and innovator in government property assessments, with 210 employees and an annual budget of over $37 million, the department administers King County's property valuation and assessment process. The Assessor’s Office has a significant impact on the funding received each year by a wide range of important County public services. The agency uses innovative business intelligence tools and cutting-edge technology to be more efficient with current resources and provide value-added services to taxpayers. The Department of Assessments has collaborative partnerships with 155 separate taxing districts and 39 cities. To learn more, please visit our website at: www.kingcounty.gov/Assessor.aspx:

To Apply

If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. A resume, cover letter, and answers to the supplemental questions are required.

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.

The applicants who meet the required minimum qualifications and indicate through an analysis of their submitted application materials that they possess the most competitive background in direct and recent job-related experience, knowledge, skill, abilities, and training may be called for further selection processing.

Additional selection process analysis may include, but is not limited to, written and performance exams, written work submittals, web-based/online examinations, oral panel, and/or manager interviews.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

The Abstract/Mapping team works in a hybrid model, with days in the office as well as telecommuting. The ratio of remote to onsite work will be dependent on business needs and is subject to change. The primary onsite location is King Street Center, 201 S. Jackson, Seattle, Washington 98104.

Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.

King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely.

The individual selected for this opportunity will join an innovative and progressive team that is redefining how we work as we transition to the department's hybrid environment.

Employees will be provided with a County-issued laptop and must maintain a home workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours.

WORK SCHEDULES: This position is scheduled to work thirty-five (35) hours per week and is overtime eligible with prior supervisory approval.

Employees in these positions work four (4) days per week, typically Monday through Thursday, or Tuesday through Friday, (8.75 hours per day) based upon management staffing needs and in accordance with applicable collective bargaining agreements and King County policy.

UNION MEMBERSHIP: Positions in this classification are represented by the OPEIU, Local 8.