Transit Emergency Management and Life Safety Superintendent

Full Job Description

The Transit Emergency Management and Life Safety Superintendent provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for the Life Safety and Emergency Management workgroup. This role is responsible for ensuring the agency is prepared to prevent, respond to, and recover from emergencies that impact employees, customers, assets, and operations. This position plays a critical role in advancing a culture of preparedness, safety, and resilience across the organization through planning, training, coordination, and continuous improvement.

Safety, Security & Quality Assurance Mission: We provide leadership and the highest level of support and customer focus to continuously improve Metro’s safety culture and security practices in order to best protect Metro employees, patrons and the communities we serve from harm.

Requirements

Applying equity and social justice principles is a daily responsibility and foundational expectation for all King County employees. In this role, you will apply equity and social justice principles that exemplify shared values, behaviors, and practices to all aspects of this work. As the Transit Emergency Management and Life Safety Superintendent, you will:

• Lead and manage the Life Safety and Emergency Management workgroup, setting operational priorities, goals, and performance expectations.
• Oversee hazard identification and risk assessments related to natural disasters, security threats, workplace violence, and other transit-related emergency scenarios.
• Direct the development, implementation, and maintenance of emergency response plans, procedures, and protocols.
• Administer and continuously improve the workplace violence prevention program.
• Plan, conduct, and evaluate emergency preparedness training, exercises, and drills for employees and supervisors.
• Coordinate emergency preparedness, response, and recovery activities with internal divisions and external partners, including local, regional, state, and federal agencies.
• Provide leadership during emergency activations, ensuring coordinated response, clear communication, and timely decision-making.
• Support recovery, continuity of operations, and business resumption planning following incidents and emergencies.
• Review incidents, exercises, and after-action reports to identify lessons learned and implement corrective actions.
• Ensure compliance with applicable safety, security, emergency management, and life-safety regulations, standards, and best practices.
• Supervise professional and technical staff including hiring, performance management, coaching, training, and labor relations support.
• Track and report on program performance, trends, and outcomes, and prepare briefings and recommendations for leadership.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

We are looking for candidates who meet the following minimum qualifications:

• Progressive experience in emergency management, life safety, public safety, or a related discipline AND bachelor’s degree in emergency management, public safety, public administration, planning, or a related field OR any equivalent combination of experience and education which provides the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work.
• Training in Critical Incident Management for Institutions of Higher Education, National Incident Management Systems (NIMS) and/or Incident Command Systems (ICS).
• Experience leading teams and supervising staff, including coaching employees, managing performance, and fostering an inclusive, high performing workplace culture.
• Knowledge of emergency management frameworks, regulations, and best practices applicable to transit or large public agencies.
• Knowledge of all-hazards emergency management principles including mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
• Demonstrated ability to identify hazards, assess risk, and implement effective safety and life-safety mitigations in complex operational environments.
• Ability to translate organizational goals into actionable emergency management and life-safety strategies.
• Experience designing, delivering, and evaluating training programs, drills, and exercises.
• Demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement and accountability, using data and evaluation findings to strengthen programs and practices.
• Ability to clearly communicate complex information to diverse audiences, including frontline staff, leadership, and external partners.
• Demonstrated ability to remain calm, make sound decisions, and lead effectively during high-pressure emergency situations.
• Skill in building partnerships and coordinating effectively with internal departments and external agencies during planning and response.
• Proficient using various technology platforms and tracking management systems, including WebEOC, SharePoint, MS Teams, and MS Suite.

Highly competitive candidates will have the following desired (but not required) qualifications:

• Experience applying local, state and federal regulations for bus and rail system security and emergency management.
• Experience working with the operations, policies, and procedures of a transit organization.
• Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) credential.

Additional Information

Who may apply: We are accepting applications from all qualified candidates, both internal King County employees and the general public.

How 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 an accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process, or if you have questions, please contact: Talent Advisor Sarah Ottele at sottele@kingcounty.gov.

The following application materials are required:

1. An online King County application updated with accurate contact information and relevant work history going back at least 10 years (or more, if necessary) with all job duties, dates of employment, and reasons for leaving explained clearly.
2. Completed supplemental questions.
3. A cover letter no longer than two pages describing how you meet the qualifications for this position, highlighting your knowledge and experience in all-hazards emergency management.

Additional attachments, such as resumes, will not be reviewed. Please ensure all relevant information is included in the application materials listed above.

Selection Process: Applications will be screened to determine whether candidates meet the minimum qualifications, as well as for clarity, completeness, and responsiveness to the application instructions above. Applications submitted without the required application materials may be deemed incomplete and be removed from consideration. The most competitive applicants may be invited to participate in one or more interviews and/or other selection process elements. Formal offers will be finalized after candidates have successfully completed any necessary pre-employment processes, such as internal record reviews or reference checks, driver’s abstract review, background check, etc.

Work Schedule: This position is exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and is not overtime eligible. Typical work hours are between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Employees may be required to work extended hours, weekend, and holidays.

Work Location: The work associated with this position will primarily be performed or conducted onsite three to five days a week. The ratio of remote to onsite work will be dependent on business needs and is subject to change. 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 work site to respond to workplace reporting requirements.

On-Call Requirement: This position is required to participate in the 24/7/365 on-call rotation. Typical duties include taking calls from control centers, responding to incidents, assisting operations with determining reportability, coordinating after incident evidence collection, and the development of initial notifications.

Union/Job Code/Grade: Professional and Technical Employees Local 17 (PROTEC17 – C5) / 873370 / 73

Necessary Special Requirements:

Driver’s Abstract Review: The successful candidate must possess a valid driver's license with acceptable five-year driving record (to be verified via a Driver’s Abstract review prior to employment). Any of the following violations in the last five years will automatically disqualify candidates under consideration:

• Reckless or negligent driving
• Driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated Hit and run accident citation
• Vehicular homicide or vehicular assault Open container citation
• More than one at-fault accident (does not include non at-fault accidents) Any 1 suspension for a moving violation
• 3 or more moving violations
• Any license suspension, revocation, cancellation or disqualification based on a traffic or moving violation License restrictions (such as an ignition interlock device requirement)
• Any convictions for reckless or negligent driving, hit and run, leaving the scene of an accident, driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, vehicular assault or homicide
• Any alcohol, drug or test refusal related occurrences
• Any other driving record incidents or occurrences that provide a reasonable basis to question the applicant's ability to provide safe and public transportation

WA State Driver’s License: Successful candidate must possess a Washington State driver’s license within 30 days of hire and have the ability to travel throughout the county in a timely fashion to places where public transportation may not be readily available.

Background Check Requirement: To be completed prior to employment. Where the criminal conviction relates reasonably to the fitness to perform the job duties, Metro Transit has a responsibility to ensure a safe and reliable public transportation system for its passengers and its employees. The following criminal convictions may establish an impermissible nexus with positions that require interaction with the general public and/or, unsupervised access to other employees or the general public and/or, responsibility for the maintenance and safety of Metro Transit property:

• Crimes of a sexual nature committed against an individual including, but not limited to, rape, child molestation, and unlawful sexual acts.
• Any crime of a sexual nature that results in inclusion on the national sex offender registry.
• Crimes involving violent or assaultive behavior including, but not limited to, murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, assault, battery, kidnapping, extortion, carrying or use of a deadly weapon.

Crimes involving the physical control, sale, use, transportation of controlled substances, and/or operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Note – the nexus of prior misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor convictions related to marijuana should be evaluated carefully in light of SB 5605, Misdemeanor Vacating for Marijuana.

• Crimes involving dishonesty such as fraud, embezzlement, the mishandling, theft, and/or the misappropriation of funds or property, or possession of stolen property.
• Crimes involving serious or repeated discrimination or harassment based on race, creed, color, religion, sex, gender identity, disability, or sexual orientation (municipal law applies in Seattle).

The above do not constitute a comprehensive list of convictions with a potential nexus to Metro Transit classifications, nor do they automatically disqualify an applicant from further employment consideration. For additional information please refer to: RCW 43.43.830.