Wastewater Treatment Deputy Division Director

Full Job Description

Ready to lead with purpose and create a lasting impact on public health, environmental sustainability, and community well-being?

Join the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) as the Deputy Division Director. In this pivotal role, you’ll be one of the key leaders helping guide one of the region’s most essential services and shaping infrastructure that supports every community for generations to come. This role offers a rare opportunity to serve and grow as an executive leader within the largest clean water utility in the Pacific Northwest.

About the Role:

As Deputy Division Director, you will be a key member of the leadership team, reporting to the Division Director and partnering with the Chief of Staff to shape strategy, strengthen organizational performance, and embed equity across the work.

You will serve as a strong and reliable partner who can manage across and down, complementing the Division Director’s focus on managing up and outward to ensure cohesive, aligned, and effective leadership throughout the division.

You will help ensure that long-term decisions appropriately balance regulatory responsibilities, asset stewardship, fiscal realities, and community needs.

The division is entering a pivotal period of transformation after several years of growth.

You will help refine structures, improve processes, and build the adaptability needed to navigate increasing regulatory, financial, and operational pressures.

Working closely with senior leaders, you will support modernization efforts, strengthen alignment between capital and operations, and prepare the workforce and system for emerging challenges such as aging infrastructure, climate impacts, regulatory requirements, and organizational changes.

A central part of your role will be strengthening coordination between capital and operations, improving communication, aligning priorities, and ensuring efficient, shared processes across multiple business lines.

Your leadership will focus on supporting teams, removing barriers, and providing clear direction.

We’re seeking a leader who listens, builds trust, and champions practical, sustainable approaches to infrastructure.

You will value the essential work of maintaining and repairing our systems while keeping an enterprise-wide view of long-term needs.

Your leadership will emphasize data-driven decisions, meaningful KPIs, strong performance measurement, cross-functional collaboration, and thoughtful change management.

Equally important, you will help cultivate a positive, inclusive, and supportive workplace for a diverse, unionized workforce of nearly 1,000 employees.

You will foster a culture where people feel valued, supported, and empowered to succeed, and build trust through transparency, partnership, and clear communication.

This role is ideal for a collaborative, relationship-driven leader who thrives in complexity and is committed to public service, sustainability, and equitable outcomes.

If you’re ready to help guide one of the region’s most essential public utilities into its next chapter of resilience and innovation, we invite you to explore this opportunity.**INFORMATIONAL SESSION**

Join us for an engaging and informative session where applicants and potential candidates can learn about this role.

• When: Wednesday, March 25th, 12:00PM to 12:45PM
• Where: Virtual-Teams Webinar
• Register: Click Here

About the Department:

The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks supports sustainable and livable communities and a clean and healthy natural environment.

Our mission is to foster environmental stewardship and strengthen communities by providing regional parks, protecting the region's water, air, land, and natural habitats, and reducing, safely disposing of, and creating resources from wastewater and solid waste.

The Department is comprised of the Director’s Office, which provides direction and support for its four divisions: Parks and Recreation, Solid Waste, Wastewater Treatment, and Water and Land Resources.

We invite you to explore an interactive map of our recent accomplishments and to check out at Facebook, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and our Keeping King County Green News.

About the Division:
Our regional wastewater treatment system – stretching across 424 square miles – has a big job to do. This vital infrastructure operates around the clock to sustain a healthy environment and supports economic development that helps our region thrive.

To our agency, success means providing clean water safely and reliably every day, and maintaining, repairing and rebuilding the system to benefit future generations. It also means being accountable to our ratepayers and operating a well-managed agency. We are committed to the principles of equity and social justice. We value diverse perspectives and life experiences in our workforce and are committed to building a culturally diverse and inclusive environment.

Our primary mission is to provide high-quality treatment to wastewater collected from local sewer agencies. With a workforce of about 1,000 employees and multiple facilities, the Wastewater Treatment Division’s goal is to ensure clean water for the present and future generations, preserving the natural beauty of our environment. We are committed to accountability, both to our ratepayers and to operating as a well-managed agency.

We partner with regulatory agencies to reduce harmful waste discharge and actively educate the public and businesses on water quality protection. Our regional wastewater treatment system not only sustains a healthy environment but also fuels economic development, fostering prosperity in our region.

Discover More About the Division: Visit our website and check us out at Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, and the WTD Blog.

Commitment to Equity, Racial and Social Justice:King County, named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a diverse and vibrant community that represents cultures from around the world.

Our True North is to create a welcoming community where everyone can thrive. We prioritize equity, racial and social justice, making it a foundational and daily expectation for all employees.

As the Deputy Division Director, you will actively apply these principles in all aspects of your work. Learn more about our commitment at http://www.kingcounty.gov/equity.

Apply now for a rewarding career at the Wastewater Treatment Division of King County Department of Natural Resources & Parks (DNRP).

Join our talented workforce in protecting and restoring the natural environment and promoting more resilient, sustainable, and equitable communities.

Enjoy training, comprehensive benefits, and growth opportunities.

Requirements

What You Will Be Doing:

As the Deputy Division Director of the Wastewater Treatment Division, you will represent the Division’s mission, goals, and values with diverse internal and external stakeholders, communicate key decisions, and ensure alignment with our commitment to sustainability, innovation, equity, and operational excellence.

Key responsibilities include:

• Drive Organizational Effectiveness: Oversee and manage development and implementation of assigned internal initiatives, programs, and policies that affect the division’s operational administration and effectiveness.
• Build and Inspire Teams: Engage and motivate staff by fostering a positive, collaborative work environment that encourages active participation in decision-making. Develop a high-performing team grounded in trust, transparency, and a results-driven culture.
• Financial Stewardship: Review, analyze, and provide strategic guidance on the Division’s budget to ensure responsible financial oversight and alignment with sustainability goals.
• Use Data to Drive Results: Leverage data and analytics to inform strategy, track performance, and ensure measurable outcomes across programs and initiatives.
• Make Strategic Decisions: Make complex programmatic decisions involving policy, legal, financial, labor, and public involvement considerations, along with coordination of diverse agencies and interest groups, resource allocation, staffing strategies, and project development and direction.
• Advance Capital Program Delivery: Support the capital program and portfolio management, drive projects of special interest, support teams to overcome project challenges and improve capital program processes, supervise the Projects Control Officer.
• Support Operations & Safety: Support wastewater utility operations to overcome challenges and improve processes; support overflow response, recovery, and coordination; oversee the Safety and Hazardous Material Program and supervise the Safety and Emergency Manager; chair the Asset Management Steering Committee, and provide guidance to the asset management program.
• Manage Special Projects: Oversee and manage special projects/programs that are politically sensitive, inter-governmental, strategic, regulatory, and/or confidential for the Division Director’s Office. Supervise the Director’s Office Special Projects Manager.
• Champion Equity, Racial and Social Justice: Foster an anti-racist, pro-equity workplace where all employees thrive, and build strong relationships across the division to ensure services are delivered equitably and that the organization operates as “One King County.”

• Act as the Division Director in their absence.

Qualifications

Qualifications You Bring:

• Leadership and People Development: Proven success managing large, diverse teams and senior leaders. Builds trust, strengthens culture, and leads through change. Skilled in coaching, employee development, workforce planning, and fostering a collaborative, respectful environment.
• Capital Program Expertise: Experience with capital planning and project delivery, including portfolio and contract management. Able to align capital and operational priorities, use data effectively, and coordinate multidisciplinary teams.
• Operational Expertise: Demonstrated success leading large and complex operational organizations across the public or private sector, with strong knowledge of system operations, regulatory compliance, asset management, and capital program delivery.
• Relevant Experience: While direct wastewater experience is highly valued, candidates with substantial transferable experience overseeing critical infrastructure and service delivery, such as utilities, public works, energy, transportation, or senior government operations, are also encouraged to apply.

Political & Strategic Acumen: Ability to operate effectively in a policy-driven and politically sensitive environment.

Skilled at representing an organization with governance bodies, regulators, tribes, and regional partners. Capable of evaluating risk, anticipating challenges, and communicating tradeoffs clearly.

• Equity & Social Justice: Deep commitment to equity and social justice, with experience embedding these principles into policies, operations, and services.
• Environmental Commitment: Committed to environmental protection, sustainability, and long-term system resilience, and to integrating environmentally responsible practices into operations and decision-making.
• Labor Relations: Experience working in a unionized environment, including navigating labor relations and collective bargaining agreements.
• Emergency Preparedness & Safety: Familiarity with emergency response coordination, safety programs, and asset management principles.

Competencies You Bring:

• Communicates Effectively: Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.
• Instills Trust: Gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity.
• Decision Quality: Making good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward.
• Strategic Mindset: Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies.
• Plans and Aligns: Planning and prioritizing work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals.
• Manages Complexity: Making sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
• Collaborates: Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
• Being Resilient: Rebounding from setbacks and adversity when facing difficult situations.

It Would Be Great if You Also Bring:

• Experience in wastewater utility management, including a strong understanding of environmental regulations, climate considerations, and sustainability practices.
• Experience applying collaborative delivery methods on major capital or infrastructure projects, including building strong partnerships with project teams, consultants, community members and regulatory agencies.

Additional Information