Water Conservation Manager

Full Job Description

The City of Pasadena is seeking a skilled, motivated, and forward-thinking Water Conservation Manager to lead innovative programs that promote the sustainable use of our community’s water resources.

This is an exciting opportunity for a dynamic professional who is passionate about water conservation, long-term resource planning, and public engagement.

If you are looking for a role where you can roll up your sleeves, shape impactful programs, and contribute to the City’s long-term water sustainability goals, this is it.

The Water Conservation Manager will play a key leadership role within Pasadena Water and Power (PWP), overseeing water conservation and water-use efficiency initiatives, developing public benefit programs, guiding policy development, and representing the City in regional and state water discussions.

This position leads a talented team of professional and support staff while working closely with internal partners, external agencies, and the community to ensure the City meets regulatory requirements and advances strategic conservation priorities.

IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate will be a collaborative and technically strong leader with experience in water conservation/water-use efficiency.

This person will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, strong analytical abilities, and the confidence to represent the City in the public and with partner agencies.

This person will be skilled in interpreting data, policies, and regulations, and capable of making informed, strategic decisions.

The ideal candidate will be proactive, able to work independently, effectively lead teams, and connect with the community.

Overall, this person will bring a mix of technical expertise, relationship-building skills, and a commitment to long-term water sustainability.

Requirements

• Leads and manages the City’s water-use efficiency programs, ensuring compliance with state and federal mandates.
• Supervises, develops, and evaluates assigned staff, fostering a high-performance, service-focused team.
• Develops and implements conservation policies, plans, and initiatives to support long-term water supply reliability and sustainability goals.
• Conducts and oversees data analysis related to water use, program performance, and water loss, and prepare technical reports, forecasts, and recommendations for management and stakeholders.
• Plans and advances smart water technologies and tools, including monitoring, tracking, and reporting systems that improve program outcomes.
• Leads the City’s water loss control program, including detection initiatives, data improvement efforts, and coordination with internal and external partners.
• Coordinates and collaborates across divisions (Water Operations, Engineering, Energy) and with outside agencies (e.g., The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California) to support regional and local conservation efforts.
• Engages the community and represents PWP in public meetings, workshops, and outreach events to communicate program goals and achievements.
• Monitors regulatory and industry developments, recommending program and policy changes in response to evolving requirements.
• Secures and manages grant funding, including proposal development, budget management, and compliance reporting.

Qualifications

COMPETENICES:
The following list represents the core competencies needed for the success in the position.

• Innovation - Imagining and devising new and better ways of doing things
• Self-Management - Showing personal organization, self-discipline, and dependability
• Presentation Skill - Formally delivering information to groups
• Project Management - Ensuring that projects are on-time, on-budget, and achieve their objectives
• Strategic Perspective - Evaluating immediate actions in context of achieving long range objectives
• Leadership - Guiding and encouraging others to accomplish a common goal
• Critical Thinking - Analytically and logically evaluating information, propositions, and claims

Education, Training and Experience:

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major coursework in earth or plant sciences, business administration, engineering, or another relevant field.
• At least six years of progressively responsible experience in water resource planning, water conservation and/or in informing and educating the public on water related policy issues; or an equivalent combination of training and experience.
• Experience in a public agency is preferred.

SELECTION PROCESS
The selection process may consist of a training and experience evaluation, interview panel, department-level interviews and possibly an online assessment.

Probationary work period is one year.

VACANCY INFORMATION
There is currently one vacancy in the Water Division of the Water and Power Department.
The resulting eligibility list from this recruitment may be used to fill this vacancy and similar vacancies in the future.

Additional Information

Licenses:
A valid California Class C driver’s license and the ability to maintain insurability under the City’s vehicle insurance program.