Water Quality Planner/Program Manager IV

Summary

Are you an innovative planner and project manager keen to employ your skillset and experience in water quality planning and capital project delivery to a team that is leading the way in stormwater project development and delivery? If so, the Water Quality Planner/Program Manager IV position situated in Water and Land Resource Division's (WLRD) Collaborative and Regional Services Unit (CRSU) may be your perfect fit!

About the Role :
The Water Quality Planner/Program Manager IV position is uniquely positioned to lead innovation in planning and prioritization of stormwater project development and delivery throughout King County. King County provides capacity building and project management support for the Our Green Duwamish (OGD) coalition. The OGD coalition of jurisdictions and regional partners are currently co-designing a set of regional stormwater retrofit priorities and exploring the use of performance-based contracting in order to more strategically and cost-effectively implement water quality projects to provide stormwater improvements at the watershed scale. Additionally, new tools like the Stormwater Retrofit Prioritization Framework tool will balance priorities in water quality improvement and equity and social justice goals in order to inform where stormwater management actions will yield the most cost-effective investments as well as the best outcomes for the environment and local communities. The sky is the limit with how far the successful candidate can deploy these new strategic stormwater planning tools across the Department of Natural Resources and Parks, other King County agencies, and in partnership with external organizations and regional jurisdictions. Additionally, this is an opportunity to join a team of dedicated water quality planners who care deeply about achieving the best outcomes for their programs, project partners, local communities, and the natural environment.

It’s a pivotal time for the County’s Stormwater Services Section, with the advent of new stormwater planning and prioritization tools coming online and guiding our work more strategically across the region. You’d be joining a team focused on strategic stormwater management, including innovative approaches to watershed-scale management, regional stormwater retrofits, and contracting. The ideal candidate should have skills and experience in both water quality planning as well as stormwater capital project delivery. The Water Quality Planner IV will provide day-to-day management and support for King County’s internal and external strategic stormwater planning efforts. This Water Quality Planner will lead coordination of the Our Green Duwamish (OGD) coalition which includes supporting regional partners to implement stormwater retrofits through multijurisdictional coordination, capital and other project management, and innovative funding strategies. This position will also provide internal technical support across the County related to regional stormwater planning and project prioritization.
This position performs work remotely and onsite.

About the Team:
The Water and Land Resources Division (WLRD) is a highly diverse and multi-discipline organization charged with protecting, restoring, and managing King County’s water and land resources using best available science, innovation, and collaboration with its partners and the community. The Stormwater Services (SWS) Section is a constantly evolving cutting-edge organization charged with delivering services essential to managing stormwater runoff and surface water to protect public safety, improve water quality, restore aquatic resources, safeguard properties, and comply with county, state, and federal requirements.
This position resides within the Collaborative and Regional Services Unit (CRSU). CRSU is comprised of a dedicated team of high-performing water quality planners. As a team, the unit oversees multiple internal and external collaborative planning efforts, including developing tools for strategic stormwater retrofits, supporting continuous improvement efforts across the SWS Section, and promoting green infrastructure on private properties. CRSU facilitates the development of strategy and planning efforts for the SWS Section and Stormwater Capital Unit, the County, and with partners across Western Washington for efforts related to strategic stormwater management.

Commitment To Equity 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 a Water Quality Planner/Program Manager IV , 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 Water and Land Resource 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.

Job Duties

What You Will Be Doing:

• Manage, organize, participate in, and provide coordination and capacity building support for the Our Green Duwamish (OGD) coalition. This includes leading regional stormwater retrofit project delivery and working with OGD jurisdictions and organizations to adapt and update OGD plans, priorities, and strategies, as necessary.
• Partner with Stormwater Service Section’s Community Planning and Retrofit Program Manager on strategic stormwater retrofit project delivery both in the OGD watershed and across urban unincorporated King County. This includes managing grants and consultant contracts, monitoring budgets and approving invoices, preparing cost estimates, maintaining project schedules, permitting, and identifying and managing project risks.
• Manage projects, grants, contracts, and other program development for multijurisdictional groups associated with the County’s plan to expand development of regional water quality and flow control treatment, including stormwater parks, across King County.
• Apply King County’s Equity and Social Justice Policy in partnerships and community engagement efforts to co-design effective stormwater management collaborations.
• Provide coordination and support for the County’s Executive and Clean Water Healthy Habitat staff on developing and/or supporting legislative priorities that expand available funding for the County’s Regional Stormwater Goals.
  

Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills

Qualifications You Bring:

• Demonstrated experience with project management and water quality planning techniques and principles.
• Direct experience developing and managing stormwater and/or municipal capital projects from feasibility through closeout in a municipal setting.
• Experience ensuring projects comply with environmental regulations.
• Experience managing grants, public contracts, agreements, and other legal and quasi-legal instruments.
• Experience integrating equity and social justice principles into planning efforts.
• Proficiency in MS Office software: Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Competencies You Bring:

• Action Oriented: Taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm.
  
• Collaborates: Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
  
• Customer Focus: Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions.
  
• Values Differences: Recognizing the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization
  
• Builds Networks: Effectively building formal and informal relationship networks inside and outside the organization.
  
• Balances Stakeholders: Anticipating and balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders.
  

It Would Be Great if You Also Bring:

• Knowledge of current trends and issues in environmental management, particularly related to stormwater and/or water quality management including experience in permitting and coordination with regulatory agencies and Tribal governments.
• Experience serving as a technical liaison in a public sector environment and experience making independent decisions.
• Oral and written communication skills, public speaking skills, and experience presenting technical information to a variety of audiences.
• Skill in handling a number of projects or tasks simultaneously.

Supplemental Information

Working Conditions:

• Remote and Onsite Work Details: Employees in these roles work remotely from a home location, with in-office visits 2 time per month . The frequency of onsite work is determined by business needs and may be adjusted accordingly. Onsite reporting locations may be at various King County worksites including the collaboration space at King Street Center (201 S. Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104). This work arrangement promotes work-life-balance and reduces carbon footprint under the department’s vision of Green Where We Work .
• Remote Work Location Requirement: Employees must reside in Washington State and be within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to meet workplace reporting requirements.
• Work Schedule: This full-time position will work a 40-hour work week. This position is exempt from the overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) and is not overtime eligible. T he typical work schedule is 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday- Friday.
• Union Representation: This position is represented by Teamsters, Local 117-Professional & Technical Bargaining Unit.

Application and Selection Process:
We welcome applications from all qualified candidates . We value diversity, diverse perspectives and life experience and encourage people of all backgrounds to apply. This posting may be used to create an eligibility list for future vacancies in similar positions over the next six months.

Application materials will be screened for clarity, completeness and alignment with the experience, qualifications, knowledge, and skills essential for this role to determine which candidates may be invited to participate in one or more panel interviews. Please ensure that your application materials clearly detail how your skills and experience meet the minimum qualifications outlined in this posting.

Applications without the following required materials may not be considered for this position.

To apply, submit a:

• Complete Online Application with response to supplemental questions.
• Resume.
• Cover Letter.

Note: Additional documents won't be considered during minimum qualification screening.

Who to Contact: For more information regarding this recruitment, please contact Isaac Good at (206) 848-0576 or igood@kingcounty.gov .

Discover More About the Water Land & Resources Division: Visit our website .

Discover More About DNRP: Visit our website , explore an interactive map of our recent accomplishments and check us out at Facebook , X (formerly Twitter) , LinkedIn , TikTok , Instagram , YouTube and Keeping King County Green News .

Sign up for Job Alerts to be notified of additional career opportunities with King County. Select the Natural Resources category for DNRP opportunities and explore other categories of interest.

Forbes recently 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.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer: No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.

King County offers a highly-competitive compensation and benefits package designed to meet the diverse needs of our employees and support our employees' health and well-being. Eligible positions receive the following benefits and have access to the following programs:

• Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage options: King County provides eligible employees with options, so they can decide what’s best for themselves and their eligible dependents
• Life and disability insurance: employees are provided basic coverage and given the opportunity to purchase additional insurance for both the employee and eligible dependents
• Retirement: eligible King County employees may participate in a pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems and a 457(b) deferred-compensation plan
• Transportation program and ORCA transit pass
• 12paid holidays each year plus twopersonal holidays
• Generous vacation and paid sick leave
• Paid parental,family and medical, and volunteer leaves
• Flexible Spending Account
• Wellness programs
• Onsite activity centers
• Employee Giving Program
• Employee assistance programs
• Flexible schedules and telecommuting options, depending on position
• Training and career development programs

For additional information about employee benefits, visit our Benefits, Payroll, and Retirement Page .

This is a general description of the benefits offered to eligible King County employees, and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. If any information on this document conflicts with the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the CBA prevails.

NOTE: Benefits for Term Limited Temporary (TLT) or Short Term Temporary (STT) positions, including leave eligibility and/or participation in the pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems, will vary based upon the terms and details of the position.Short Term Temporary positions are not eligible for an ORCA transit pass.

For inquiries about the specifics of this position, please contact the recruiter identified on this job posting.

Closing Date/Time: 6/1/2025 11:59 PM Pacific

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• King County Water and Land Resources Division

• 206-477-4800

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