Vision: Seattle is a thriving and equitable community powered by dependable transportation.

Mission: To deliver a transportation system that provides safe and affordable access to places and opportunities.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is a nationally recognized municipal transportation agency at the leading edge of multi-modal transportation.  In our quickly growing city, accessibility, safety, affordability, and reliability – are top of mind for us every day! Our core values drive our work toward creating an equitable, sustainable, and vibrant city for all. SDOT’s core responsibilities include maintenance and operations of the city’s transportation right-of-way, the expansion of the city’s bicycle and pedestrian network, care of over 240 bridges, permitting use of public spaces and enhancing access to the regional transit system. With approximately 950 dedicated staff, SDOT maintains an operational presence 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in all weather conditions to serve and ensure Seattle’s public mobility.

Position Overview
This position leads the Urban Forestry section of the Right-of-Way (ROW) Maintenance and Urban Forestry Division. This section includes the City Arborist, Landscape Architect and Field Operations workgroups. This position provides the leadership and strategic direction to meet departmental and citywide goals related to the health, protection, expansion, and preservation of the City’s urban forest, and collaborates across the department and City to achieve both short- and long-term goals and targets with an emphasis on equitable service delivery. This position serves as a critical member of the department’s emergency response organization and supports incident response operations.
This position regularly meets with engineers, planners, managers, and field practitioners across the City to align projects and programs with an enterprise approach to solving challenging issues related to expanding and preserving green infrastructure in public places.

This position reports to the Division Director of the Right-of-Way (ROW) Urban Forestry.

Essential Duties: 
 
Management of People:

• Manages a diverse workforce, including Union represented and non-represented employees.
• Develops work plans and creates performance measurements to measure and evaluates results and continuously improves the efficiency and effectiveness of operations.
• Leverages leadership experience to successfully communicate expectations for staff performance, customer service, work quality standards and project delivery.
• Provides daily guidance and management support to the City Arborist, Sr. Landscape Architect, Tree Crew Supervisor, and Landscape Supervisor to ensure ongoing operations are functioning in alignment with department and City-priorities.
• Implements performance management approaches that emphasize accountability, transparency, and equity.

 
Strategic & Communication:

• Represents the Seattle Department of Transportation on the City’s Urban Forestry Core team, providing subject matter expertise to inform and shape policies and programs that influence the enterprise efforts of the City’s Urban Forestry programs
• In partnership with SDOT and Citywide communications experts and peers, develops modern strategies to keep the public aware of the work of Urban Forestry and informs the public regarding the benefits of the City’s work in Urban Forestry.
• Responsible for strategic, tactical, and operational planning, as well as leadership and management of staff activities to meet organizational goals and overall efficient and effective functioning of programs.
• Oversees hiring processes within the section, develops and implements strategies to successfully retain, promote, and onboard a diverse and exceptional Urban Forestry team.
• Provides the fiscal acumen to proactively manage a $6M annual budget, including Operations/Maintenance, Capital, and Reimbursable fund sources within all applicable City, State and Federal Requirements.
• Establishes work plan goals, sets priorities, and determines deadlines with other work groups on a variety of high-profile, intra-agency, complex, and time sensitive Urban Forestry projects.
• Interacts extensively with both internal and external customers to seek consensus and communicate decisions.

Operational Management & Policies:

• Seeks out, identifies, and addresses systemic procedures, practices and policies that undermine the City’s ability to deliver services equitably across the entire City.
• Implements new approaches that work to undo historic inequities and partner with peers across the City to amplify these efforts.
• Provides expertise in the arena of labor relations, and works closely with Human Resources, Labor Partners, and peer managers to ensure compliance with all applicable contracts and Personnel Rules.
• Recommends, develops, implements, and updates programs and policies that work to continually improve the impact of Urban Forestry programs through a variety of means, both internal and external.
• Applies City and department policies, procedures, and union contracts, and resolves employee relations issues.

The ideal candidate has:

• A bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Natural Resource Management, Urban Forestry, or another closely related discipline. (Or combination of education, training and/or experience that provides and equivalent background required to perform the work of the class.)
• Must have five (5) or more years of experience leading complex organizations responsible for providing services and programs that includes delivery of field operations.
• At least two (2) years’ experience managing field operations/programs related to Urban Forestry services including asset maintenance, preservation, and emergency response.
• They have held a leadership role in Urban Forestry related programs that foster an inclusive workplace culture leading a diverse staff.
• Experience within a large and complex, publicly accountable organization and financial management of a sizable budget.

 
Successful candidates in this body of work will also have and show comparable experience as follows: 
 

• At least five (5) years’ experience managing a large public sector program with demonstrated increasing level of responsibility.
• 2 yrs Experience working with elected officials, employees at all levels, and the public as well as extensive experience in building strong teams.
• ISA Certified Arborist, Municipal Specialist.
• Familiarity with safe work practices and safety related codes and laws governing construction and maintenance activities of Urban Forestry field operations.
• Experience in change management in a complex organization.
• Experience in Emergency Management, having participated in response operations, planning, or logistics in an ICS structure.

Other Requirements: 

• A current WA state Driver’s license.
• Ability to work nights and weekends as needed to support special events and emergency response operations.

Hiring Process:
 

Applications are reviewed after the posting closes. Qualified candidates must submit the following to be considered:

1. Completed NEOGOV online application.
2. Cover letter describing how your skills and experience align with the stated job responsibilities and qualifications.
3. Current résumé indicating relevant experience and education.
4. Supplemental questionnaire responses.

Offers of employment are contingent on verification of information provided by the applicant as part of the application process, including potential background check, pre-placement physical exam, and full driver’s abstract.

Please note this job advertisement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.