Deputy Director Water & Wastewater Operations - City of Greeley

Salary Range: $131,700.00 - $184,400.00 annually

Hiring Range: $131,700.00 - $158,100.00 annually

Job Summary:

The City of Greeley is seeking an experienced and professional operations leader committed to providing operational excellence in water and sewer utilities. Consider this opportunity to join the Greeley Water team: more on Greeley at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkBL5a_PqXo  

Greeley Water & Sewer Utilities has than 150 full-time employees and a variety of seasonal positions that support the system and its various utility functions. This Deputy Director of O&M is a leadership role reporting to the Director of Water & Sewer Utilities and the position leads a team of water and wastewater operations professions.  Under the Deputy Director of O&M, the city’s teams operate two conventional water treatment facilities, a variety of water transmission pipelines and a vast system of distribution mains, and a multitude of potable storage reservoirs. On the Wastewater side, the team operates, maintains, and makes periodic replacements to a growing wastewater collection system feeding a 16 MGD wastewater treatment and reclamation facility serving Greeley and its long-range growth area, which is one of the fastest growing metro regionals. 

The Deputy Director leadership role is a key member of the Water & Sewer Department’s stewardship (leadership) team, and leads the strategic planning, budgeting for outcomes and staffing for the operations and maintenance teams. It is critical that this role be a highly effective communicator, well organized leader, and committed to cultivating a culture of excellence through continuous improvement and teamwork.

The City is seeking an experienced leader that will advance knowledge management system, support work order usage, refine data driven processes, and attend to the cultivation of a healthy organizational culture. The Operations Deputy Director will need to collaborate with other departments, divisions, and engineering teams to the investment and maintenance of infrastructure. The position will work closely with the Director, peers, and direct reports to lead all water and wastewater operations teams into a data driven future.  The position must be prepared to learn the Greeley system, digest, and implement master plan strategies, and empower their direct reports to execute on daily work.

It’s critical that the position work to develop talent, cultivate a healthy and collaborative operations culture, and work with the city’s leadership team and chief human capital officer to engage the staff team. The Water & Sewer operations are spread over two counties, nearly a dozen facilities and thousands of miles, and hiring and retaining a talented, experienced, and committed team of operations staff is imperative to the success of the organization and maintenance of public health.

The responsibilities of the Operations Deputy Director will focus on leading, supporting and developing the operations team in all efforts to operate and manage complex water and wastewater systems.  This position has 8 direct reports, including the water quality manager, 2 water treatment plant superintendents, the water distribution superintendent, the wastewater collections manager, the wastewater treatment superintendent and the instrumentation and controls manager. Utility operations and maintenance teams are supported with extensive staff, budget, engineering, asset management, and administrative staff support.

Public service with a water utility is an honorable profession serving the best interests of public and environmental health. Greeley is driven to become the public sector employer of choice for talent in Northern Colorado and extend skill and leadership development to its employees that benefits the community and ensures safe, reliable, and great tasting water.

Explore becoming a part of the Greeley municipal water team; more at:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb7EhiUHEtc

Received applications will be reviewed after Monday, October 16, 2023. This posting may be removed without notice.  Apply today!

Experience, Knowledge, Skills:

• Bachelor of Science degree in Civil / Sanitary Engineering, Construction Management, Organizational Leadership or equivalent; master’s degree is preferred.
• High ethics, values, and desire to be a part of continuing and enhancing Greeley’s leadership role in the Colorado water community.
• Ability to inspire and influence staff to achieve excellence.
• Extensive experience in operation of public works systems and public utility management.
• Strong knowledge of CDPH&E Drinking Water Regulations and NPDES Discharge Permit regulations.
• Experience in the construction of utility systems.
• Experience in establishing objectives for the water & sewer organization and measurement of effectiveness in meeting objectives.
• Experience in budget development to meet defined goals, and a proven ability to track and guide work to conform to budgets.
• Valid driver's license.

Essential Functions:

• Lead, coach and develop a team of engaged and high performing supervisors.  Develop a healthy organizational culture.
• Work collaboratively with Water & Sewer Sr. Management Team, HRBPs and to guide organizational culture and support diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Ensure operations teams are prepared for the audits, inspections, changes to permits and the next CDPHE sanitary survey audit.
• Developing, collaborating, and defining work programs that incorporate continuous improvements lead to operational excellence.
• Review operational priorities and work with the W&S Director and Director of Data & Performance to ensure the utilization of performance metrics and measurements of program success.
• Support continuous improvement efforts including identification of capital replacement needs and objectives for the utility systems.
• Evaluate and refine operations safety programs identifying objectives and methods for ensuring compliance.
• Ability to evaluate and communicate effectively on technical and regulatory information and provide advice on system modifications.
• Directly supervise operations leadership and provide accurate and accountable performance feedback and periodic performance reviews and hold the team of direct reports accountable to the same.
• Evaluate performance and provide training opportunities in a manner conducive to full performance and high morale.
• Work collaboratively with Water & Sewer Sr. Management Team, HRBPs and to guide organizational culture and support diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Plan, schedule, assign, and supervise the work of subordinates.
• Collaborate with engineering, water resources and other departments as needed to meet Master Plan goals, asset management priorities, CIP priorities and system maintenance/operational needs.
• Prepare and monitor program operational budget, coordinate on the collaboration for infrastructure rehabilitation budgets with engineering, and review capital improvement project priorities.
• Coordinate with Communications and Engagement (C&E) staff to communicate with the public and economic stakeholders on the water systems, water quality, emergency response and the value of water.
• Independently resolve concerns, issues, or disputes among water & wastewater operations teams.
• Present capital project and operational updates to Water & Sewer Board and City Council as needed.
• Respond to requests for information and assistance from other departments, consultants, and the public concerning the operation of Greeley’s utility system.
• Work collaboratively with outside City connected municipal water & wastewater providers on emergency interconnects, regional delivery agreements, and other projects that support a resilient Greeley.
• Work collaboratively with other Water & Sewer staff along with other City departments to achieve their goals and objectives.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements:

• Work location is a combination of office (70%) and field (30%).
• Frequent public contact by telephone and in person.
• Frequent interaction with office and field staff.
• Vision enough to interpret written documents, engineering drawings, work orders, spread sheets, and inspect work projects.
• Communication skills to adequately convey information to coworkers, contractors, property owners, other personnel, and the public.
• Mobility to inspect work sites for compliance with plans and specifications.
• Manual dexterity to operate computers and vehicles.
• Frequent participation in meetings, virtual meetings, Board meetings

EOE Statement: The City of Greeley provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

ADA Statement: We are committed to an inclusive and barrier-free search process. We provide accommodations for applicants requesting accommodation through the search process such as alternative formats of this posting.  Individuals with disabilities in need of accommodations throughout the search process should contact the ADA Coordinator at: HR@Greeleygov.com .

Conditions of Employment: Candidates must successfully complete all pre-employment screenings and employment eligibility verification. Pre-employment screenings include a drug test, a background and national sex offender search, a motor vehicle record search, and for some positions, a physical demands evaluation. For more information about City policies and practices during the recruitment process, including but not limited to EOE, Reasonable Accommodation, and pre-employment screenings, please visit our career page HERE.