Public Works Director

Under general direction of the Deputy City Administrator and within guidelines set by policies, rules, and regulations, this position is responsible for the overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of the Public Works Department. The Director carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities may include administering and developing through subordinates the operations and management of the City’s rights-of-way, beautification, storm drainage, traffic control systems, facilities maintenance, fleet, and garbage, trash, and recycling programs.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Develops and implements immediate and long-range plans; establishes goals and objectives; consults with the Mayor, City Council, City Administrator, Deputy City Administrator, and other regulatory agencies; implements city and departmental rules, regulations, and policies.
• Responsible for implementing the City’s personnel policies as they relate to the employees of the Public Works Department.
• Supervise division administrators and department support staff, either directly or through subordinates.
• Assess and monitor workload, administrative and support systems, and internal reporting relationships; identify opportunities for improvement; direct and implement changes.
• Select, train, motivate, and evaluate assigned personnel; provide or coordinate staff training; work with employees to correct deficiencies; implement discipline and termination procedures.
• Establish, within City policy, appropriate service and staffing levels; monitor and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the Public Works Department; interviews candidates for employment.
• Explain, justify, and defend department programs, policies, and activities; negotiate and resolve sensitive and controversial issues.
• Ensures compliance related to the areas of oversight; reviews the work of department personnel to ensure compliance with applicable Federal, State, and local laws, codes, regulations, and requirements.
• Prepares annual operating budget and fiscal spending requirements; reviews/approves requisitions for equipment, materials, and supplies based on budget allocations and control guidelines; monitors expenditures for fiscal compliance.
• Plans and makes recommendations for needed equipment and supplies; reviews and/or prepares requests and bid specifications for materials, equipment, and construction activities; reviews distribution of garbage carts.
• Establish and maintain a customer service orientation within the department; respond to and resolve sensitive and complex community and organizational inquiries, issues, and complaints.
• Serve as the representative of the Public Works Department to other City departments, elected officials, and external agencies; attend City Council meetings and departmental meetings.
• Attends and interacts in professional and community meetings and participates with various boards, commissions, and committees as required.
• Provide staff assistance to the City Administrator and Deputy City Administrator; participate on a variety of boards, commissions, and committees; prepare and present staff reports and other necessary correspondence.
• Serve as the Department’s primary contact with the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) and serve as the Department’s emergency preparedness coordinator.
• Incorporates continuous quality improvement principles in day-to-day activities.
• Follows State Health Department guidelines in planning and enforcing solid waste/recycling programs.
• Directs, coordinates, and completes special and ongoing projects and tasks as assigned.
• Stay current on issues relative to the field of engineering and public works and services.
• Demonstrate ability to be a dynamic, self-motivated leader and change agent.
• Be accessible at all times, including outside of standard business hours.
• Attends all department head meetings, City Council pre-meeting, and City Council meetings.
• Performs other reasonable duties in a safe manner as assigned and/or as required.

Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering or a related field; seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in the civil engineering, public works, or a related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience in a supervisory role required.

Special Qualifications:

• Possession of a valid, State of Alabama driver’s license to operate a motor vehicle.  Requirement exists at the time of hire and as a condition of continued employment.
• Must have the ability to coordinate, manage, and lead multiple individuals/groups.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: 

• Knowledge of City ordinances, policies, and procedures.
• Knowledge of modern office practices and procedures.
• Skill in planning and organizing work.
• Consulting experience with a focus on operations management.
• Nimble business mind with a focus on developing creative solutions.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other similar programs Strong project reporting skills, with a focus on interdepartmental communication.
• Skill in utilizing such office equipment as a calculator, facsimile machine, and copier.
• Skill in interpersonal relations; establish and maintain effective working relationships with fellow employees and the general public.
• Skill in verbal and written communication.
• Skill in using small office equipment, including copy machines or multi-line telephone systems.
• Skill in using computers for data entry, word processing, and/or accounting purposes.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
• Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.
• Must exhibit an ability to be a self-motivated leader.
• Exhibit decision-making skills to promptly resolve issues facing the division.
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the public.
• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
• Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with various concrete variables in situations with limited standardization.
• Ability to interpret various instructions furnished in written, verbal, diagram, or schedule form.
• Ability to organize and communicate effectively.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Ability to maintain effective working relationships with other employees and the public.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The work is sedentary work, which requires exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to move objects. Additionally, the following physical abilities are required:

•Sitting: Particularly for sustained periods of time.

•Balancing: Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling while walking, standing, or crouching on narrow, slippery, or erratically moving surfaces. The amount of balancing exceeds that needed for ordinary locomotion and maintenance of body equilibrium.

•Climbing: Ascending or descending ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, poles, and the like, using feet and legs and/or hands and arms. Body agility is emphasized.

•Handling: Picking, holding, or otherwise working, primarily with the whole hand. Must be able to place records, files, and boxes weighing no more than 25 pounds on shelves about head level.

•Hearing 2: Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication and to make the discrimination in sound. Must be able to hear well enough to carry on a normal conversation with clients in person and on the telephone.

•Manual Dexterity: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling. Must be able to efficiently operate a computer, calculator, fax, copy machine, and other related office machines.

•Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position to position. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of the upper extremities and back muscles.

•Mental Acuity: Ability to make rational decisions through sound logic and deductive processes.

•Reaching: Extending hand(s} and arm(s} in any direction.

•Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time.

•Visual Acuity 1: Have close visual acuity to perform activities such as preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing, viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading. Must have the ability to see well enough to interpret data on a computer monitor.

•Visual Acuity 4: Have visual acuity to operate motor vehicles and/or heavy equipment.

•Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another. Must have the ability to move freely about the office.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Work is primarily performed indoors and may occasionally be exposed to wet and/or humid conditions; moving mechanical parts; high, precarious places; fumes or airborne particles,

toxic or caustic chemicals and outside weather conditions.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the essential job functions satisfactorily.   Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary job functions herein described.  Since every duty associated with this position may not be described herein, employees may be required to perform duties not specifically spelled out in the job description, but which may be reasonably considered to be incidental in the performing of their duties just as though they were actually written out in this job description.