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Public Works Assistant Director - Transportation

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Public Works Assistant Director - Transportation

Salary

$142,536.00 - $173,268.00 Annually

Location

City of Bellingham, WA

Job Type

Full Time

Job Number

25-PW AD- Transportation

Department

Public Works

Division

Public Works Operations

Opening Date

07/18/2025

Closing Date

9/2/2025 8:30 AM Pacific

FLSA

Exempt

Bargaining Unit

Eteam

+ Description

+ Benefits

+ Questions

Nature of Work

Join a dynamic and forward-thinking team at the City of Bellingham as the Assistant Director of Public Works – Transportation. This is a unique opportunity to lead transformative transportation initiatives that shape the future of our city while fostering innovation, collaboration, and community impact. If you're a strategic leader passionate about building sustainable, people-centered infrastructure, we want to hear from you!

At the City of Bellingham, the Public Works Assistant Director - Transportation is responsible for planning, organizing, staffing, and directing the Transportation Division of the Public Works Department. Assists the Director of Public Works in developing and implementing programs and policies that supports the City’s goals, enhance organizational effectiveness, foster a positive work environment and contributes to the City’s long-term success and financial sustainability. Collaborates with other divisions, departments, and outside groups to advance the mission and goals of assigned areas and the City. Ensures compliance with department and city policies and procedures, collective bargaining agreements and legal requirements. Promotes the Public Service competencies of service orientation, results orientation and teamwork and cooperation. Ensures that business practices and standards of performance are accomplished in an effective and cost-efficient manner. Represents the department in public involvement initiatives and engages with elected officials, policy makers, and citizens. Develops and maintains relationships with staff, other departments, individuals and entities outside City government to foster collaboration, inclusion, and effective use of resources.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

The current full salary range for this position is $11,878/month - $14,439/month. Employees receive step increases annually in accordance with the E-Team Handbook (https://cob.org/about/employment/labor-agreements-pay-schedule) and City policy.

Research has demonstrated that salary negotiation can further inequality due to bias across gender and race. To prevent negotiation bias, the City places new employees within the published salary range based on qualifications and professional experience as listed on the application material, in accordance with City policy. This is in line with the City's commitment to accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Candidates who exceed the minimum experience requirements shall be given credit for advanced step placement at the rate of one additional pay step for each two full years of directly related or equivalent professional experience beyond the minimum requirements. Candidates who meet minimum qualifications or have experience that is not directly related or in a lower-level position will be placed at step one in the salary range. For positions that require a bachelor’s degree, one additional step may be granted for applicants with a master’s degree in a related field when the master’s degree is not required to meet minimum qualifications. The City's HR Department regularly evaluates minimum qualifications to provide equitable employment opportunities.

For internal candidates, placement within the range is based on City Pay Placement Procedures.

At the City of Bellingham, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that helps you thrive in both your career and personal life. Join our team and enjoy peace of mind knowing that you and your loved ones are well cared for. Here’s a closer look at the outstanding benefits that come with being part of our team. You can find more details on our employment benefits page (https://cob.org/about/employment/benefits) and labor agreements page. (https://cob.org/about/employment/labor-agreements-pay-schedule)

+ 13.33 hours of vacation leave per month, with increased accrual over time

+ 12 paid holidays + 1 floating holiday per year

+ 40 hours of sick leave upon hire + 8 hours accrued monthly

+ Medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their families

+ Life insurance and long-term disability coverage

+ Flexible spending accounts and medical insurance opt-out program

+ Access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

+ Washington State Retirement plan (DRS) for retirement security

+ Optional 457 deferred compensation savings plan and 401(a) Retirement Savings Plan with employer match

Leave accruals are based on 1.0 FTE, accruals are pro-rated if part-time and require employees to be in paid status at least 120 hours/month.

Closing Date/Time: Tuesday, September 2, 2025, 8:30 AM Pacific Time

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE JOB:

+ Leadership: Serves as a senior member of the Public Works Management team. Oversees assigned services and activities of the Public Works Transportation Division including Traffic Operations, Traffic Engineering, Transportation Planning, Signs and Markings, Signal systems, Fiber Optic Network, and Parking Policy and Operations. Coordinates with other departments and offices to ensure alignment with the City’s critical objectives, vision and values. Provides program and project support to other departments to help the City deliver great government.

+ Strategic Planning: Assists the Public Works Director in providing leadership and direction in the development and implementation of strategic short and long-range plans, programs, goals, performance measures and objectives for the Transportation Division. Identifies trends and challenges affecting progress and collaborates with appropriate management and staff to develop and implement solutions. Oversees or conducts research to obtain required data to establish or review policies, procedures or programs. Reviews, interprets and analyze data, prepares reports, and makes recommendations about which programs and/or major project proposals should be initiated, modified or discontinued.

+ Policy Development: Assists the Mayor, City Council, and City departments in the establishment and implementation of various city policies, procedures, and regulations relating to the Transportation Division. Keeps current in new developments in the field through professional membership, attendance at conferences, networking with other professionals, research and reading. Uses this contemporary knowledge for program, work system, and service delivery improvements.

+ Fiscal and Business Management: Provides technical, administrative, and fiscal direction to the Transportation Division of the Public Works Department. This includes program planning and management, budget preparation, interdepartmental and interagency coordination, and personnel administration. Facilitates and coordinates cooperative planning efforts with other divisions, departments, outside governmental agencies, and community groups as required.

+ Personnel Management: Develops and maintains a workforce committed to, and with highly developed competencies in, customer service, results orientation and teamwork. Serves as a primary point of contact for personnel matters for the Division. Manages employee relations by promoting open communication, collaboration and accountability. Establishes systems for staff engagement and ensures timely completion of performance appraisals. Consults with supervisors on personnel actions and addresses labor relations matters in compliance with labor agreements and personnel policies. Actively supports strategies and programs to foster an inclusive workplace and create a culture of respect and belonging.

+ Public Involvement and Communication: Presents reports, recommendations, budgets, and issues for resolution to department heads, Mayor, City Council, boards and commissions, including summarizing data and statistics and analyzing findings. May represent the department director at public meetings or special interest groups and other public settings. Serves on boards and committees.

+ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Actively contributes to and implements strategies and programs to foster an inclusive workplace, ensure equitable practices and reduces biases. Collaborates with staff across the City to create a culture of respect and belonging.

ADDITIONAL WORK PERFORMED:

+ Performs related work of a similar nature and level.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT:

Work is performed in an office setting with extensive work at a computer workstation, along with some time spent outdoors with exposure to all weather conditions on City streets, rights-of-way, in close proximity to roadway traffic, noxious fumes, heavy equipment and occasionally in confined spaces. Frequently drives motor vehicle to perform duties. Uses appropriate safety equipment and follows established safety policies, practices and procedures. Some travel to professional meetings is expected. This is a position with minimal to moderate physical exertion requirements.

Physical ability to perform essential functions of the job, including:

+ Frequently operate a computer and other office machinery such as a keyboard, mouse, phone, and fax machine;

+ Communicate accurate information and ideas with others;

+ Frequently move between work sites;

+ Infrequently traverse uneven terrain such as work sites or undeveloped land.

Experience and Training

+ Bachelor's degree in civil engineering, business management, public administration, planning, or related field required; master's degree preferred.

+ Five (5) years progressively responsible experience in transportation planning and operations in a municipal Public Works, including three (3) years of supervisory experience required.

+ Registration as a Professional Engineer in Washington, Professional Traffic Operations Engineer (PTOE), or American Institute of Certified Planner (AICP) preferred.

+ Demonstrated experience in traffic operations and infrastructure maintenance preferred.

+ Municipal supervisor experience preferred.

An equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to provide the applicant with the knowledge, skill, and ability to successfully perform the essential functions of the job will be considered.

Necessary Special Requirements

+ Employment contingent upon passing a criminal background check.

+ Valid Washington State driver’s license and good driving record. Candidates must submit a three-year driving abstract prior to hire.

+ Verification of ability to work in the United States by date of hire.

Selection Process

You are encouraged to print a copy of this job announcement for your reference as the process moves along

A cover letter, two pages or less in length, addressing the following:

+ Why are you interested in working for the City of Bellingham in the Public Works Assistant Director - Transportation role?

+ What experiences, skills, and traits make you a great leader for the City of Bellingham?

Please ensure your application is complete and all required information has been provided. Standard completeness means all application fields (contact information, personal information, education, work experience, references, and supplemental questions). Application materials should comprehensively document your experience and skills related to the position responsibilities and experience/training requirements. As part of the City’s commitment to reducing bias in the hiring process, Human Resources redacts personally identifiable information for reviewers. Only the documents listed as required will be reviewed.

Online interviews for the semi-finalists will be held September 17, 2025.

Finalists will be invited to attend the final in-person interview process in Bellingham, scheduled for September 30, 2025.

Please Note: Candidates will receive updates regarding application status via email. Please be sure to check your email frequently, including your spam folders for messages filtered by your email providers.

Equal Opportunity:

Our environment is characterized by respect for cultural backgrounds, belief systems, and ethnic diversity. The City of Bellingham is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity in its work force. We do not make decisions on the basis of an individual's race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, age (40+), disability, retaliation, sexual orientation or gender identity, honorably discharged veteran or military status, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, or any other basis prohibited by local, state, or federal law. All are encouraged to apply for employment.

Fair Hiring Practices

+ The City provides individuals who have been arrested or convicted of a criminal offense an equal and fair opportunity to obtain employment.

+ The City will not inquire about an applicant's criminal history until after a conditional job offer has been made.

+ The City will disregard the prior arrest and conviction record of an otherwise qualified individual unless the offense is directly related to the job position for which the individual has applied.

+ The City will notify an otherwise qualified applicant about a potentially disqualifying conviction and give the applicant an opportunity to submit information regarding the accuracy of the criminal records as well as evidence of mitigation or rehabilitation, as appropriate.

There are many good reasons for working at the City of Bellingham. The work is rewarding and you have an opportunity to serve your community. Another good reason is the great benefits that the City offers its employees. See our benefits section (https://www.cob.org/employment/pages/benefits.aspx) for additional information.

This position is unrepresented. Specific benefit information including Holidays, Vacation Accruals, Health, Dental and Vision Plans with cost sharing and Deferred Compensation Match can be found in the E-Team Handbook. (https://www.cob.org/employment/Pages/labor-agreements-pay-schedule.aspx)

This position is covered by the State of Washington Department of Retirement Systems PERS plan. PERS requires mandatory employee and City contributions. Please visit the DRS website (http://www.drs.wa.gov/) for more information on PERS.

01

Thank you for your interest in this position at the City of Bellingham! To ensure a consistent review, only the City of Bellingham job application and required supplemental documents will be reviewed. Cover letters and resumes are not reviewed unless they are required as part of the process. When applying for this position, you must thoroughly complete each section of your application, and provide a thorough response to each of the supplemental questions. Please do not indicate "see resume" or copy content that is unrelated to the position being applied for from your resume when answering these questions.

Have you read and understood the information listed above?

+ Yes

+ No

02

As part of your application, please submit a cover letter (two pages or less) addressing the following questions:

1. Why are you interested in working for the City of Bellingham in the Public Works Assistant Director - Transportation role?

2. What experiences, skills, and traits make you a great leader for the City of Bellingham?

Have you attached the required cover letter?

+ Yes, I have included my cover letter.

+ No, I have not included the required cover letter and understand my application will not be considered.

03

Do you have a Bachelor's degree in civil engineering, business management, public administration, planning, or a related field?

+ Yes

+ No

04

Do you have five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in transportation planning and operations in a municipal Public Works department, including three (3) years of supervisory experience?

How We Count Work Experience: Your experience must be equal to full-time paid work. If you worked part-time, we’ll calculate your experience based on the total number of hours you worked in a year. For example, if you worked 10 hours per week for 12 months, that equals 3 months of full-time experience (10 hrs x 52 weeks= 520 hrs/173.33 full time hrs per month = 3 months).

+ Yes

+ No

05

Or in place of the above requirements, do you have a combination of relevant education and experience that provides you with the required knowledge, skill and ability to be considered? If yes, please briefly describe.

06

If you have any of the preferred qualifications, please check the appropriate boxes below:

+ Registration as a Professional Engineer in Washington

+ Registration as a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer (PTOE)

+ Registration as a American Institute of Certified Planner (AICP)

+ Master's degree

+ Demonstrated experience in traffic operations and infrastructure maintenance

+ Municipal supervisor experience

07

Describe your supervisory experience including how many staff are in your department, how many staff you directly supervise, and the types of positions.

08

Describe your approach to leadership including: problem solving, planning, organization, decision making, interpersonal sensitivity, adaptability/flexibility, stress tolerance and time management.

09

Describe your experience and perspectives on transportation planning and operations.

Required Question

Employer

City of Bellingham

Address

104 West Magnolia Street Bellingham, Washington, 98225

Phone

360-778-8228

Website

http://www.cob.org/employment

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