Assistant Utility Director

Description

Under general direction of the Utility Director, this is a professional executive level position requiring advanced engineering and management skills to perform complex professional, technical, administrative, and supervisory work related to the operation, maintenance, expansion, and planning work of the County’s water and waste water treatment plant operations, water distribution, wastewater collection and reclaimed water system.  Responsible for reviewing updating and carrying out Departmental Policies and Procedures while supervising and working with division managers to cost effectively maximize productivity of their operations and maintenance programs. Work involves responsibility for long- and short-term programs, planning with considerable authority delegated to operations and division managers for implementation of technical and administrative activities. Management skills and sound judgement in decision making is required. 

Examples of Duties

• Assists Utility Director with regulatory efforts and initiatives for compliance with applicable local, state, and federal regulatory and performance requirements.   Ensures the daily operations of the water and wastewater systems are compliant with water quality standards prescribed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
• Assists Utility Director with day-to-day operations by ensuring regulatory reports, technical reports, other documents and letters are prepared as needed to develop and present reports and matters to regulatory agencies, the Board of Commissioners, County Administration, and the general public as required.
• Reviews the Water Plant maintenance/repair/replacement projects requested by the Operations or Assistant Operations Manager.
• Serves as project manager/project engineer for department projects affecting water supply, treatment, transmission, storage, and distribution systems; interacts with and coordinates work of consulting engineers, developers, and contractors.
• Serves as project manager/project engineer for department projects affecting wastewater treatment, collection, pumping and transmission systems; interacts with and coordinates work of consulting engineers, developers and contractors.
• Directs division managers and support personnel to maximize safety, productivity, and cost efficiency of utilities’ operations and maintenance programs.
• Responsible for making procedural and operation recommendations to the Director. Plan and prepare supporting documentation and presentations.
• Provides long range planning and policy development for the Department.
• Analyzes Department’s budget and recommend adjustments.
• Provides direction and leadership to division managers on policies and procedures.
• Maintain up to date knowledge of existing and emerging requirements from local/state/federal regulations and mandates related to the Utility Department’s operations.
• Recommends hiring, promotion, transfer, discipline, termination, etc.; reviews and evaluates requests for training to ensure all plant staff receive needed recurrent training as well as training needed for professional development; Assists to resolve problems as non-routine situations arise.
• Oversees the establishment and management of an Asset Management/Maintenance Plan (AMP) for the Department.
• Reviews and approves development and other technical plans and specifications for water and wastewater system expansion and improvement for compliance with comprehensive plans and local/state/federal regulations.
• Develops Standard Operating Procedures and Policies for consideration of Director of Utilities and County Administration.
• Assists Utilities Director in development of annual budget for operating expenses by tracking and monitoring costs associated with operation of the water and wastewater systems to create data-driven budget requests.
• Develop and/or review Requests for Qualifications/Proposal (RFQ/RFP) and scopes of work on projects. 
• Coordination with County purchasing staff during advertisement, bidding, and contract administration.
• Reviews pay applications, change orders, substantial and final completion punch lists. 
• Prepares project status reports and ensures work adheres to contract specifications. 
• Oversees the maintenance and organization of the Utility Department’s network files and data. Develops, manages and updates computerized water and sewer models.
• Assists Director of Utilities in developing and coordinating the implementation of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
• Coordinates the implementation of Maintenance/Repair/Replacement Plans for the water and wastewater systems to meet changing regulatory requirements and system operating conditions by identifying/recommending upgrades, modifications, or improvements to equipment and facilities. Plans and implements approved activities within normal budgetary procedures.
• Serves as designated authority for the Utility Department in the absence of the Utilities Director.
• Maintains an effective working relationship with the County Department Heads, elected officials, other government agencies and the public.
• Responds to citizen complaints, issues, and media inquiries as necessary.
• Performs all functions and responsibilities according to the Indian River County Code of Ethics and Florida Statutes 112.313.
• Fosters positive employee relations and employee morale on a County-wide basis. 

Typical Qualifications

Education and Experience:

Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a Bachelor's Degree (B.A. or B.S.) in civil or Sanitary Engineering or Business Administration.   Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible professional, technical, or administrative work in the field of utility engineering. Experience dealing with municipal utility systems, maintenance, and construction.  Working knowledge and experience with governmental accounting practices.

Licenses, Certifications or Registrations:

Registration as a Professional Civil Engineer in the State of Florida preferred.

Valid Florida Driver's License and maintenance of cleaning driving record.

A comparable amount of training, education, or experience may be substituted for the minimum qualifications.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills:

Managerial/technical/professional :

• Comprehensive knowledge of federal, state and local laws, regulations, rules and ordinances related to municipal public utility works/water, wastewater, and reclaimed water engineering operations. 
• Comprehensive knowledge of civil and environmental engineering principles and practices. 
• Broad knowledge of civil engineering and computer modeling as it pertains to water and wastewater systems.
• Broad knowledge of the principles of plumbing and hydraulics as related to water systems. Has considerable knowledge of the occupational hazards and safety precautions of utilities work.
• General knowledge of the operating principles and practices, and maintenance requirements of water and wastewater systems, and plant equipment and machinery utilized in water supply, water treatment, water distribution, wastewater collections and wastewater treatment operations.
• General knowledge of the engineering, chemical and bacteriological principles and practices related to large-scale water supply and treatment operations.
• Demonstrated ability to manage civil engineering and construction projects within budget and schedule. 
• General knowledge and experience with ARC-GIS and CAD programs and applications.
• Considerable knowledge of public administration principles and practices, including budgeting, fiscal administration, management and long-range planning policies, practices and procedures. 
• Ability to plan, review, and implement a variety of utility work oriented engineering projects. 
• Ability to manage & mentor staff, and direct resources effectively in a positive manner. 
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with officials, department directors, regulatory agencies, employees, contractors, consulting engineers and the general public. 
• Ability to understand complex issues and to make logical decisions in accordance with established policies and procedures and provide guidance and instructions to staff.
• Ability to perform arithmetic operations; to perform accurate calculations related to hydraulic flow modeling and system analysis. Ability to communicate effectively in oral and written form. 
• Knowledge of water treatment, water distribution, wastewater treatment and wastewater collection.
• Ability to interpret plans and technical specifications and the ability to effectively plan and schedule work.
• Ability to effectively evaluate current and future capital improvement needs.
• Skill in management and technical knowledge to deal with contractors and sanitary/civil engineers. 
• Ability to manage and prioritize routine, specialized and complex assignments and problems utilizing knowledge acquired through prior education, training, and experience. 
• Ability to adapt to an evolving and continually improving environment.
• Ability to manage and prioritize routine specialized and complex assignments and problems utilizing knowledge acquired through prior education, training and experience. 
• Ability to plan, assign, instruct, review and evaluate work assignments of technical and professional staff.  
• Requires demonstrated ability to utilize personal computer and office software such as Outlook, Access, Power Point, Word, and Excel; specialized programs and the internet.
• Ability to comprehend forms in space and understand relations of plane and solid objects.
• Ability to perceive or comprehend by the sense of sight, discriminate between colors (color perception), and determine distance relationship between objects (depth perception).

Problem Solving :

• Skill in analyzing problems, identifying alternative solutions, projecting consequences of proposed actions, and implementing recommendations in support of goals. 
• Skill in researching, evaluating, and using new methods and techniques for operational improvements. 
• Ability to interpret oral, written, technical information and data dealing with complex variables to identify, analyze and solve management problems of considerable difficulty.

Human Resource Management :

• Knowledge of supervisory techniques, and pertinent federal, state and local human resource management rules. 
• Skill in planning, organizing, assigning and coordinating the activities of professional, technical and hourly staff.
• Familiarity with Union and Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) oversight and implementation.

Communication :

• Skill in dealing constructively with conflict and responding with tact, composure, and courtesy when dealing with individuals who may be experiencing significant stress. 
• Skill in applying appropriate public relations techniques as situations warrant and in forming cooperative relationships with others whom do not have a direct reporting relationship. 
• Ability to prepare correspondence, reports, forms, budgets, studies, construction estimates, purchase orders, etc., using prescribed formats and conforming to all rules of punctuation, grammar, diction, and style.
• Ability to communicate by preparing written reports and by public presentations to small or large audiences. 
• Ability to speak before groups of people with poise, voice control, and confidence.
• Ability to communicate effectively and efficiently in a variety of technical or professional languages including engineering, legal, accounting, mechanical, and electrical terminology.
• Ability to effectively communicate positively at all levels of the organization. 
• Ability to express ideas clearly when providing oral and written reports and recommendations on administrative, financial, and technical issues.

Supplemental Information

Physical Demands/Work Environment:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. The work environment characteristics described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit and talk or hear, use hands to finger, handle, feel, or operate objects, tools, or controls, and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 lbs. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus. Works is typically performed in an office environment, but incumbent may be required to make site visits to other work locations, which may be outdoors and may require walking over uneven terrain and climbing ladders.  Ability to operate a vehicle.

Information

• Location: Vero Beach, United States

Industry experience

Education: Bachelor

Seniority: Manager, Director, Professor

Years of experience: 5 to 10 years

Taxonomy

• Operations Management