Deputy Director of People, Culture, and Community

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is recruiting for a transformational operational leader committed to equity, people and service to help us align our people, culture and community services and programs with the City’s and SPU’s commitment to equity, empowerment and to providing efficient and forward-looking utility services. The Deputy Director of People, Culture and Community leads people strategy including external customer/community and employee experience ranging from communications, community engagement, contact center response, organizational development, and workforce development, advancing SPU culture and City values. This position reports to the General Manager and CEO.

About Seattle Public Utilities:

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is a Community Centered Utility working to make Seattle the best place to live for everyone. We deliver high quality, vital services, across four major lines of business: providing water, solid waste, drainage and wastewater services for Seattle residents and businesses. In addition, SPU provides drinking water for 1.5 million regional customers in Seattle and other municipalities. Our customers depend on us to deliver high quality, reliable, and cost-conscious utility services and to achieve the highest benefits possible for every investment we make.

SPU commits to Our City Values, Workplace Expectations, and Racial Equity and Social Justice as core principles that guide our work. We support and hold ourselves accountable by eliminating barriers to access and providing employees with equitable opportunities for professional growth and advancement.

The People, Culture and Community Division delivers a diverse portfolio of services that advances SPU’s core mission and goals.

• Community Affairs supports the Utility’s communication and community engagement work by helping build deeper understanding of SPU’s contribution to the community. The work of the division crosses all four lines of business and is positioned to shape public perception of SPU, as well as its internal work culture. The division manages internal and external communications and serves as both content creator and aggregators of information to inform, involve and advance SPU’s mission, goals and relationships.
• Customer Response serves as a critical point of contact for all Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) and Seattle City Light (SCL) customers. The Contact Center handles billing, service, and account level inquiries and relationships related to electric, water, sewer, drainage, solid waste services, and abandoned vehicles.
• Environmental Justice and Service Equity (EJSE) works to embed race and social justice and service equity policies and practices across the utility, by positioning equity at the core of decision-making at Seattle Public Utilities. EJSE builds trusting relationships; models best practices for service equity; training staff; facilitating application of racial equity tools; and oversees SPU’s Women and Minority Business Enterprise (WMBE) program.
• Human Resources provides strategic and operational programs, services and consultative expertise to attract, develop, engage, and retain a diverse and inclusive workforce and work culture where everyone’s contribution is valued. Human Resources plays a critical role in supporting departmental objectives by helping to foster an engaged, high-performing workforce.

Job Responsibilities:

The Deputy Director ensures SPU core values and mission related to equity and empowerment are evident in organizational structures, practices, communications, outreach and culture. They will collaborate across the Utility to set the strategic direction for Community and Workforce Culture planning, operations, evaluation, communication, and initiatives.

Key accountability of the Director include:

• Design, define and drive our external community/customer relationship roadmap to engage the community, respond to customer needs and form strong partnerships and relationships that help achieve SPU goals. Develop and execute a shared bill of rights and responsibilities around SPU services and priorities that help deepen community connections and contribute to making Seattle the best place to live and work.
• Design, define and drive our internal workforce development roadmap to achieve business and strategic performance goals. Develop and execute an aligned work culture strategy, processes and policies across the entire employee lifecycle including recruiting, hiring, onboarding, development, performance management and workforce planning. Create and drive strategies and programs that improve equity, employee engagement, employee value proposition, and organizational effectiveness. Create strong external partnerships linking SPU related education and job opportunity pipelines to historically underemployed populations in Seattle.
• Communicate a clear vision and organizational identity and objectives. Ensure our vision, mission, values and strategic focus areas and priorities are clearly communicated and understood and are evident in all external and internal practices and disciplined messaging and are also aligned with our mission, services and culture;
• Champion organizational development and culture by focusing on building a clear organizational alignment framework as well as a trusting, respectful, supportive and inclusive culture and a capacity for intergenerational listening and learning and collaborative problem solving and innovation;
• Promotion of racial and social equity and inclusion. Advance equity through thoughtful community and employee engagement, strategic partnerships and innovative program development reaching inside and outside SPU;
• Inspire a culture of excellence. Establish employee development benchmarks and cultivate management leadership through systematic professional development and opportunities for mentoring and lifting up of all staff expertise and talents.

Qualifications:

We are looking for a transformative leader and people strategist who cultivates inclusive and welcoming culture, has a passion for creating environments where people can do their best work and is an effective community collaborator, negotiator, relationship builder, and communicator.

The successful candidate will be an inclusive, results-oriented leader whose work is grounded by a commitment to equity, inclusion, empowerment and people, can transform strategy into operational goals and objectives, and produce measurable outcomes. They will be a proven, caring leader with a career history that demonstrates outstanding leadership and human resource expertise coupled with change management skills and the ability to embrace and celebrate the culture, ethnic diversity, community values, and all that Seattle represents. They have excellent coaching, communication and leadership skills, a background in organizational development, and previous experience developing organizational culture, workforce planning and customer service. This candidate will also have a strategic mindset and an understanding of field and office workplaces.

The preferred candidate will have experience leading a department or organization responsible for delivery of public sector, environmental or policy services. Consideration will be given to candidates who have limited public sector experience but who have held a senior leadership position where they have led significant cultural, or organizational change, initiatives. They have held a senior leadership role within a large and complex publicly accountable organization that involves leading a diverse staff and fiduciary management of sizable budget and staff. Demonstrated knowledge in working with elected officials, employees at all levels and the public is critical to this position, as well as extensive experience in building strong teams and fostering an inclusive workplace culture. They build a culture that is progressive, collaborative, transparent and data driven; can navigate difficult conversations and empower others.

Additional Information:

Employees of the City of Seattle enjoy competitive pay and benefits packages, generous leave programs, and the satisfaction of doing work that helps make Seattle a great place to live, work, and play.

All interested parties should apply immediately to the City by submitting a cover letter and resume. This position is considered open until filled; applicants should apply immediately for optimal consideration. This position is considered open until filled; applicants should apply by January 21, 2020 for optimal consideration. For confidential inquiries or questions about the recruitment process, please contact Pam Inch at Pam.Inch@seattle.gov.

The City of Seattle values diverse perspectives and life experiences. Applicants will be considered regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, disability, religious or political affiliation, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The City encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, veterans, and those with diverse life experiences.