Senior Policy & Project Manager

Position Description

Seattle City Light, a department of the City of Seattle, is one of the nation’s largest municipally owned utilities in terms of the number of customers served. Over the years we have worked very hard to keep Seattle's electricity affordable, reliable, and environmentally sound. Today, City Light is a recognized national leader in energy efficiency and environmental stewardship.

To support key organizational priorities, Seattle City Light is seeking a Senior Policy & Project Manager to serve on a small team of highly capable generalists that will report directly to the Chief of Staff in the General Manager’s Office. The Senior Policy & Project Manager will operate at tactical, strategic and operational levels, often handling the oversight, strategic management and facilitation of projects that do not fit neatly within the organizational chart and/or fall between departments or leaders’ areas of responsibilities.

Job Responsibilities

Here is more about what you’ll be doing:

The Senior Policy & Project Manager will lead and coordinate efforts to solve a variety of complex, highly visible issues that require strong analytical, project management, team partnership, communications and problem-solving skills. This position will ensure high priority work items are appropriately managed with clear roles and responsibilities across the utility to achieve desired outcomes efficiently and effectively; ensure framing and solutioning of issues are done from broader utility-wide perspective versus traditional work silos; and where possible identify and facilitate broader, more proactive business transformation changes.

While the portfolio of projects will change depending on the utility’s needs and priorities, core responsibilities for assigned special projects or issues will likely include:

• Project management – tracking high priority initiatives, identifying obstacles and developing solutions/mitigations; pulling together and managing project teams that require input/coordination from multiple areas from within the utility or from other city departments and stakeholders.
• Strategic planning and initiatives – identifying and taking on ad hoc strategic projects to advance organizational priorities and close operational gaps; defining and researching new ideas and opportunities and working with business units to implement changes.
• Decision support – providing decision support through data gathering and analysis, benchmarking, options analysis, and development and presentation of staff recommendations.
• Relationship management – bringing together multiple stakeholders to clarify roles, responsibilities, work coordination and decision-making; creating and maintaining cross-departmental relationships to facilitate mutual success and collaborative partnerships.
• Ongoing continuous improvements – assessing opportunities for building better systems, structures, efficiencies, and reporting/tracking mechanisms to optimize day-to-day functioning, interactions and collaboration across the utility and with other city partners.

Examples of projects this position may work on in partnership with other business units include: enhancing transparency, governance, prioritization and reporting of the utility’s overall capital improvement program; identifying potential efficiencies and stronger alignment with business processes, technology solutions and labor resources between different divisions and/or other City departments; supporting the development of a 10-year strategic roadmap planning framework, including managing various inputs and outputs related to the framework implementation.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications: In addition to the skills and experience mentioned below, a successful applicant will have experience that reflects a commitment to creating fair and equitable outcomes and has:

Education: A Bachelor’s degree in relevant field (e.g., public policy, public administration, finance, business administration, etc.) Or equivalent combination of education, training, and/or experience which provides an equivalent background required to perform the work of the class.

• At least five years managing high profile, complex projects with diverse and multidisciplinary team members where there may be multiple, competing priorities.
• Experience performing strategy development, options analysis and recommendations for senior management.
• Experience managing ambiguous, time-sensitive situations where the path forward may not be clear or have an established precedent.
• Demonstrated research and analytical skills, including ability to interpret and assess relevance and impacts from financial, regulatory, legal and other technical information.
• Strong written communication skills, including primary content development for briefing papers and written presentation materials to executive leadership and senior management.
• Familiarity with using data, benchmarks and metrics to drive performance management and continuous improvements.

Other combinations of education, training, and/or experience that provide an equivalent background required to perform the work of the class may be evaluated on an individual basis for comparability.

Desired Qualifications - You will be successful if you have the following experience, skills, and abilities:

• Graduate degree in relevant field. (e.g., public policy, public administration, finance, business administration, etc.)
• Demonstrated experience with collaboration, critical thinking, change management, communications, creativity and problem solving related to complex operational, financial, policy & legal issues.
• Matrix management with both team leadership and strong team collaboration skills; demonstrated experience in defining desired outcomes, clear scope, roles and responsibilities and actionable implementation plan when there may be no pre-existing framework or precedents to draw from and/or where teams may be looking to GM staff reps (such as this role) to lead the way.
• Ability to simultaneously and effectively manage multiple projects where prioritization within and across different projects is critical in an ever-shifting and fast-paced environment.
• Must demonstrate discretion, good judgment and confidentiality when handling sensitive matters.
• Superior interpersonal skills in working collaboratively, inclusively and respectfully with diverse teams across different levels within the organization.
• Demonstrated skills in framing the broader picture, challenging the status quo, and partnering with others to generate creative solutions that are balanced with clear and pragmatic problem solving and barrier removal mindset.
• Curiosity, adaptability, and self-motivation for high quality work and responsiveness.
• Nimble learning capacity with demonstrated ability to distill complicated information and details into relevant impacts and implications to facilitate decision-making.
• Ability to analyze complex and politically sensitive issues and incorporate adjustments as needed into strategy development, risk analysis and mitigation development.
• Strong oral presentation skills, including presentations and recommendations to large groups including executive leadership and senior management.

Please note this job advertisement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Additional Information

The full salary range for this position is $52.50 to $78.78 per hour.

Application Process

Please submit the following with your online application:

• A cover letter in which you clearly describe how your knowledge, experience, skills, and abilities prepare you for the job responsibilities and qualifications outlined in the job announcement.
• A current resume of your educational and professional work experience.

Incomplete applications may not be considered.

Who May Apply : This position is open to all candidates that meet the qualifications. Seattle City Light 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. Seattle City Light encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, veterans, and those with diverse life experiences.

Job offers are contingent on the verification of credentials and other information required by the employment process, including the completion of a background check. The background check will involve a criminal history check, which includes conviction and arrest records in compliance with the Seattle’s Fair Chance Employment Ordinance, SMC 14.17 and the City of Seattle Personnel Rule 10.3.

A driving history review may be conducted in compliance with SMC 4.79.020. Applicants will be provided an opportunity to explain or correct background information.

The City of Seattle offers a comprehensive benefits package including vacation, holiday, and sick leave as well as medical, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for employees and their dependents. More information about employee benefits is available on the City's website at: Seattle Benefits .

Want to know more about Seattle City Light? Check out our web page: Seattle City Light .