Director, Public Works and Engineering

City of Yellowknife; Yellowknife; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Yellowknife seeks a Director of Public Works and Engineering to lead essential municipal systems and shape long-term infrastructure investments. This 5-year, on-site role reports to the City Manager and will guide a department of ~56 staff while coordinating with the Major Projects Secretariat.

We value experience in civil engineering leadership, asset management, capital delivery, and a collaborative approach with elected officials and partners across government and communities.

Qualifications

• University degree in civil engineering or related field.
• At least ten years of progressively responsible experience in municipal engineering/public works.
• Minimum six years of experience leading people and functions.
• Experience with contracts and procurement, capital delivery, asset management, financial planning, risk.
• Experience working with elected officials or public-sector governance bodies.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for public works and engineering operations.
• Turn asset evidence into operating and capital priorities with credible business cases.
• Lead major projects and ensure smooth transition from design to long-term service.
• Build capable teams and maintain strong relationships with departments, Indigenous partners, regulators and community.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Stakeholder engagement

Contract management

Public sector governance

Education

Bachelors in Civil Engineering

Professional Engineer (P.Eng.)

Tools

Capital planning

Job description

The City of Yellowknife

Director, Public Works and Engineering

Full-time, 5-Year Term (Subject to Extension), On-site

In Yellowknife, reliable infrastructure is fundamental to daily life, community resilience, and future growth. The City is seeking a Director, Public Works and Engineering to lead the essential systems that keep the capital moving today while shaping the investments that will serve it for decades. The City is seeking a Director, Public Works and Engineering who is energized by that scale of responsibility and the opportunity to leave a lasting public-service legacy.

Reporting to the City Manager and serving on the Senior Management Committee, you will lead four direct reports and a department of approximately 56 employees. This five-year term role, subject to extension, is available because the current Director has been seconded to the Major Projects Secretariat following significant federal investment in major initiatives. You will have clear ownership of the operating portfolio, a close partnership with the Secretariat, and meaningful autonomy to lead.

The Mandate

Your mandate operates on two horizons at once: keep essential services safe, dependable and responsive today, while building the evidence, plans and organizational capacity required for tomorrow. You will connect frontline operational knowledge with engineering judgement, regulatory obligations, asset condition, lifecycle risk and financial capacity so that priorities are practical, transparent and defensible.

The work is consequential. You will advance the Raw Water Supply Upgrade Project; guide implementation of the Strategic Waste Management Plan; prepare for new transportation and water master plans; strengthen asset‑management and capital‑planning practices; and help establish effective project interfaces with the Major Projects Secretariat. Throughout, you will balance ambitious community expectations with northern delivery realities, including climate, logistics, market capacity and a compressed construction season.

Where You Will Make a Difference

Service confidence. Give residents and Council confidence that essential municipal systems are safe, reliable and supported by sound operational and emergency planning.

Investment discipline. Turn asset evidence, service risk and lifecycle cost into clear operating and capital priorities, credible business cases and well‑governed delivery.

Major-project integration. Create a productive operating partnership with the Major Projects Secretariat and ensure new assets move effectively from design and construction into long‑term service.

Team capability. Lead an experienced management group with clarity and trust, build on strong succession and technical capability, and align commitments with the resources required to deliver them well.

The Leader We Are Seeking

You are an accomplished Professional Engineer who is equally credible in the field, the executive room and the Council chamber. You see infrastructure as an interconnected system, not a collection of isolated assets, and can move confidently between operational decisions, regulatory matters, capital governance, financial trade‑offs and long‑range stewardship.

You hold a university degree in civil engineering or a related field and bring at least ten years of progressively responsible experience in municipal engineering, public works or a comparable infrastructure environment, including a minimum of six years leading people and functions. Your experience includes complex operations, contracts and procurement, capital delivery, asset management, financial planning, risk and work with elected officials or public‑sector governance bodies.

Practical, composed and politically astute without being political, you communicate complex issues clearly and provide candid, well‑supported advice. You value institutional knowledge, build inclusive and accountable teams, and develop trusted relationships across departments, governments, Indigenous partners, regulators, consultants, contractors and the community. You are motivated by visible public impact and by the professional and personal opportunity of living and leading in Canada’s North.

The City of Yellowknife is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to inclusive, accessible recruitment. Accommodations are available at all stages of the process. The City is committed to hiring a diverse and skilled workforce that is representative of the community, strengthening our ability to provide high‑quality services and excellent customer service to residents and business owners. In addition, the City of Yellowknife is committed to reconciliation and implementing actions intended to increase the number of Indigenous peoples who work for the City. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates and encourage Indigenous persons to self‑declare when submitting their applications.