Community Services Planner II (WQPPM II)

King County, WA; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Job summary

King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division is seeking two Community Services II specialists to plan, manage, and provide field communications for major infrastructure projects. You will engage directly with community members, provide clear information, and support emergency response during sewer-related incidents.

Ideal candidates bring experience in public information campaigns, equity-focused outreach, and strong collaboration across multidisciplinary teams to balance project needs with

Qualifications

• Two or more years of experience planning and delivering public information or community engagement campaigns for a government agency or community organization.
• Experience serving as the primary public representative for infrastructure projects affecting services and daily life.
• Experience managing numerous concurrent projects successfully.
• Ability to use software that supports work products (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, SharePoint, Zoom, databases).

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement public involvement plans to share information and build community understanding of WTD projects.
• Plan, assess, and implement equity and social justice opportunities on WTD projects and programs.
• Represent WTD at events and briefings, engaging directly with community members to reduce risks.
• Provide field support for capital projects with significant community impact and participate in incident response rotations.
• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Skills

Public information campaigns

Community engagement

Project management

Diplomacy

Equity & social justice

Tools

Word

Outlook

PowerPoint

Excel

Teams

SharePoint

Zoom

Job description

Summary

This position is open to the general public and King County Employees. If you want to use your communication skills to help people make informed decisions about the infrastructure and services that affect their lives, the Wastewater Treatment Division’s (WTD) Community Services group looks forward to meeting you. Our work centers on building understanding of our utility’s projects and operations, supporting multidisciplinary construction teams, and ensuring the public has the information they need to engage meaningfully in our projects, even when the work faces community opposition. We collaborate across the division to communicate clearly, plan strategically, and provide accurate, accessible information. We adapt our approach with both project teams and the public to meet the needs of diverse audiences and value the perspectives that different disciplines within WTD and communities both bring.

As a member of WTD’s Community Services unit, you will support all aspects of the division’s work by helping the public understand our infrastructure projects, operations, and services. You will provide timely, clear information so individuals, businesses, and communities can offer informed input and understand how decisions may affect them. This position supports WTD operations, Executive priorities, and complex multidisciplinary capital projects, planning efforts, and programs. You will also support incident response efforts that focus on protecting the public from sewage spills or other unexpected dangers related to an emergency.

About The Role

We are recruiting for two (2) Community Services II (Water Quality Planner/Project Manager II - WQPPM II) positions. The successful candidates will plan, manage, and provide field communications and public outreach support for multiple concurrent projects to build or improve large infrastructure facilities, such as pipes, pump stations, tanks, and treatment plants. They will support projects in the planning, design, and construction phases. The successful candidates will interact with community members directly affected by construction projects. They will be expected to use diplomacy and tact when working with upset individuals or when facing public opposition in order to gain acceptance of the division’s work.

They will be expected to engage all communities equitably and will support emergency incidents such as sewer overflows by being available 24 hours a day, every six to eight weeks, on a rotating basis. In this capacity, they will provide field support to protect public health and safety during sewage spills or unplanned repairs of the regional wastewater system.

About The Team

The Community Services unit advances the values of King County and the Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) by protecting public health and the environment and providing equitable, inclusive services to residents and businesses across King County. To our agency, success means clean water. It means keeping a promise to the next generation that our beautiful environment will be there for them to enjoy. It also means being accountable to our ratepayers and operating a well-managed agency. We are committed to the principles of equity and social justice. We value diverse perspectives and life experiences in our workforce and are committed to building a culturally diverse and inclusive environment.

About WTD

Join our team dedicated to ensuring clean water for generations to come! With over 700 employees engaged in planning, designing, building, and operating treatment facilities, our agency is at the forefront of environmental stewardship. Success for us means upholding our legacy while promising future generations a pristine environment.

The King County WTD protects public health and the environment of the central Puget Sound region by collecting and treating wastewater, while recovering valuable resources that would otherwise be lost. We manage vital infrastructure that contributes to the region’s economic development and provide services to 18 cities, 15 local sewer districts, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, and nearly two million residents across a 424-square-mile area in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties. We enforce regulations to reduce harmful waste discharge and actively educate the public and businesses on water quality protection. Our regional wastewater treatment system not only sustains a healthy environment but also fuels economic development, fostering prosperity in our region. If you're passionate about making a difference and thrive in a collaborative environment, join us in our mission to safeguard our precious water resources.

Commitment To Equity, Racial And Social Justice

King County, named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a diverse and vibrant community that represents cultures from around the world. Our True North is to create a welcoming community where everyone can thrive. We prioritize equity, racial and social justice, making it a foundational and daily expectation for all employees. As a King County Employee, you will actively apply these principles in all aspects of your work. Learn more about our commitment at http://www.kingcounty.gov/equity.

Job Duties

What You Will Be Doing:

• Gain public acceptance for complex construction projects that plan, build, repair or maintain wastewater treatment facilities and processes within WTD’s Capital Improvement Program. Develop, manage, and implement public involvement plans using established guidelines to share information and build community understanding about WTD construction projects.
• Provide planning, assessment, and implementation for equity and social justice opportunities on WTD projects and programs using County equity assessment tools.
• Represent WTD projects and operations in public at events, briefings and one-on-one venues. Support WTD project teams by working directly with interested community members to reduce risks and advance opportunities for WTD's Capital Improvement Program and operations. Assignments will include providing direct support for capital projects with significant construction impacts for the community.
• Support the community relations elements of Wastewater Treatment Division incident response program, which requires 24/7 night and weekend availability on a rotating basis six to eight weeks per year. Duties could include safely moving through industrial and construction sites and driving metal fence posts into the ground to close off public spaces affected by response activities.
• Additional duties as assigned.

Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills

Qualifications You Bring:

• Two or more years of experience planning and delivering public information or community engagement campaigns for a government agency or community organization. Experience should include strategic goal identification, objective setting, budget forecasting or tracking, tactic selection and ensuring timely service delivery.
• Experience serving as the primary public representative, for infrastructure projects for a government agency or community organization making decisions likely to affect services and daily activities. This would include residential neighborhoods, business areas and/or public spaces.
• Experience managing numerous concurrent projects successfully.
• Ability to use software that supports the delivery of a work product, including Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, SharePoint, Zoom, and databases.

Competencies You Bring:

• Customer Focus: Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions.
• Interpersonal Savvy: Relating openly and comfortably with diverse groups of people.
• Drives Results: Consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances.
• Being Resilient: Rebounding from setbacks and adversity when facing difficult situations.

Required Licenses

A valid Washington State Driver’s License or an alternate ability to get to meetings and field sites not served by transit at varying times of day.

It Would Be Great If You Also Bring

• Experience managing projects containing wastewater utility, public works, infrastructure, buildings, mechanical systems, and asset replacement elements.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively about complex topics in plain language via in-person presentations in group and one-on-one settings.
• Experience using community engagement to help major projects or plans advance equity and social justice.
• Experience building community awareness and support for the construction of public infrastructure for more than one project in neighborhoods of diverse ability, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and primary spoken language.

Supplemental Information

Work Location:

The unit works in a hybrid model, with days in the office as well as telecommuting. The ratio of remote to onsite work will be dependent on business needs and is subject to change. The primary onsite location is the Collaboration space at King Street Center, 201 S. Jackson, Seattle, Washington 98104. Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements. King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely. The individual selected for this opportunity will join an innovative and progressive team that is redefining how we work as we transition to the department's hybrid environment. Employees will be provided with a County-issued laptop and must maintain a home workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours.

Work Schedule:

This full-time position works a 40-hour work week. This position is exempt from the overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) and is not overtime eligible.

Union Representation:

This position is represented by Technical Employees’ Association (TEA) - Wastewater Treatment Division,

Physical Requirements

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, and use hands to touch, handle or feel objects, tools or controls. The employee frequently is required to talk and hear. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms, and to stoop, kneel or crouch. Must occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.

Discover More About the Wastewater Treatment Division: Visit our website and check us out at Facebook,X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube and our WTD Blog.

Discover More About DNRP: Visit our website, explore an interactive map of our recent accomplishments and check us out at Facebook, X (formerlyTwitter), LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Keeping King County Green News.

Sign up for Job Alerts to be notified of additional career opportunities with King County. Select the Natural Resources category for DNRP opportunities and explore other categories of interest.

Are you ready to make a difference Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.

King County's Vision, Mission, and ACTIVATE Values unite us.

King County serves residents with a relentless sense of urgency, delivering on commitments with transparency and accountability. We are action-oriented, creative problem solvers who collaborate across roles, engage directly with communities, and challenge the status quo to achieve meaningful impact. As a unified team, we uphold high ethical and stewardship standards, embrace change, stay curious, and continuously improve. Across all interactions, we listen first, act quickly, and stay aligned as a team to earn and sustain public trust. Learn more about our Vision, Mission, and ACTIVATE Values here and visit our Why work at King County page here.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer. No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on sex, race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religious affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age except by minimum age and retirement provisions, pregnancy, status as a family caregiver, parental status, marital status, military status or status as a veteran who was honorably discharged or who was discharged solely as a result of the person's sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, citizenship or immigration status, genetic information, or other protected class. However, to the extent that distinction or differential treatment on the basis of citizenship or immigration status is authorized by either federal or state law, regulation, or government contract, it is not an unfair practice.

Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.

Benefits

• Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage options: King County provides eligible employees with options, so they can decide what’s best for themselves and their eligible dependents
• Life and disability insurance: employees are provided basic coverage and given the opportunity to purchase additional insurance for both the employee and eligible dependents
• Retirement: eligible King County employees may participate in a pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems and a 457(b) deferred-compensation plan
• Transportation program and ORCA transit pass
• 12 paid holidays each year plus two personal holidays
• Generous vacation and paid sick leave
• Paid parental, family and medical, and volunteer leaves
• Flexible Spending Account
• Wellness programs
• Onsite activity centers
• Employee Giving Program
• Employee assistance programs
• Flexible schedules and telecommuting options, depending on position
• Training and career development programs

For additional information about employee benefits, visit our Benefits, Payroll, and Retirement Page. This is a general description of the benefits offered to eligible King County employees, and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. If any information on this document conflicts with the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the CBA prevails.

NOTE: Benefits for Term Limited Temporary (TLT) or Short Term Temporary (STT) positions, including leave eligibility and/or participation in the pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems, will vary based upon the terms and details of the position. Short Term Temporary positions are not eligible for an ORCA transit pass.