Executive Director of Engineering and Infrastructure

Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County; Athens (GA); On-site; USD 153,000 - 238,000; Full time

Job summary

Unified Government of Athens‑Clarke County seeks a County Engineer to provide executive engineering leadership for development review, infrastructure and public works. This role directs Building & Code Enforcement, Public Utilities, Transportation & Public Works, and Capital Projects, and acts as the Manager’s Office technical authority.

The position requires a Civil Engineering degree, a GA PE license (or reciprocity within 6 months), seven years' public‑infrastructure experience, and five

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering or a closely related discipline.
• Minimum seven years of progressively responsible professional engineering experience in public infrastructure/utilities/transportation.
• Minimum five years of supervisory or management experience.
• Must possess and maintain a valid Professional Engineer license; Georgia licensure is required at appointment or within six months.
• Must possess a valid driver’s license.

Responsibilities

• Supervises department directors and provides guidance on staffing, policy, budget, and priorities.
• Reviews engineering standards and development regulations; serves as final technical authority on engineering matters.
• Develops and maintains a comprehensive Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
• Leads plans review improvements and ensures stormwater requirements are applied.
• Mentors department directors and engineers; coordinates with Deputy Manager on escalated issues.

Skills

Leadership

Civil engineering

Project management

Communication

Staff supervision

Education

Bachelor's degree in civil engineering

Georgia PE licensure

Professional Engineer (PE) license

Driver's license

Job description

We hope you will take time to explore this opportunity to join a highly professional local government organization and a progressive, vibrant community in the heart of sunny Northeast Georgia just 65 miles from Atlanta. Home of the University of Georgia, Athens is nationally recognized for its high quality of life, state-of-the-art educational opportunities, endless outdoor recreation, and cultural amenities such as arts, entertainment, music, and food. If this opportunity is for you, we invite you to apply, or to pass on this information to others who might find this position of interest.

REPORTS TO: Deputy Manager

FLSA STATUS: Exempt – Administrative

CLASSIFICATION: Regular Non-Merit; Serves at the discretion of the Deputy Manager

PAY GRADE: Not Classified.

Anticipated Hiring Range: $153,255 - $168,580

Position Salary Range: $153,255 - $237,530

SAFETY SENSITIVE: No

Purpose of Job

The purpose of this job is to provide executive-level engineering leadership and administrative oversight for the Unified Government’s development review, infrastructure and public works portfolio. The position serves as the County Engineer and directly supervises the Directors of Building and Code Enforcement, Public Utilities, Transportation and Public Works, and Capital Projects, and serves as the primary technical authority of the Manager’s Office for matters within that portfolio. Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: directing and coordinating the day-to-day operations of the supervised departments; developing and maintaining a comprehensive Capital Improvement Program for the organization; driving strategic improvements to the plans review process; providing technical engineering expertise to resolve complex infrastructure and development challenges; and enhancing interdepartmental coordination across functions that intersect with the infrastructure portfolio. The position serves as a senior member of the Manager’s Office leadership team and is expected to bring both accomplished engineering credentials, project management experience and the interpersonal range to build effective working relationships across disciplines, departments, and the community.

Job Related Requirements

WORK SCHEDULE: Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm with some evenings and weekend work. Limited overnight travel may be required. May be required to work on religious holidays. Regular and predictable attendance is required. Must work cooperatively with others.

When requirements include vehicle operation, responsible for the safety, readiness and operation of the vehicle and must abide by ACC's safe driving policy.

Emergency Position

This position is designated as an emergency position that requires attendance at work under all types of emergency conditions. Some examples of emergencies include inclement weather, utility failure, fire, forced evacuations, or other public safety situations, or as determined by the Manager.

Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering or a closely related discipline, with a minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible professional engineering experience in public infrastructure, utilities, transportation, or capital project delivery; or any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience which provides the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities for this job.

A minimum of five (5) years of supervisory or management experience is required.

Must possess and maintain a valid Professional Engineer (PE) license. Georgia PE licensure is required at time of appointment, or the ability to obtain Georgia licensure by reciprocity within six (6) months of hire.

Must possess a valid driver’s license.

Experience in two or more of the following areas is preferred: water/wastewater utilities engineering and operations; transportation and public works; community development, capital improvement program development and management.

Final candidates must successfully pass the pre-employment process that includes a thorough background investigation, educational history, driving history, criminal history, and credit history.

Department Oversight and Administration

• Supervises an assigned group of department directors including Building and Code Enforcement, Public Utilities, Transportation and Public Works, and Capital Projects; provides guidance on staffing decisions, policy development, budget execution, and operational priorities across all departments.
• Reviews and approves updates to engineering standards, development regulations, and departmental policies proposed by supervised departments; serves as the final technical authority on matters requiring engineering judgment.
• Evaluates departmental performance against established goals and service delivery benchmarks; identifies and addresses organizational gaps that affect the efficiency or quality of infrastructure services.
• Evaluates departmental capacity and makes recommendations on whether specific projects or services should be delivered in-house or through professional services contracts; negotiates scope, schedule, and cost for contracted work and oversees contract administration.
• Serves as a technical resource for complex or non-routine engineering challenges that exceed departmental staff capacity, including review of public infrastructure plans, design standards, and custom engineering applications.
• Provides mentoring and coaching to department directors and engineers across the organization; supports professional development and succession planning across the infrastructure departments.
• Coordinates with the Deputy Manager on matters that require escalation beyond the scope of departmental resolution, including high-stakes intergovernmental issues, major policy disputes, and complex project complications.

Capital Improvement Program

• Develops and maintains a comprehensive Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for the Unified Government, capturing all capital projects across the organization, establishing implementation timelines, and identifying projected funding sources, including SPLOST, TSPLOST, grants, and other financing mechanisms.
• Coordinates with department directors to identify capital needs and incorporate departmentally-identified projects into the CIP; ensures alignment between the CIP and operating budget priorities.
• Monitors CIP implementation progress; tracks project milestones, budget performance, and delivery timelines across the capital portfolio; provides regular reporting to the Deputy Manager and Manager.
• Ensures that updates of transportation, utility, and other infrastructure-related master plans are reflected in CIP priorities and capital investment decisions.
• Identifies grant opportunities and supports the development of grant applications for capital projects; coordinates with relevant state and federal agencies—including GDOT, EPD, and others—on funding, permitting, and regulatory matters when the complexity or stakes of the issue warrant County Engineer involvement.
• Advises the Manager’s Office on capital financing strategy, infrastructure investment priorities, and long-range infrastructure planning.

Plans Review and Development Standards

• Leads a cross-organizational effort to assess and improve the Unified Government’s plans review process; identifies inefficiencies, develops recommendations, and drives implementation of process improvements in coordination with the Planning Director and supervised department directors.
• Establishes and maintains engineering standards and criteria that govern the plans review process; ensures consistency of technical requirements across departments that participate in development review.
• Ensures stormwater management requirements are consistently applied across the development review and plans review process.
• Serves as the strategic-level point of contact for plans review policy; day-to-day implementation responsibility remains with the Planning Director and relevant department directors.
• Serves as ACCGov's senior technical authority in disputes or disagreements with outside engineers, consultants, developers, or contractors regarding engineering standards, specifications, or technical requirements; reviews contested positions, renders technically defensible determinations, and communicates ACCGov's position clearly and professionally.
• Engages the development community and other external stakeholders on engineering standards and review processes when matters require senior-level technical authority or when systemic issues arise.

Interdepartmental Coordination and Organizational Capacity

• Exercises cross-organizational authority to improve coordination among departments whose work intersects with the infrastructure portfolio; identifies and resolves coordination failures that affect project delivery, service quality, or regulatory compliance.
• Partners with departments outside the direct supervisory portfolio—including Planning, Budget and Strategy, and others—to align infrastructure programs with broader organizational goals and to address issues that require multi-departmental solutions.
• Represents the Manager's Office on high-stakes or complex matters involving elected officials, appointed boards, state and federal agencies, and the public as they relate to the infrastructure portfolio; day-to-day intergovernmental coordination remains with department directors.
• Supports the Manager and Deputy Manager in strategic planning, policy development, and organizational initiatives as they relate to public infrastructure, engineering, and capital investment.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Requires thorough knowledge of:

• Civil engineering principles and practice as applied to public infrastructure—including transportation, water/wastewater utilities, stormwater, and capital construction.
• Capital improvement program development, project financing, and public-sector budget processes.
• Local, state, and federal laws, regulations, and standards applicable to public works, utilities, and land development, including GDOT requirements, EPD regulations, and applicable Georgia statutes.
• Executive-level management principles, including supervision of senior professional staff, organizational development, and strategic planning.
• Grant administration and intergovernmental funding mechanisms applicable to public infrastructure.

Requires the ability to:

• Lead and direct senior department directors; set clear expectations, evaluate performance, and hold staff accountable while developing their professional capacity.
• Exercise sound independent judgment on complex technical and administrative matters; make recommendations that balance engineering rigor with practical, community-oriented outcomes.
• Deal constructively with conflict to develop practical solutions that balance technical requirements with the needs of diverse stakeholders including residents, developers, elected officials, and partner agencies.
• Communicate effectively with technical staff, elected officials, community members, developers, and regulatory agencies; translate complex engineering concepts into terms accessible to non-technical audiences.
• Review and promote ACCGov engineering standards, specifications, and technical positions when questioned by outside engineers, consultants, developers, or contractors; evaluates competing technical arguments on their merits and articulates a clear, well-reasoned basis for ACCGov's position.
• Build effective working relationships across organizational boundaries; bridge professional and cultural differences between engineering, planning, finance, and administrative functions.
• Think creatively and strategically about infrastructure challenges; identify solutions that are technically sound, fiscally responsible, and organizationally achievable.
• Manage multiple high-priority initiatives concurrently; maintain focus on strategic outcomes while remaining responsive to operational needs.
• Prepare and present clear, accurate reports, agenda items, and technical analyses for the Manager, Deputy Manager, elected officials, and the public.

Requires skill in:

• Facilitating cross-functional problem solving among departments with competing priorities or differing professional perspectives.
• Evaluating complex development and land use applications for impacts on traffic, utility distribution and collection systems, and public infrastructure capacity.
• Negotiating and administering professional services contracts, construction contracts, and intergovernmental agreements related to infrastructure programs.
• Evaluating engineering designs, plans, specifications, and construction documents for technical accuracy, code compliance, and alignment with ACCGov standards.
• Applying project and program management methodologies to track cost, schedule, and scope across a multi-project capital portfolio.

(ADA) MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OR STANDARDS REQUIRED TO PERFORM ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Must be physically able to operate a variety of machinery and equipment including a computer, printer, scientific calculator, and telephone. This position requires: walking, standing, bending, stooping, pushing, pulling, lifting, fingering, grasping, feeling, seeing, talking, hearing, and repetitive motions. Must be able to exert up to 10 pounds of force occasionally. Physical demand requirements are at levels of those for sedentary work.

DATA CONCEPTION:

Requires the ability to compare and or judge the readily observable functional, structural, or compositional characteristics (whether similar to or divergent from obvious standards) of data, people, or things.

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION:

Requires the ability to hear, speak and/or signal people to convey or exchange information. Includes giving/receiving assignments and/or directions to/from co-workers, assistants or supervisors.

LANGUAGE ABILITY:

Requires ability to read a variety of construction plans, informational documentation, directions