Rail Operations Service Quality Chief

King County, Washington; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

King County Metro Rail Division is seeking an experienced Operations Service Quality Chief to lead teams across Rail Supervisors and support a culture of safety and exceptional customer service. You will drive performance, coordinate labor relations, and implement programs to improve service quality and efficiency across the network.

Ideal candidates communicate effectively with a diverse workforce, solve problems proactively, and maintain alignment with labor agreements and department policies

Qualifications

• One year or more of public transit management or supervisory experience.
• Experience leading transit operations, in real-time situations and emergencies.
• Coaching employees toward performance improvement and policy compliance.
• Managing multiple priorities, projects, and daily responsibilities.
• Proficient with MS Office suite, HASTUS, and Fastfield Forms.
• Effective written and oral communication.

Responsibilities

• Supervise and direct the work of Rail Supervisors, modeling leadership and staff development.
• Develop and implement programs to manage employee performance and conduct disciplinary actions.
• Conduct grievance hearings and resolve grievances.
• Investigate and resolve customer complaints and service delivery issues.
• Apply guidance per labor agreements and Rail policies and procedures.
• Maintain collaborative labor relations and ensure compliance with negotiated agreements.
• Manage workforce planning to ensure adequate staffing and payroll approvals.
• Collaborate with Sound Transit, King County Metro, and partners on service quality.
• Lead or participate in projects and implement safety initiatives.
• Identify opportunities for service quality and process improvements.

Skills

Transit operations management

Staff coaching

Data analysis

MS Office Suite

HASTUS

Fastfield Forms

Communication skills

Equity and fairness commitment

Tools

HASTUS

Fastfield Forms

MS Office Suite

Job description

Learn how Metro connects you with what matters

* This position is open to all King County employees and the general public. *

King County Metro’s Rail Division has an exciting opportunity for an Operations Service Quality Chief.

Our Service Quality Chiefs are responsible for establishing and maintaining exceptional teamwork and synergy between functional groups and demonstrating creativity and flexibility in accomplishing shared goals. These individuals demonstrate support for the goals of the organization in providing quality public service and collaboratively working with other sections and departments while recognizing the value of diversity of opinion, culture, and perspective.

The ideal candidate for this position will be able to communicate effectively with a diverse employee work group, proactively solve problems that impact service delivery, and encourage a safety culture while inspiring high standards of customer service excellence, as well as the ability to motivate employees through building respect and trust.

About Metro Transit's Expanding Rail Division

King County Metro's Rail Division manages and maintains Sound Transit's Link Light Rail, a growing network spanning 60 miles and serving 38 stations across the Puget Sound region. Together with Metro's extensive fixed-route bus system and mobility services, the Link Light Rail system is the backbone of an integrated regional transit network that gives people real freedom of movement. As Puget Sound transit agencies work together to build a seamless, connected system, our light rail system plays a central role in expanding access, reducing barriers, and ensuring that everyone across our region can get where they need to go.

Joining Metro's Rail Division means joining an organization that is shaping the future of public transportation in the Pacific Northwest and setting the standard for modern rail operations nationwide. This is a division that values strategic thinking, collaborative leadership, and a deep commitment to the people we serve, both our riders and our teams. Whatever your role, your work here contributes to something that matters, a light rail system that thousands of people count on every day.

Are you an out of state applicant considering a career opportunity in Washington State? Explore career opportunities with King County Metro Rail and learn more about living and working in the Puget Sound region here.

This recruitment may immediately fill up to one (1) Career Service positions and may also be used to establish an eligibility list for future Career Service, as well as any fully-benefitted Term-Limited Temporary (TLT)/Special Duty Assignment (SDA), vacancies, valid up to 12 months or until the list is exhausted, and at the discretion of the hiring authority.

Who May Apply

This position is open to King County employees and the general public.

Want to make sure your application materials are as competitive as possible?

We highly recommend visiting the Workforce Development Services website for tips and examples on how to make your application materials most effective:

Workforce Development - King County, Washington

Applying our ACTIVATE values: being Accountable, Collaborative, Timely, and Impactful; how we Value Employees; staying Accessible; building what’s Trusted; and acting Equitably, is a daily responsibility and a foundational expectation for all King County employees.

As the Rail Operations Service Quality Chief, you will:

• Supervise and direct the work of Rail Supervisors, exhibiting positive leadership and role modeling, encouraging and supporting staff development and training, and conducting performance evaluations.
• Develop and implement programs to manage employee performance, including administering progressive discipline, coaching, counselling, retraining, and taking disciplinary action.
• Conduct grievance hearings and make decisions regarding resolution of grievances.
• Investigate and resolve customer complaints; mitigating high-profile service delivery issues with elected officials, other agencies, and the general public.
• Apply consistent guidance and decision-making in consideration of applicable labor agreements, King County personnel guidelines, and established Rail policies and procedures.
• Establish and maintain a collaborative and effective labor relations environment, ensuring that daily operations and personnel actions conform with the terms of negotiated labor agreements.
• Manage workforce planning to ensure that adequate staffing exists to meet scheduling requirements, ensuring coverage for planned absences, and processing timely and accurate payroll/timesheet approval for direct reports.
• Effectively collaborating and communicating with internal and external groups within Sound Transit, King County Metro, our community partners, and outside entities.
• Implement project management skills to lead or participate in projects as assigned.
• Establish safety-related initiatives within the section and making safety and security recommendations to upper management.
• Work as a team to anticipate, identify, and implement opportunities for service quality, workplace, and business process improvements.

Please Note: This position will require remaining available for work 24 hours-per-day during rotational on-call assignments and reporting for extended duty during adverse weather events and other emergencies.

Minimum Qualifications:

• One (1) or more years of public transit management, supervisory or lead experience, including decisiveness, good judgment, integrity, and a strong commitment to equity and fairness.
• Demonstrated experience in the following:
  • Effectively managing or leading transit operations, in real-time situations and emergencies.
  • Coaching employees toward performance improvement, such as poor customer service, policy violation, safety violation, etc.
  • Managing competing priorities, multiple projects, and daily responsibilities in an effective and efficient manner.
  • Researching and utilizing multiple sources of information to draw logical conclusions using basic data analysis methods to make defensible determinations.
  • Effectively navigating and manipulating computer-based programs and software, including MS Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams), HASTUS, and Fastfield Forms.
• Effective written and oral communication skills.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Relevant emergency management certifications and/or other relevant training and/or certification in applying emergency management principles (such as FEMA/ISO)
• Working knowledge of basic human resources principles and practices as they relate to employee management.
• Experience working within, managing, or supervising a unionized workforce and the grievance process (or equivalent working knowledge).
• Knowledge of the regulatory and statutory requirements that govern rail operations and delivery of mass transit services.
• Working experience in an operating unit of a public transit agency.
• Project management training and/or experience.
• Working knowledge of King County Metro Rail Operations, including train operations, incident response and mitigation, yard operations, Link Control Center communications, and/or planning and dispatching of Light Rail Operators
• Education/experience with collecting data, analyzing trends, and implementing adjustments based on findings.
• Experience identifying, organizing, and engaging a variety of stakeholders to achieve a common goal or outcome.

Necessary Special Requirements

• Valid Washington State Driver License and the ability to operate a fleet motor vehicle.
• Work requires reporting for duty and directing Rail Supervisors, including during adverse weather events and other emergencies.
• Work requires being on-call at various times throughout any calendar year.

Application & Selection Process

Applications will be screened to determine whether candidates meet minimum qualifications, and for clarity, completeness, and responsiveness to the application instructions above. Highly competitive applicants may be asked to interview. Formal offers will be finalized after candidates have successfully completed any necessary pre-employment processes, such as reference checks or internal record reviews.

Work Schedule

This position is exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and is therefore not eligible for overtime pay.

Typical work hours are between 5:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Employees may be required to work extended hours, weekend, holidays and will be required to serve occasional 24/7 "on-call" in rotation with other Operations leadership. Service Quality Chiefs must have the ability to report to work in the event of adverse weather or other emergent/crisis situations and remain on-site during the event unless otherwise directed or relieved. There are no flex days or remote telework options for this positions, and work schedules will be determined by management.

Union Membership: This position is represented by Protec 17.

Work Location:

• 2505 S 320th St, Federal Way, WA 98003
• Maintenance of Way North (MOWN) 920 N 137th St Seattle, WA
• Operations & Maintenance Facility (OMF) Central at 3407 Airport Way S., Seattle, WA.
• Operations & Maintenance Facility (OMF) East at 1925 120th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA.
• And any future Sound Transit Link facilities.

CLASS CODE / PAY GRADE:874030/ 69

Safety Responsibilities for an Employee

• Responsible for understanding this policy and their role in safety.
• Report all safety concerns.
• Follow safety practices and procedures as necessary to maintain a safe work environment and in conformance with applicable regulations, policies, and training.
• Report safety and security concerns and ideas to supervisors or anonymously through data collection system.

For more information regarding this recruitment, please contact: Ebony Ware, Human Resource Analyst, at [e-mail].

Forbes recently named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.

Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. 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.

Guided by our"True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles--we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.

KING COUNTY IS AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEO) EMPLOYER:

No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. 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.