Roads Finance & Administration Leader

King County, WA; Renton (WA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job description

Summary

The King County Department of Local Services is seeking an experienced financial leader and people manager to serve as the Financial Services Administrator for the Road Services Division. This position leads an integrated portfolio encompassing maintenance budget and work-program planning, operational financial analysis, cost recovery, management systems and data integration, contracting, and procurement. The position ensures these interconnected functions operate as one coordinated service model that supports reliable road maintenance and responsible stewardship of public resources.

The Financial Services Administrator (FSA) supervises professional staff whose portfolios cover Roads maintenance finance and work-program analysis, Maintenance’s Management System (Anaplan), and contracting and procurement. The position establishes priorities, aligns workloads, sets performance expectations, resolves cross-functional issues, and ensures that financial, operational, system, and contracting information is accurate, timely, consistent, and useful for decision-making.

This role reports to the Road Services Finance and Administrative Services Manager and works closely with maintenance leadership, field and program staff, Roads Finance teams, the DLS Director’s Office, central County finance and procurement offices, auditors, partner agencies, and contracting jurisdictions. The successful candidate will combine strong governmental finance knowledge, operational curiosity, systems thinking, contracting awareness, sound judgment, and the ability to lead experienced professionals in a complex public-service environment.

About The Department Of Local Services (DLS)

King County is the local service provider for roughly 250,000 residents who live in unincorporated communities. The Department of Local Services includes the Director’s Office and the Road Services and Permitting Divisions, providing a single executive point of accountability for delivering local services. The Road Services Division plans, builds, operates, and maintains roads and bridges that connect people and communities across unincorporated King County.

Our commitment to Equity, Racial and Social Justice

The Department of Local Services is deeply dedicated to fostering Equity and Racial and Social Justice in every aspect of our work. Our pledge is to cultivate, embrace, and celebrate the distinct experiences, viewpoints, and perspectives of our employees, our partners, and the communities we serve. We work to dismantle systemic barriers, address inequities, and actively confront prejudices and biases. We acknowledge that this journey is ongoing, and we remain steadfast in our efforts to create positive change for our employees and the communities we serve.

Job Duties

Applying the principles of equity and racial and social justice is a daily responsibility and a foundational expectation for all King County employees. You will apply these principles to all aspects of your work.

Primary Responsibilities Include

• Supervise professional staff responsible for maintenance budget, finance and work-program analysis, management systems, contracting and procurement.
• Assign and oversee the work; establish priorities, service expectations, decision authority, handoffs, calendars, and backup coverage; monitor workloads and deliverables; coach and develop staff; evaluate performance; and address performance or conduct concerns.
• Build an inclusive, accountable, collaborative, and customer-focused team culture. Coordinate cross-functional assignments, resolve matters within delegated authority, and elevate significant financial, operational, compliance, or policy risks.
• Lead development and publication of the maintenance biennial budget and annual work program using Anaplan and County financial and work-management systems. Work with maintenance managers to evaluate proposed changes to performance standards and service targets, including their budgetary and cost implications.
• Oversee planned-versus-actual financial and production reporting, forecasts, variances, accomplishment rates, and corrective actions, including analysis of labor, overtime, equipment, materials, fleet, contracts, and program costs.
• Develop financial plans, funding strategies, forecasts, and policy recommendations addressing service, staffing, equipment, and program decisions. Coordinate maintenance planning with the operating budget and capital program.
• Oversee cost recovery and reimbursable work, including loan-in and loan-out activity, labor and equipment charges, capital-project support, work for contracting jurisdictions, rate development, billing, reconciliation, and recovery monitoring.
• Ensure emergency financial readiness through timely project and coding setup, real-time storm and snow cost tracking, documentation, reconciliation, reimbursement support, and audit readiness.
• Provide strategic oversight of systems supporting maintenance work planning, budgeting, cost estimating, asset management, operational reporting, and financial management.
• Ensure the integrity of project cost-accounting structures, asset inventories, labor, equipment and material rates, estimates, and related data. Direct reconciliation and data governance across Oracle EBS, Anaplan, Cityworks or Roadworks, Power BI, and related systems.
• Prioritize system upgrades, integrations, testing, issue resolution, documentation, training, access, and adoption. Use financial, production, and system data to improve workflows, controls, decisions, and performance.
• Provide leadership and strategic guidance for procurement methods, solicitations, awards, scopes, specifications, evaluation criteria, contract terms, and the annual pool-bid process. Coordinate with the central procurement office to address schedule, continuity, and contract risks.
• Oversee contract inventories, usage, expenditures, amendments, renewals, expirations, payments, vendor performance, compliance, documentation, and continuity planning. Ensure compliance with prevailing wage, nondiscrimination, records, financial controls, audit requirements, and Pro-Equity in Contracting goals.
• Serve as the primary advisor on assigned maintenance financial systems, policies, processes, and projects. Establish and standardize procedures, internal controls, documentation, validation, reconciliation, and reporting; lead improvements, audit responses, corrective actions, year-end close, emergency response, and time-sensitive priorities.
• Train and advise finance and maintenance staff and leaders on financial, work-management, cost-recovery, contracting, and control practices. Prepare and present executive-level analyses, dashboards, recommendations, briefings, and responses for leadership, auditors, partner agencies, elected officials, and other public decision-makers.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support Road Services’ financial and administrative operations, including special projects, year-end financial close, emergency response, audit support, and other time-sensitive priorities.

Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills

Minimum Qualifications

• Progressively responsible experience managing, supervising, or providing accountable leadership to professional finance, program, systems, contracting, procurement, or administrative staff, including assigning and prioritizing work, setting expectations, monitoring performance, coaching staff, resolving conflict, and developing effective teams.
• Experience integrating related functions into a coordinated service model, leading work across organizational and professional boundaries, managing competing deadlines, and operating effectively in complex or sensitive situations.
• A bachelor's degree in public-sector finance, public administration, accounting, economics, or a related field with relevant coursework, or an equivalent combination of education and experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the position.
• Advanced experience with operating-budget development, financial planning, forecasting, variance analysis, work-program monitoring, cost accounting, internal controls, and management reporting in a complex operating environment.
• Knowledge of governmental accounting, auditing, budgeting, and financial-control principles, with experience in cost recovery, rates, reimbursable work, project structures, restricted funding, emergency cost tracking, or comparable operational finance activities.
• Experience overseeing or improving financial, budgeting, work-management, asset-management, cost-estimating, reporting, or relational-database systems, including reconciling information, resolving data-quality or process failures, establishing controls, and guiding integrations, upgrades, testing, and user adoption.
• Working knowledge of public-sector contracting and procurement, including solicitation planning, competitive processes, scopes and specifications, contract administration, compliance, records, and internal controls; ability to oversee a complex portfolio, assess risk, resolve issues, and coordinate with procurement and accounts-payable partners.
• Demonstrated ability to develop policies, procedures, standards, training, documentation, performance measures, and sustainable processes; translate financial and operational data into clear options and recommendations; and communicate effectively with staff, operational leaders, executives, auditors, external partners, and public decision-makers.
• Demonstrated judgment, initiative, adaptability, organizational awareness, and composure when managing ambiguity, emergencies, and firm deadlines, together with a commitment to advancing equity, racial and social justice through leadership, financial stewardship, contracting, systems design, workforce development, and service delivery.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience supporting transportation, roads, public works, utilities, maintenance, infrastructure, fleet, or another operationally intensive public service.
• Experience with King County financial, budget, procurement, contracting, payroll, capital-project, or emergency-response processes and with Oracle EBS, Anaplan, Cityworks or Roadworks, Power BI, E-Procurement, supplier registration, Airtable, or comparable platforms.
• Knowledge of County Road Administration Board reporting, prevailing-wage requirements, Pro-Equity in Contracting, asset-management practices, or emergency reimbursement documentation.
• Experience presenting financial or policy information to executive leadership, central budget or finance offices, auditors, elected officials, or governing bodies and leading Lean, continuous-improvement, automation, data-governance, or system-integration initiatives.

Supplemental Information

Interview Schedule: Applicants who pass the initial screening will be invited to participate in an interview the week of October 12, 2026.

Who may apply: This position is open to all qualified applicants.

Work schedule: The work week is normally Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but may at times require work on the weekends, or outside of normal business hours. This position is exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and is not eligible for overtime pay.

Emergency designation status: This position has been designated as: Mission Critical in an Emergency, a designation that describes employees who staff county functions or services that may be delayed, suspended, or diverted in an emergency while essential functions are prioritized.

Union Membership: This position is not represented.

Teleworking Requirement: The employee in this position will work in the office at least three (3) days a week to foster connection and responsiveness and will be expected to arrive prepared and on time.

Work location: The employee will report to work mainly at the Renton Maintenance Facility (155 Monroe Ave NE, Renton, WA 98056). The secondary location for occasional business needs will be King Street Center (201 S. Jackson Street, Seattle, WA 98104). Employees will have access to shared workspaces at various King County facilities and may be required to report to offices in Unincorporated King County.

Employees must reside in Washington State and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements. Employees will be provided with a King County-issued laptop and must maintain a workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours. King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely.

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.

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.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment, please contact Janice Antonio, HR Analyst, by email at [e-mail], or by phone at 206-263-2003.

Interview Questions

• Describe your experience supervising professional staff. Include the number of years and types of employees you supervised, the functions they performed, and your responsibility for assigning work, setting expectations, evaluating performance, coaching employees, and addressing performance or conduct concerns.
• Describe a time you managed several professional functions or work portfolios with different priorities, deadlines, and areas of expertise. How did you establish priorities, clarify roles and decision-making authority, monitor progress, and maintain accountability across the team?
• Are you applying to this position as an eligible Priority Placement Program Participant who is a current or previous King County Employee impacted by layoff? AND Is this position the same or lower percentage of full-time when compared to the position held at the point of the notification of layoff? AND Do you possess the skills and abilities to qualify for this position?
• If you answered yes to the question above and you are applying for this position as a Priority Placement Participant, to be considered, you must provide the following three pieces of information in the space provided: 1. The title you held when you received your layoff notice 2. The department you worked in 3. The effective date of your layoff