Position Purpose

The City of Arvada promotes Equal Pay for Equal Work.  Starting salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity. The range listed reflects the entire range and typical placement is entry to mid range.   

The City Engineer is the highest level engineer position in the City and has final authority on all engineering matters for the City of Arvada. Responsible for planning, organizing, coordinating, directing, and supervising the work of the engineering division of the public works department.  Focuses primarily on items that are related to construction of public improvements in the city’s easements and rights-of-way.  Ensures that the City’s engineering standards are current.  Develops the division’s short and long term strategic operating plans and programs.  Develops and maintains partnerships with other divisions in public works, CED, other city departments, developers, and contractors.

LOCATION: 

In this position you can expect to work Monday through Friday in a hybrid environment with an office at Arvada City Hall, 8101 Ralston Road, Arvada, CO 80002. Engineering Managers determine the best working times for their teams, which typically include three days in the office. The City Engineer is also a position identified in the city emergency operations plan and is expected to be responsive during emergencies. 

Essential Functions / Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Oversees the strategic and day to day operations of the Public Works engineering division and staff. 

• Acts as program manager for capital improvement and capital maintenance projects for applicable city infrastructure.

• Monitors the preparation of environmental studies, right-of-way acquisitions, project designs, and project bidding. 

• Oversees construction contract administration; negotiates contractor and vendor contracts and tracks project costs.

• Acts as the city’s agent to sign and accept documents relating to public works construction and floodplain management, including public improvement engineered construction plans generated by outside consultants, municipal contractor’s licenses and floodplain development permits.   

• Supervises construction inspection team and inspection services for capital improvements and development projects and is responsible for acceptance of developer systems into City's infrastructure.  

• Enforces the Engineering Code of Standards and Specifications for the Design and Construction of Public Improvements; proposes and recommends updates to the code as needed; ensures the Code of Standards and Specifications are current

• Reviews and interprets information and recommends decisions or opinions for compliance with City, State, or Federal policy, standards or laws that are in the best interest of the city.  

• Serves as, or appoints a designee to serve as, the floodplain administrator for the city, duties include regulating uses within the floodplain and overseeing the city’s participation in the National Flood Insurance Program and the Community Rating System.

• Provides guidance and leadership over the division’s day-to-day activities; prioritizes multiple and changing projects and work requests to meet the needs of the customers / users.

• Delegates to assigned staff the authority, responsibility, and accountability needed to successfully complete assigned projects and work tasks.  

• Acts as the final authority for all engineering matters for the City of Arvada.

• Manages strategic results and develops performance measures and goals to meet objectives. 

• Communicates and interacts with a variety of interests including but not limited to: elected officials, government and quasi-government representatives, districts, landholders, developers, citizens and others as needed to perform the necessary duties and functions of the city engineer.

• Promotes a collaborative organizational work environment where business practices, decisions, and work assignments are aligned with the city’s vision, mission, and core values and competencies.

• Collaborates with other engineers and staff across multiple departments and work systems to meet shared priorities and objectives. 

• Communicates effectively with employees on council and management policies, FOCUS issues, budget issues, work plans, activities, departments, and other items of interest to the organization.

• May act on behalf of, and assume the duties of the director of public works in their absence and represent their interests at meetings and other official functions when so directed.

• Develops division budget and supervises expenditures from those funds; oversees the preparation of preliminary budgets and reports on future infrastructure capital improvement and capital maintenance projects.

• Recommends 10-year capital improvement program budget for street and traffic improvements, and provides input to the Utilities Department for the water, wastewater and stormwater sections.

• Provides information relating to the technical budget requests of other departments.  

• Travels to and attends team and organizational meetings, training, events and activities and appropriately and professionally represents the department.

• Demonstrates a respectful attitude towards customers and coworkers that promotes teamwork, open communication, and effective customer service. 

• Acts with the customer in mind, responds to requests promptly and provides effective services or solutions for customers.

• Exercises appropriate level of initiative and judgment to make decisions within the scope of assigned authority.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES 

• Expert knowledge of principles and practices of engineering, including standards, policies, and technical issues.

• Strong knowledge of public works practices, procedures, planning, and administration.

• Knowledge of traffic and transportation engineering practices and principles to provide guidance on street network planning, design and operations. 

• Solid knowledge of financial and budget development procedures. 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate information to support organizational objectives and interact with all levels of personnel within the City, as well as all outside influences, in a positive and cooperative manner.

• Expert ability to lead others, facilitate and build collaborative working relationships across multiple disciplines.  

• Ability to strategize and consider and assess potential short-term and long-term impact of decisions.

• Ability to use sound judgment and decision making within the scope of assigned authority.

• Ability to operate a motor-vehicle to travel to and from off-site locations to support/attend business meetings, training and related events.

ESSENTIAL SUPERVISORY DUTIES

• Develops and/or participates in the development of staff work plans, measures and tracks progress towards goals, prepares and conducts timely and constructive performance appraisals. 

• Schedules staff, assigns and supervises work, prioritizes programs and projects and effectively uses available resources to accomplish objectives.   

• Makes decisions or recommendations for hiring, promotions, transfers, disciplinary action, and other personnel actions as necessary.  

• Coaches, counsels and supports staff to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. Consistently educates and advises staff on organizational rules, regulations, policies and procedures.  Supports creative thinking and problem solving and encourages participatory decision making when appropriate. 

• Provides training and job enrichment opportunities and encourages professional growth and development.

OTHER FUNCTIONS:

• Represents public works department on various city committees, outside professional organizations, and local civic and citizen groups. 

• Other duties as required.

—Employees are held accountable for all duties of this job—

SCOPE OF AUTHORITY: 

Receives general supervision under the direction of the Director of Public Works. Plans own work and work of others to meet defined work plans and objectives.  Few precedents and/or procedures are readily available.  Originates and develops complex ideas in new and undefined areas based on organizational policy, codes, ordinances, goals or objectives.  Decisions may impact a major segment of the organization.  Adheres to procedures set forth in the City of Arvada codes and ordinances, department and division policies and procedures.  Makes recommendations for promotions / transfers, salary recommendations, disciplinary action and terminations. 

Financial Accountability:

Develops the operating and the CIP budget for the Engineering Division.  Responsible for making decisions that affect the outcome of allocations of money for projects of considerable size.  Makes recommendations to supervisor for budget allocations pertaining to the traffic and street CIP.  Approves expenditures up to $10,000.  Monitors the use of purchase cards.

Qualifications - Working Environment / Minimum Qualifications

WORKING ENVIRONMENT/PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES:

The work environment/physical activities described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of the job. 

Work is primarily performed in an office environment with low to high noise levels depending on the location. Physical effort and activities include: occasionally operating a personal or City-owned motor vehicle to drive to and from meetings and business locations;  ability to talk, hear and listen,  use of hands/fingers to type and handle, feel or manipulate objects constantly; frequent sitting; occasional standing, walking, and reaching with hands and arms; visual acuity to focus on details at a close distance, and make general observations and inspections; frequent handling of objects weighing up to 10 pounds, and up to 25 pounds occasionally. Several times a month visits are made to construction sites which may have large construction equipment, loud noise, pipeline trenches, and possible heavy truck and vehicle traffic.

MINIMUM REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS (EDUCATION, LICENSE, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE):

Bachelor’s Degree in engineering or a related field and ten years plus (10+) progressively responsible professional engineering and administrative experience required.  Three (3) years supervisory experience and Colorado Professional Engineering License required.  A valid Colorado driver’s license and acceptable driving record is required. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered. 

About City of Arvada

We establish and maintain an effective work force to meet the needs of the citizens of Arvada. Our employees are dedicated to the City's Mission of delivering superior services to enhance the lives of everyone in our community. Our employees live our Vision of We Dream Big and Deliver and uphold our Values of Innovation, Passion, and Opportunity. If you want to belong to an organization whose actions reflect and support their vision, mission and values, you should consider a career at the City of Arvada.

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