Position Overview:
Harris County is looking for someone to join our dynamic County Engineering team to help encourage and guide the sustainable development in our growing community. The Development Services & Permits Assistant Director is responsible for the planning, direction, management, and oversight of the activities and operations for sections of the Development Services division of the Engineering Department, including platting, floodplain management and administration, plan review for developments, inspection, enforcement, ROW coordination, MS4 program, and permitting. The ideal candidate readily identifies obstacles to the division's performance and proactively identifies and implements solutions with minimal guidance. The Assistant Director manages and oversees the identification and implementation of metrics to track division performance and makes recommendations on areas to sustain and improve. May directly engage with senior County, Precinct, and Department officials, which includes elected and appointed officials. Responsible for delivering and managing within the applicable scope and schedule on behalf of the department. Prepares and reports statuses of projects, costs, and schedules. Identifies and resolves issues that may impact other areas of work. Coordinates activities with other divisions and departments as required. The assistant Director reports to Director and leads full-time employees in the Permits group.
The ideal candidate must have the capacity and interest to be an effective mentor and leader for staff. Strong collaboration and team building skills will be necessary for this individual to be successful; excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills are essential.
Job Duties:
- Assumes management responsibilities for all assigned department services and activities by evaluating, formulating, implementing, modifying when necessary, and improving the activities for development services, including policies and procedures.
- Continuously review and provide recommendations on regulations and requirements. Understanding of local, state, and federal codes and regulations.
- Provides supervision, evaluation, and ongoing support to department staff through (formal and informal) discussions, counseling, training, and evaluation.
- Continuously improve service delivery operations, perform process improvement, decrease permit release turnaround time, streamline work processes, and establish processes, based on best practices, to deliver quality seamless customer service.
- Coordinates departmental activities with those of other departments and outside agencies and organizations on various issues including those related to code interpretation, plan review, permit issuance, inspections, and administrative matters.
- Oversee the day-today operations of issuance of permits, scheduling, and tracking of inspections.
- Performs quality assurance checks and ensures that permits, inspections scheduling, and inspections are consistent with established timeliness and standard of service.
- Receives and responds to technical inquiries and information requests from citizens, property owners, county departments, contractors, industry representatives and public officials; investigates field complaints.
- Responsible for coordinating activities, daily management, and project delivery in all sections of the division or subdivision, through actively identifying and resolving challenges and engaging with internal and external stakeholders.
- Monitors and evaluates the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery methods and procedures; assesses and monitors workload, administrative and support systems, and internal reporting relationships; identifies opportunities for improvement, and directs the implementation of changes.
- Plans and monitors department operating budget; authorizes purchases and expenditures from budget.
- Demonstrates continuous effort to improve operations, decrease permit release turnaround time, streamline work processes, and work cooperatively and jointly to provide quality seamless customer service.
- Conducts the full range of supervisory duties for assigned employees to include, but not limited to, workplace safety, training and development, performance management, staffing, policies and procedures, and balancing workloads.
- Manages the workflow and prioritization of projects and takes appropriate corrective action when necessary.
- Assists in providing division statistics, reports, and updates as needed.
- Performs other duties that may be added or changed as the course and scope of the job directs.
Requirements
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, Construction Management, Engineering, Planning or related field.
Experience:
- Ten (10) years of experience of increasingly responsible professional experience in the field of development services or building inspections.
- five (5) years of administrative or supervisory responsibility or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Licensure:
- Professional Engineer (P.E.) or An American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification is required (Or ability to obtain within 6 months of employment)
Knowledge, Skill & Abilities (KSAs):
- knowledge of operational characteristics, services, and activities of development plans review and permitting process.
- Knowledge of organization, function, and authority of various County departments.
- Knowledge of pertinent Federal, State, and local laws, ordinances, statutes, and regulations.
- Requires analytical judgment, initiative, or innovation in dealing with complex problems or situations.
- May develop new processes or models that involve making complex, independent decisions for situations with precedent to ensure department or major area within division objectives are met.
- Knowledge of operations of internal and related departments with which the position comes in contact.
- Ability to read deeds, maps, and surveys.
- Ability to deal tactfully and firmly with contractors, property owners and the public.
- Knowledge of the organization and functions of County government.
- Knowledge of supervisory practices and skill in supervising others, including communication skills, delegating, and assigning work, dealing effectively with employee issues, evaluating performance, and assisting or conducting investigations and participating in disciplinary actions.
- Considerable knowledge of the principles and practices of office management operations including personnel and budget.
- Ability to compile, analyze and summarize administrative, programmatic, and fiscal data for assessing agency capacity.
- Ability to develop/ written documents/oral presentations and/or reports conveying information and to communicate effectively.
- Ability to organize work and establish priorities to meet guidelines and deadlines.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with associates, elected officials, community organizations, and the public.
- Strong written and oral communication skills.
- Proficient in common office software (ie, Microsoft Office) with the ability to produce documents and reports using database, spreadsheet, presentations, and various other software.
- Excellent interpersonal and conflict resolution skills, and the ability to deal tactfully with a diverse group of people in a professional manner.
- Proficient in CAD software.
NOTE: Qualifying education, experience, knowledge, and skills must be documented on your job application. You may attach a resume to the application as supporting documentation but ONLY information stated on the application will be used for consideration. "See Resume"will not be accepted for qualifications.
General Information
Position Type, and Typical Hours of Work:
Full-Time | Regular | 40 hours per week.
Hybrid schedule: Three days in the office and two days working from home.
Subject to early mornings, late evenings, weekends, and holidays at times, depending upon the project or workload.
Salary:
Commensurate with experience, based on 26 pay periods.
Physical Demands and Environmental Exposure:
Most assignments will be performed in an office, meeting, or operations command center environment, but some field work may be required. May be required to work extended work hours during activation of disaster recovery operations for an unspecified length of time (varies based on the extent of the event).
This position requires bending, stooping, and lifting to 25 lbs., frequent walking, standing, sitting, reaching, and ascending/descending stairs.
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job successfully.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
FEATURED BENEFITS:
Medical, vision, and dental insurance.
Wellness.
Professional development opportunity.
Flexible spending account.
457 deferred compensation plans.
Retirement pension (TCDRS).
Transportation assistance (Metro Ride Sponsor Program).
Disability and life insurance.
Harris County is a Qualified Employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF).
