Assistant City Manager

Mackenzie Eason & Associates•Waco, TX

About The Position

Waco is at an inflection point, experiencing growth, investment, and reorganization, which creates a compelling opportunity for a seasoned municipal executive. This role is not about maintaining the status quo but about adding a high-capacity leader to strengthen execution across infrastructure, water, capital delivery, development, and public works, while also shaping Waco’s future growth. The Assistant City Manager position is highly visible, deeply consequential, and central to residents' daily experience of city government. The City of Waco operates under a council-manager form of government, with the City Manager leading implementation across municipal services. The organizational structure emphasizes executive alignment, cross-functional coordination, and leadership depth, with major portfolios distributed across a small executive team. This Assistant City Manager role is a key leadership seat for infrastructure-related functions and organizational coordination. The Assistant City Manager will serve as a principal advisor to the City Manager and a key member of the executive leadership team. The role oversees a portfolio centered on Water Resources, Public Works, Infrastructure Services, and Development Services, Customer Service & Engagement, ensuring alignment across customer-facing and operational functions connected to infrastructure delivery and service performance, using data and dashboards. A critical aspect of this role involves developing and sustaining a strategic, future-oriented approach to water resources, translating long-range water planning into an actionable implementation agenda, and connecting it to the City’s five-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP). This is a heavy operational and implementation-focused executive role, requiring leadership in water resources, infrastructure, and development platforms to drive disciplined project delivery now and stronger long-range planning for future growth, especially in water, capital improvements, deferred maintenance, and growth-related infrastructure needs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Civil Engineering or a related field.
At least six years of experience managing public sector operations, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Demonstrated executive or senior-level leadership experience overseeing multiple departments, divisions, or major functional areas in a municipal or similarly complex public-sector environment.
Experience leading through operational, interdepartmental, budget, and performance management issues, with the ability to translate broad policy direction into effective implementation.
Strong experience supervising senior staff or department heads, including setting expectations, evaluating performance, resolving issues, and ensuring service quality.
Working knowledge of administrative management principles, including budgeting, procurement, contract administration, risk management, performance management, and personnel practices.
Ability to analyze complex administrative and operational issues, interpret laws and regulations, evaluate alternatives, and develop practical recommendations and operational improvements.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a political environment with changing priorities, competing demands, and significant public accountability.
Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to present and defend operational information in public meetings and build effective working relationships with elected officials, community groups, and internal stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, Engineering, Urban Planning, or a related field.
Significant experience in municipal infrastructure leadership, with strong background in one or more of the following: water or wastewater utilities, public works, engineering, transportation, capital improvement delivery, development services, or related operational functions.
Experience overseeing large, complex service portfolios that combine technical operations, field service delivery, regulatory functions, and customer-facing departments.
Demonstrated success balancing immediate operational execution with long-range strategic planning, particularly around infrastructure, capital planning, service delivery, and organizational performance.
Experience leading and mentoring strong department directors or senior technical leaders with differing personalities, leadership styles, and areas of expertise.
Strong political and organizational judgment, including experience advising a City Manager, executive team, elected body, or governing board on sensitive operational and policy matters.
Experience building or strengthening accountability systems, performance metrics, dashboards, KPIs, or other tools used to evaluate departmental performance and communicate results to leadership and the public.
Familiarity with growth-related municipal issues such as water supply planning, deferred maintenance, land development, utility coordination, customer service integration, and interdepartmental service alignment.
Experience in a fast-growing city, large utility organization, or similarly complex local government environment where infrastructure delivery and public expectations are both high.
Professional Engineer license is not required, but technical credibility in infrastructure-related functions would be viewed favorably.

Responsibilities

Provide executive leadership for Public Works, Infrastructure Services, and Development Services, ensuring clear priorities, aligned direction, and strong follow-through across the portfolio.
Advise the City Manager on strategic, operational, budgetary, and organizational matters related to infrastructure, water, capital delivery, development, and service performance.
Strengthen coordination among engineering, utilities, field operations, maintenance, planning, zoning, inspections, and code-related functions.
Support both near-term execution and long-range infrastructure planning, with particular attention to water availability, integrated resource planning, CIP implementation, and deferred maintenance.
Lead and develop directors and senior staff, using a management approach that is both accountable and adaptive to differing leadership styles.
Help translate technical and operational issues into decision-ready recommendations that account for political, organizational, and community realities.
Reinforce a performance-driven culture marked by clarity, responsiveness, accountability, and strong communication across departments and with executive leadership.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package designed to support employee wellbeing, retirement security, and work-life balance.
City shares in the cost of medical and prescription coverage.
Provides basic life and AD&D insurance at no cost to eligible employees.
Provides long-term disability at no cost to eligible employees.
Offers access to dental.
Offers access to vision.
Offers access to flexible spending accounts.
Offers access to deferred compensation.
Offers access to wellness resources.
Retirement benefits are provided through TMRS, with employees contributing 7% of gross pay and the City matching at a 2:1 ratio.
Education assistance of up to $5,000 per calendar year if eligible.
Longevity pay.
Paid parental leave.
Comprehensive leave program including 12 paid holidays annually.