Assistant Public Works Director

City of St. Helena • St. Helena, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The City of St. Helena, located in the center of Napa Valley and recognized for its long-standing agricultural heritage, historic character, and regional economic significance, is seeking an Assistant Public Works Director who is an engaging, collaborative, and relationship-driven leader. With a resident population of approximately 6,000 and a substantial number of daily visitors drawn to its wineries, hospitality sector, and commercial amenities, St. Helena serves as an important service and employment hub for the upper valley. The City seeks a leader who can unite a geographically dispersed team across treatment plants and the corporation yard. The ideal candidate brings strong project management skills, emotional intelligence, and a calm, solutions-oriented approach to conflict resolution. They are a visible, hands-on presence, building relationships with frontline staff, professional colleagues, and external partners, including regulatory agencies. Exceptional communication skills are essential—able to present to City Council, commissions, and the public—and the ability to leverage tools like Grapevine to improve service delivery. A commitment to staff development, training, cross-training, and operational efficiency (including process modernization) will ensure continued excellence in St. Helena’s public works operations. The Public Works Department designs, builds, operates, maintains, cleans, and improves the City's infrastructure and public rights-of-way including streets, storm drains, parks, fleet, government buildings, water distribution, water treatment, wastewater collection, and wastewater treatment. The department facilitates environmental compliance including stormwater pollution prevention, sustainability, protection of public trees, and floodplain administration. In addition, the Public Works Department is a key responding entity in emergencies involving the City's infrastructure and facilities, as well as weather-related emergencies and other disasters that have the potential for adverse impacts to public health or the environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Environmental Engineering or Civil Engineering, Water Resources, Environmental Science, or related field.
• Five (5) years of increasingly responsible experience in Water-Related Utility Operations, Water/Wastewater Compliance Experience, Public Works, or a related field.
• Three (3) years of Administrative and Supervisory Responsibility.
• Possession of, or the ability to obtain, a valid California Driver’s License.
• CA Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Grade III Certificate (required within one year after employment).
• Strong project management skills.
• Emotional intelligence.
• Calm, solutions-oriented approach to conflict resolution.
• Exceptional communication skills.
• Ability to present to City Council, commissions, and the public.
• Ability to leverage tools like Grapevine to improve service delivery.
• Commitment to staff development, training, cross-training, and operational efficiency.
• Management style grounded in communication, teamwork, and trust.
• Ability to break down silos and unite a geographically dispersed workforce.
• Maturity.
• Ability to interact effectively with regulatory agencies such as the State Water Resources Control Board and the Division of Drinking Water.
• Effective communicator—comfortable presenting to the City Council, commissions, and community groups.
• Committed to high level customer engagement.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree desirable.
• Valid Certificate of Registration as a Civil Engineer issued by the CA State Board of Registration for Civil and Professional Engineers (highly desired).
• Understanding of water, wastewater, and related utility operations is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Assist in planning, directing, managing, and overseeing the Operations Division of the Public Works Department, including all Corporation Yard operations, Water Treatment production and distribution, and Wastewater Treatment and collections.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of the departmental Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and budget.
• Oversee the administration of contracts related to operations.
• Collaborate on the impacts of both CIP projects and private development on public infrastructure including inspecting construction/work sites.
• Oversee operations staff seasonal work plans.
• Serve as an expert and point of contact for regulatory and enforcement matters with external agencies.
• Coordinate operational and capital projects by working closely with consultants, engineers, and internal teams.
• Monitor responsiveness, improve service delivery, and strengthen public trust using tools like the Grapevine reporting system.
• Actively invest in staff development, champion training and cross-training, and bring a forward-thinking mindset to process improvement, operational efficiency, and organizational cohesion.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager