Monitoring & Maintenance Program Manager

King County•Seattle - Regional area, WA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

In addition to the current opening, this recruitment may be used to establish a pool of qualified candidates to fill future career service Environmental Scientist IV positions throughout the Department of Natural Resources & Parks (DNRP) over the next 6 months. Are you passionate about advancing habitat restoration projects that improve the health of rivers, wetlands, floodplains, and nearshore environments? Do you enjoy combining science, strategy, leadership, and collaboration to support long-term environmental outcomes? The Habitat Restoration Unit (HRU) within King County’s Water and Land Resources Division (WLRD) is seeking a Monitoring & Maintenance Program Manager (Environmental Scientist IV) to lead an innovative program focused on restoration monitoring, adaptive management, and long-term site success. This role offers the opportunity to help shape restoration practices across King County while working alongside multidisciplinary teams dedicated to ecological resilience, salmon recovery, and environmental stewardship. If you are excited by complex environmental challenges, collaborative problem-solving, and making a lasting impact through science-based restoration work, we encourage you to apply. About the Role As the Monitoring & Maintenance Program Manager, you will help guide the long-term success of habitat restoration and mitigation projects throughout King County. This role oversees the Habitat Restoration Unit’s Monitoring and Maintenance Program while also serving as a key technical resource for the Mitigation Reserves Program. Your work will directly support ecological resilience, regulatory compliance, adaptive management, and the continued advancement of restoration science and practice. You will partner with multidisciplinary teams, regulatory agencies, tribal governments, regional stakeholders, and community partners to develop monitoring priorities, evaluate restoration performance, and support science-based decision-making. The position blends technical expertise with leadership responsibilities, including program oversight, budget and contract management, staff supervision, data analysis, and coordination across multiple restoration initiatives. Success in this role requires someone who enjoys balancing strategy and implementation, can navigate complex environmental projects, and is comfortable leading collaborative work across programs and organizations. The ideal candidate brings strong restoration monitoring experience, thoughtful leadership, sound judgment, and a commitment to equity, environmental stewardship, and continuous learning. About the Team The Water and Land Resources Division delivers a broad range of environmental services that support healthy communities, resilient ecosystems, and climate preparedness throughout King County. Our work includes stormwater management, salmon recovery, flood risk reduction, land conservation, noxious weed control, and support for agriculture and forestry. The Habitat Restoration Unit designs, implements, monitors, and maintains restoration and mitigation projects across watersheds in unincorporated King County. Our work directly supports major County initiatives including Clean Water Healthy Habitat, the Strategic Climate Action Plan, and the Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan. The team values collaboration, innovation, continuous learning, and science-based decision-making. Staff work across disciplines and with diverse partners to deliver meaningful environmental outcomes that benefit both people and ecosystems. This is an opportunity to join a mission-driven team working at the forefront of habitat restoration and ecological resilience. Commitment to Equity, Racial and Social Justice: King County, named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a diverse and vibrant community that represents cultures from around the world. Our True North is to create a welcoming community where everyone can thrive. We prioritize equity, racial and social justice, making it a foundational and daily expectation for all employees. As a Monitoring & Maintenance Program Manager (Environmental Scientist IV) , you will actively apply these principles in all aspects of your work. Learn more about our commitment at http://www.kingcounty.gov/equity . Apply now for a rewarding career at the Department of Natural Resources & Parks (DNRP) of King County. Join our talented workforce in protecting and restoring the natural environment and promoting more resilient, sustainable, and equitable communities. Enjoy training, comprehensive benefits , and growth opportunities.

Requirements

A combination of education and experience in a relevant field or discipline that clearly demonstrates the skills, knowledge, and abilities to perform the core work duties of the position.
Demonstrated relevant experience monitoring and maintaining aquatic and riparian restoration, mitigation, or other similar capital projects, including monitoring plan development, data collection, analysis, reporting, and sharing results with others.
Demonstrated experience managing the work of others, including assigning and scheduling work, reviewing products, and providing training and oversight.
Experience developing work order requests and budgets, negotiating with consultants, and managing contracts.
Demonstrated proficiency using Geographical Positioning Systems (GPS), Geographical Information Systems (e.g., ArcGIS Pro), and MS Excel or other programs for data analysis.
Demonstrated understanding of and experience working in situations requiring cross-cultural sensitivity and centering racial equity, social justice principles, and environmental justice.
Ability to communicate effectively in both oral and written forms.

Nice To Haves

Manages Complexity: Making sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
Action Oriented: Taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm.
Ensures Accountability: Holding self and others accountable to meet commitments.
Collaborates: Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
Values Differences: Recognizing the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization.
Courage: Stepping up to address difficult issues, saying what needs to be said.

Responsibilities

Manage the Habitat Restoration Unit’s (HRU) Monitoring Program. This includes close collaboration with monitoring leads in the Capital Delivery Section, the Mitigation Reserves Program Manager, and other program managers within HRU including the Maintenance Program, Washington Conservation Corps, and Small Habitat Restoration Program.
Manage the overall HRU Monitoring and Maintenance budget, estimate resource needs, maintain spatial data, manage contracts, and balance and schedule work.
Coordinate with other Capital Units, the Regional Partnership Unit and WRIA partners, and the Science Section to identify monitoring and research priorities, scope studies, seek funding, collect and compile data, and communicate findings through regular presentations, shared document libraries, dashboards, and lessons learned/adaptive management resources.
Provide expert-level scientific consultation to the Mitigation Reserves Program, including advising through planning and design, collecting and analyzing monitoring data, writing mitigation and monitoring plans and reports, and participating as a liaison with regulatory agencies.
Hire and supervise technical staff working to collect monitoring information, analyze data, summarize results, maintain sites, and implement small restoration projects.
Proactively apply principles of Equity and Social Justice through hiring, staff development, contracting, partnership with tribes, and communication and engagement with partners and the public. This includes the ability to identify and address potential inequities in processes, decisions and outcomes.