Planning Manager (EMS BAND 2)

State of Washington • Thurston County – Olympia, WA

12d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Planning Manager at the Puget Sound Partnership leads the team responsible for developing and updating the Action Agenda, the region’s roadmap for Puget Sound recovery, and affiliated recovery plans. The position works across Tribes, state and federal agencies, local governments, communities, and other partners to build shared direction, strengthen accountability, align resources, and remove barriers to progress. The role calls for strategic thinking, collaboration, trust-building, and the ability to move complex planning work toward implementation.

The position manages the Planning Team and its operations, including staff development, schedules, telecommuting arrangements, budgets, contracts, and grants. It makes decisions and manages risks, opportunities, conflicts, and competing demands in alignment with agency policies and priorities. The manager also supports evidence-based adaptive management and continuous improvement so that recovery plans remain relevant and responsive.

This is a full-time, exempt position with a Monday–Friday schedule, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM. The work relies on remote and in-person collaboration and requires weekly on-site reporting, with occasional meetings at partner project locations in the Puget Sound region and some travel. Employees must reside in Washington state and be prepared to work at the Olympia, Tacoma, or Seattle locations as requested; out-of-state telework is not available. Employees hired while living outside Washington must relocate to the state within 30 days and report in person to the Olympia headquarters on their first day.

Requirements

• Meet one of the stated qualification pathways: demonstrated ability and outcomes developing and implementing complex environmental resource plans or policies, including leading or supervising a group and managing high-stakes work; qualifying experience in a WGS Environmental Planner 5 or WMS/EMS Environmental Planner role serving as a planning consultant to senior leadership and coordinating highly complex environmental plans, programs, policies, or regulations; or a bachelor’s degree in a related field plus experience developing or implementing environmental plans or policies at multi-watershed and large geographic scales while leading or supervising a group on complex, high-stakes work.
• Have primary residency in Washington state within 30 days of employment and be able to conduct in-person work in the Puget Sound area for hours determined by the agency.
• Demonstrate effective communication skills, including proficiency with Microsoft Office and the ability to tailor clear, polished written, verbal, and visual communications to diverse audiences.
• Understand environmental and ecological policy issues central to the Puget Sound Partnership’s mission.
• Demonstrate effective project management, including communicating objectives through presentations and written charters; guiding complex, interdependent work from planning through completion; prioritizing and tracking tasks; measuring progress; and keeping deliverables aligned with scope, schedule, and budget.

Nice To Haves

• Nine or more years of experience, education, and/or lived experience developing and completing complex environmental resource plans or policies in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning and program development in collaboration with diverse groups.
• Experience in a complex public-sector work environment, including science-policy decision making.
• Program administration experience, including budget, grant and contract management, performance management, and accountability.
• Skill and experience analyzing and solving major issues, using creative, strategic, and innovative thinking, and focusing on outcomes.
• Experience working with the Washington State Legislature or other Washington local governments to enact policy changes.
• Experience collaborating with diverse public and private partners, Tribes, stakeholders, professional networks, and boards on environmental issues.
• Experience understanding partners’ needs and building and delivering solutions to meet those needs.
• Evidence of innovative, strategic, and critical thinking to propose solutions to complex problems while remaining focused on outcomes.
• Understanding of and experience applying the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation, particularly as defined and employed by the Puget Sound Partnership.

Responsibilities

• Lead the agency’s efforts to update and implement the Action Agenda and affiliated Puget Sound recovery plans.
• Build and grow internal and external partner networks to strategize on using limited resources and capacity to implement the Action Agenda.
• Create mechanisms and processes for evidence-based decisions through adaptive management so plans and implementation remain responsive, timely, and relevant.
• Manage the Planning Team, making critical decisions and managing risks, opportunities, and conflicts in alignment with agency policies and priorities.
• Balance competing demands across initiatives by making timely, fact-based decisions informed by workload, data, and stakeholder input.
• Promote and foster change, innovation, and continuous quality improvement.
• Hire, train, mentor, recognize, and develop staff while supporting high performance.
• Manage staff schedules and telecommuting arrangements to balance flexibility with operational outcomes.
• Collaborate with internal and external partners to achieve high-quality, cost-effective daily and long-term operations.
• Oversee team revenues, expenses, budgets, contracts, and grants while ensuring compliance with state, federal, and agency fiscal policies.

Benefits

• Agency-paid ORCA card for public transit use in the Puget Sound region.
• One-time $200 Amazon allowance for at-home office equipment or preferred telework supplies.
• Annual professional development allowance.
• State government compensation and benefits.

What This Job Offers

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