Utilities Manager

City of Charlotte

1d•$117,081 - $146,352•Onsite

About The Position

Charlotte’s local government, with more than 9,000 employees and a total budget of $3.65 billion budget, works hard to ensure that the community will be a winning city for everyone – a truly remarkable place to live, work, learn and play. Charlotte Water is an enterprise department of the City of Charlotte and one of the largest public water and sewer service providers in the southeast with over 330,000 customer accounts and over 1100 employees. Our service area includes the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County and the towns of Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Mint Hill, Matthews and Pineville. Charlotte Water’s FY 26 budget is $651 million and a five-year capital program of $2.2.28 billion. We enjoy the highest credit ratings from Moody’s and S&P Global as a result of sound financial planning and management and strong support from our City Council. We value competent, skilled candidates with a customer service focus to work in a team environment. The Utilities Manager position provides leadership, strategic direction, planning, and management of the Environmental Management Division (EMD) within Charlotte Water which includes supporting the operation of the City’s water resource recovery facilities and the biosolids land application program. Work involves ensuring overall regulatory compliance; managing assigned workforce; ensuring the appropriate treatment of wastewater; ensuring equipment is maintained and working appropriately; establishing goals for divisional staff; providing leadership and technical direction; overseeing and reviewing team member assignments and projects; and making sure assigned area has sufficient resources to perform. This position serves as a member of Charlotte Water’s Leadership Team and supports and manages assigned operations and staff.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, or a related field; master’s degree preferred.
Seven (7) years of related work experience in utility operations and management preferably managing water/sewer maintenance, operations, and/or engineering including one (1) year of supervisory experience.
Must have a valid Driver’s License.
Must obtain and maintain a City Driver’s Permit.
Knowledge of federal and state environmental regulations, including the Clean Water Act and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting requirements for wastewater and stormwater programs.
Knowledge of water resource recovery facility (WRRF) operations, biological nutrient removal processes, solids handling, and biosolids land application programs.
Knowledge of environmental management systems, including ISO 14001 standards and performance metrics.
Knowledge of public sector budgeting, capital improvement planning, procurement processes, and municipal administration.
Ability to provide strategic direction and executive-level leadership within a large municipal utility.
Ability to make sound, timely decisions in complex, high-risk, and regulatory-sensitive environments.
Ability to manage competing priorities while maintaining operational reliability and environmental compliance.
Knowledge of occupational safety standards and regulatory compliance requirements related to utility operations.
Strong strategic planning skills with the ability to translate regulatory requirements and operational needs into long-term capital and operational plans.
Skill in interpreting environmental permits and applying regulatory requirements to operational decision-making.
Ability to manage and oversee operating and capital budgets

Nice To Haves

North Carolina Professional Engineering registration and/or higher level is preferred.
Certification in one or more fields of water/wastewater operations (i.e., Water or Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator, Maintenance Technology, Distribution/Collection System) is desired.

Responsibilities

Supports the operation of 5 major water resource recovery facilities and one package plant with a total permitted capacity of 124.2 MGD.
Serves as the permittee for the water resource recovery facilities' effluent NPDES permits and stormwater NPDES permits.
Supports Charlotte Water’s biosolids and residuals program as the program permittee. Charlotte Water produces over 120 thousand wet tons of biosolids and residuals annually.
Supports the division’s research and development team, water quality program, and division's engineering staff.
Participates and provides input in personnel decisions; mentors staff and evaluates performance; supports and aids with staff’s career development.
Partners with the Charlotte Water Leadership Team on department-wide strategic, operational, budgetary, and policy issues.
Provides strategic direction to the division, leadership development, resource needs, operations budget oversight and management, and procurement for division.
Monitors performance levels and metrics applicable to the division’s ISO 14001 environmental management system and program.
Manages safety controls and regulatory compliance.
Represents the division on any needed departmental incident command or emergency response teams.
Provides input into the development of capital improvement programs and sets rehab and upgrade priorities for the division.
Plans, advocates, and provides for long term capital improvement needs for the division to support program regulatory compliance, anticipated growth, and staff needs.
Works collaboratively with other city departments, regional partners, and regulatory partners on programs, projects, city goals, regulatory issues, stakeholder processes and initiatives
Represents Charlotte Water in work with elected officials, other City leaders and staff, state and federal regulators, regional partners, consultants, and contractors.
Coordinates with internal and external service providers to assure support services and other needs are met to establish and sustain efficient, effective operations.
Performs other related job duties as assigned.