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City of Olympia, WA
City Manager
The City of Olympia, Washington is seeking a dynamic, seasoned executive to serve as the next City Manager. This is an exciting executive leadership opportunity to work in a progressive and effective organization in one of the most scenic settings you will find anywhere.
Nature is at your doorstep in Olympia. With fresh and salt-water shorelines and nearby timbered forests, Olympia offers convenient access to water sports, hiking, and outdoor recreation. The City is routinely recognized for its outstanding quality of life, panoramic views, convenient walking and biking, active community, and family friendly amenities. As a leading voice in environmental quality, sustainability and climate change, the City works to improve the quality of life for residents.
Olympia is a vibrant city with a small- town feel conveniently situated between Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. Mount Rainier and the rugged Cascade Mountains provide majestic scenery to the east while Washington’s Pacific Coast is just an hour’s drive to the west. Olympia enjoys the benefits of an engaged and educated community and a well-supported school system, augmented by two institutions of higher education. Olympia, the Capital City, is also the entertainment, arts and cultural hub for the Thurston County area and beyond.
City Government
Our Vision: A Vibrant, Healthy, Beautiful Capital City
Our Mission: Working Together to Make a Difference
Our Values: Compassion, Integrity, and Effectiveness
Olympia operates under a council-manager form of government. The City Council has seven members including the Mayor. Councilmembers and the Mayor are non-partisan elected officials. The City Manager reports to the Council. The previous City Manager served as the City Manager for 16 years and retired last fall.
About the Position:
Under the direction of the City Council, the City Manager is responsible for the efficient administration of city government. Work is performed and priorities are determined according to the policy directives of the City Council. The City Manager oversees a workforce of more than 600 employees and a total operating budget of $187 million. The City Manager is a high-visibility builder of support and key alliances with the citizens, business, community associations, tribes and neighboring communities.
Positions reporting to the City Manager include: Assistant City Manager, Police Chief, Fire Chief, Administrative Services Director, Parks, Arts & Recreation Director, Public Works Director, Community Planning and Development Director and the City Attorney.
Performance Dimensions and Expectations:
• Lead courageously: Continuously build and promote the strength, reputation and image of the City of Olympia. Engage, motivate and inspire staff and the community around a shared vision and mission. Demonstrate principled leadership, personal courage and decisiveness.
• Build talent pools: Hire, mentor, develop and manage staff. Continue to build and reinforce a cohesive, dedicated and highly effective team. Create a work environment that encourages original and innovative solutions. Champion diversity.
• Demonstrate adaptive leadership: Willing to take on the gradual but meaningful process of change, which calls for persistence and willingness to bear the pressure that comes along with that.
• Foster diversity, equity and inclusion: Recognize and welcome populations that have been and remain underrepresented and marginalized. Promote justice, impartiality and fairness.
• Drive effective external communications: Develop and nurture mission-critical relationships with community partners, business and civic leaders, political leaders and the media. Be visible in the Olympia Community.
• Build consensus: Collaborate, facilitate and develop relationships. Coordinate intergovernmental activities with the Mayor, City Council, city officials, business, tribes, government agencies and the community.
• Promote open communication: Maintain an environment where communication is open, direct, encouraged, rewarded and relevant.
• Provide visionary insight: Translate big picture vision and goals from the City of Olympia’s Strategic Plan into both long and short-range plans that are comprehensive, realistic and effective. Identify key opportunities resulting from the intersection of external events (political, social, cultural, economic, demographic and environmental) to develop and strengthen the City’s effectiveness.
The Ideal Candidate
For this important role the City of Olympia seeks an experienced, unifying leader who is deeply committed to the success of the City and is a strategic big-picture thinker. The ideal candidate will have a passion for public service and will lead by example to gain the confidence of the public, elected officials and staff. The City Manager will stay ahead of the curve: recognize the broad implications of issues; show openness to new perspectives; see the relationship between people, teams, business processes and outcomes; consider strategic issues affecting the city when making decisions; and create strategies that balance long and short term goals.
The ideal candidate will inspire trust by communicating honestly; being trustworthy and consistent; following through on commitments; and creating an atmosphere of transparency and integrity, marked by fair, respectful behavior. The preferred candidate will communicate a vision that is aligned with the strategy and direction of the City of Olympia. Other key roles include clarifying teams’ involvement in the vision; inspiring a sense of energy and ownership; creating a culture of high performance; and recognizing the efforts of others.
The new City Manager must have demonstrated leadership skills and set a high standard by engaging people at all levels – from staff and councilmembers to community members and partners.
The preferred candidate must be eager to make a personal investment in the long-term success of the City. Proven leadership experience and political acumen are essential. Candidates should bring strengths in both external relations and internal management, with the ability to manage the two.
Desirable Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in public administration or related field, and ten years of progressively responsible management experience in public administration; Master's degree in public administration or related field is desirable; or any combination of education and experience, which would provide the applicant with the desired skills, knowledge, and ability required to perform the job. Experience serving in a local government leadership position is highly desirable.
Total Compensation
The annual salary for this position is $185-$210K. The City offers a competitive benefit package including health, vision, and dental insurance, as well as vacation and sick leave. The City participates in the State of Washington retirement system. The successful candidate may choose between Public Employees Retirement System Plan 2 or 3.
Application Process
Persons interested in this position must submit a cover letter and a current resume detailing size and scope of leadership and management experience.
If you have questions regarding this announcement, please call Marissa Karras at (360) 956-1336. The position will remain open until filled; however, the screening process will move quickly.
Please submit your application materials as soon as possible but no later than March 9th, 2020 by visiting karrasconsulting.net and clicking on “view open positions.”
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