Program Director (WMS3)

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Who we are:
Washington's Traffic Safety Commission leads statewide efforts and builds partnerships to save lives and prevent injuries on our roadways for the health, safety, and benefit of our communities. The Commission is recognized as a national leader in traffic safety and has developed a reputation for creating and implementing leading-edge strategies. Our work is guided by Washington's Strategic Highway Safety Plan, called Target Zero®. The Target Zero Plan establishes the bold vision of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030. We are well on our way to realizing this worthy goal and invite you to bring your talents and passions and join with us.  For more information about Target Zero, visit our website at www.wtsc.wa.gov.
 
Who we are looking for:
We want someone who enjoys supervising and leading.  We are a small agency and you will be leading a team of eight diverse Program Managers.  You must be able to promote innovative ideas and encourage your employees.  Your team will expect you to trust and respect they have the experience and knowledge to do their work.  You will need to understand what they do, give them the freedom to accomplish it, and provide guidance when needed.  In turn, you will need to be someone they can trust and respect to keep projects balanced, the team cohesive, and hold them accountable to meet due dates and deliverables.
 
We are a "pass through" state agency and we rely on federal funding.  We are gearing up for a "new" grant year coming this fall.  When you join us, you will be the contact and creator of the 2020 Request for Proposals for federal funding and focused on traffic safety.  You will provide your team and Technical Advisory Committee with the necessary information and guidance to receive and review proposals, and ultimately prepare materials to present recommended proposals to the Commission for approval.  You will need to be up to speed on federal requirements and regulations, understanding all the nuances to managing the federal grants.  You will track projects and dollars ensuring grants and contracts are on track or in need of follow-up or assessments.  You will also work with contractors and stakeholders to update the Target Zero plan, which is going into high gear this summer.  Exceptional organizational and time management skills will be utilized in all facets of your job, including coordination of the agency's Federal Management Review this fall and facilitating the planning of our bi-annual Traffic Safety Conference.    You will work with the research and data team to reduce traffic related fatalities.  You will need to be a great communicator with the agency Finance Director, Legislative & Media Director, and the Research Director and be influential in helping our agency achieve its mission.  You understand you don't have to think "outside" the box, because there is no box when it comes to creative solutions.
 
Why you would want this job:
You will be working in a small agency with an amazing staff that works together to achieve the same common goal--YOU will be a part of a team that saves lives!  The work you do will help ALL the citizens of Washington State. 
 
You will also have such a large variety of work and you won't be bored.  You will supervise diverse staff and programs.  You will also get to work with all of our partners, including law enforcement, schools, judicial system, commissioners, tribes, and more!  

We encourage you to have a good work/life balance.  After a period of acclimation to the agency and programs, we offer flexibility in your work shift (telework, flexible shifts, or compressed work weeks) so you can be the best you.
 
While the work you do is on a large scale, you are working in a small agency with FUN coworkers who support each other!  This is an established, open, and accepting group of employees who are collaborative problem solvers and who look forward to meeting YOU!
 
Our core values guide the work we do each day. These include:
Servant Leadership:  We are public servants whose calling is leadership in traffic safety.
Collaboration:  We build community by listening, inspiring dialogue, and utilizing the talents of all.
Integrity:  We honor our shared values through our actions and by doing what we say we'll do.
Innovation:  We continuously challenge processes and search for better ways to accomplish our work.
Learning:  We seek first to understand in order to gain new insights and expanded perspectives.
 

Some of what you will do include:

• Provide strategic vision, leadership, and oversight for the Program and Services Division (PASD), including prioritizing operations and tasks, setting objectives, measuring results, and ensuring deadlines are met with high quality products.
• Coordinate with the Finance Director in the development, allocation, and spending of state and federal traffic safety program funds.
• Supervise a team of up to eight professional Program Managers. Ensure position descriptions are relevant and up-to-date, provide annual staff evaluations, and encourage and assist with the development of individual professional development plans.
• Direct the work of Program Managers ensuring compliance with agency policies and procedures, ethics laws, and required training.
• Develop controls to ensure staff is meeting deadlines for completing requisite training, reports, project files, and other assignments to maintain a strong professional reputation.
• Conduct competitive procurement for services and products, manage procured vendors, and control associated budgets, scopes, and timelines.
• Work collaboratively with the WTSC Executive Team and key external stakeholders in formulating and prioritizing the agency's key traffic safety objectives.
• Develop internal grant proposals in response to the agency's annual grants solicitation.
• In collaboration with the Deputy Director, support the annual grants process by developing the request for proposal for available grants, review and score proposals, coordinate with the Technical Advisory Committee, and present the approved grant proposals to the Traffic Safety Commission.
• Oversight of and participation in the negotiation of working agreements and contracts with outside agencies and private entities. Includes definition of task, identifying the appropriate contractual instrument, method, and amount of payment, and assurances of compliance with state and federal requirements.
• Approve and monitor expenditures from various funding sources, assign expenditures to appropriate fund sources, and ensure expenditures remain within guidelines and/or contractual limits.
• Structure cooperative working partnerships with governmental, private, and civic organizations. Including initiating working partnerships with other states or provinces to carrying out programs and/or training activities.
• Provide documentation from PASD for timely submissions for the development of the annual HSP and Annual Report.
• Research traffic safety issues, make recommendations, develop agency strategy and accompanying action plans, and generate support among staff and stakeholders for key initiatives.

REQUIRED:

Bachelor's degree.
Have held an administrative or consultative position in traffic safety.
 
NOTE:  Traffic safety experience or demonstrated effectiveness in a major traffic safety program area may be considered as a substitute for some or all the formal education requirement.
 
Experience:

• Proven experience in human resource management, staff supervision, motivating, mentoring and negotiating, and budget preparation and monitoring.
• Proven experience developing plans or projects from the concept stage through planning, organization, networking, resource development, timelines, implementation, record keeping, reporting, completion, and evaluation.
• Proven experience in verbal and written communication skills, the ability to facilitate meetings, and develop and deliver presentations that engage listeners and create an environment for open discussion.  Ability to promote effective staff communications and foster a positive work environment.
• Proven experience managing statewide programs that include high-profile projects with diverse stakeholder groups.
• Knowledge of the highway traffic safety programs and federal and state funding regulations to monitor program funding levels and expenditures, prepare written planning and implementation documents and reports.

• Master's Degree.
• Skilled at creating and changing work methods for optimum efficiency and effectiveness utilizing LEAN principles.
• Comprehensive knowledge of federal, state, and local laws affecting traffic safety and traffic safety issues, the Federal Highway Safety Act, federal aid programs, and state and local private, public, and volunteer agencies and organizations.
• Possess personal computer skills. Have the ability to use word processing, spreadsheets, and electronic data transfer programs which are appropriate to supporting program areas regarding administration of public funds.
• Self-supervising and self-motivated. Must possess strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Possess appropriate skills for both direct supervision of subordinate program personnel and/or contractors who are working either directly for the Program Director or indirectly through a contracting agency.
• Long-range planning, budgeting, strategy development, priority setting, negotiation, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to develop programs under the Federal Highway Safety Act, identify traffic safety needs, coordinate state and local programs.
• Organize state and local traffic safety training programs, workshops, and conferences.
• Develop intergovernmental partnerships between federal, state, and local organizations with the goal of preparing, implementing, managing, and evaluating traffic safety programs.
• Evaluate merits of proposed monetary expenditures for traffic safety measures, conduct effective and in-depth training in programs and project management for staff and constituent groups.
• Identify appropriate contracting and interagency agreement instruments to implement various courses of action, draft contracts, agreements and contract amendments; and provide legal compliance with state and federal regulations.
• Experience with and demonstrated knowledge of state and federal legislative processes.

How to Apply
If you are ready for this exciting opportunity, please click on the green "Apply" button at the top of this announcement and:

1. Complete the online application.
2. Attach a letter of interest describing how your experience relates to the criteria for this position.
3. Attach a current resume that demonstrates how you meet the required qualifications.

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