Deputy Director of Engineering Projects

Statement of Duties

The City of Somerville is addressing a vital and urgent need to improve the quality of its aging infrastructure. Whether horizontal – sewer/water services, and streets – or vertical – buildings, and walls – the city is poised to make significant investments to improve service to constituents, provide quality space for users of our streets, and meet our climate goals (to name a few). The Deputy Director of Engineering Projects leads a dynamic team including three Project Managers and three Senior Project Managers to meet these goals.

The Deputy Director of Engineering Projects is responsible for assisting the Director of Engineering in managing, maintaining, planning and improving the City’s basic infrastructure including: roads, sidewalks, sewers, drainage and water systems. Employee is required to perform all similar or related duties.

Essential Functions

The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various type of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.

• Manage the Engineering Division’s Engineering Projects Group of project managers, ensuring adherence to standards-of-practice for project management in infrastructure project execution. This group manages projects associated with municipal construction, development of new infrastructure policy, and strategic planning of new infrastructure works.
• Analyze all outstanding obligations of the Capital Investment Plan (CIP) for risk and liability, advising Director of opportunities and potential failure points. Perform project portfolio analysis, including planning of near-term improvement projects, forecasting costs, making scope change recommendations, and helping translate the greater CIP into individual projects.
• Ensure that projects are designed, constructed, and completed in accordance with:
  • Project goals established by the Infrastructure Department in coordination with other City departments and stakeholders with respect to quality of work, schedule, and budget, and
  • Applicable Federal, State, and local regulations and design standards.
• Act as liaison to Engineering Services staff on behalf of project managers to ensure timely execution of outstanding project work.
• Responsible for routine decision making in all engineering projects, keeping Director informed. Obtaining Director feedback in the most complicated decision making that impacts overall CIP portfolio.
• Manage, organize, coordinate, and monitor consulting teams of assigned projects including relationships with design professionals and contractors.
• Work with Administration & Finance to:
  • Manage the Massachusetts General Law requirements for public procurement of services, including design professionals and construction contractors,
  • Make suggestion of opportunities to limit risk and ensure compliance in procurement phase,
  • Plan and apply funding source(s), inform a project budgets, and create a feedback loop to Project Managers for their execution of individual projects, and
  • Track contract statuses, project budgets, invoice approvals, and spending schedules.
• Thinks critically about the complete project portfolio, including identifying risks, problem solving, researching, and implementing best practices, etc.
• Works to identify areas of synergy or impacts with other city projects and initiatives by engaging with staff in other Departments via formal structures, coordination meetings Communications Department staff, Infrastructure Department Construction Liaisons, etc.
• Exhibit judgment and ingenuity to develop new or adapt existing methods and approaches for accomplishing objectives or to deal with new or unusual requirements within the limits of the guidelines or policies.
• Interact with utility companies and other governmental agencies to coordinate work and obtain necessary permits, clearances, and applicable regulatory compliance requirements.
• Meet and work with elected officials, community representatives, business owners, residents, and other stakeholders to review proposed projects and activities, address questions and comments and educate community on the value and need for proposed projects.
• Work with Construction Liaison and Communications staff to interface with elected officials, community representatives, business owners, residents, and other stakeholders on project specific issues.
• Monitors contracts with special service providers, including on-call contracts, (e.g., engineers, surveyors, OPMs and construction managers) to ensure the delivery of quality capital projects and required services.
• Provide guidance, assistance, and recommendations to staff within the Engineering Division, Infrastructure Department and other City Departments relative to the design and construction of large-scale utility infrastructure projects, and develop solutions to infrastructure issues.
• Prepares for and attends public meetings, City Council meetings, etc. during and outside of regular work hours, at the direction of the Director.
• Draft City policies for various public infrastructure, contracting and issues related thereto.
• Analyze and prepare written reports on program and project performance using quantitative and qualitative analyses and other project management techniques.
• Assist the Director and coordinate with the Deputy Director of Engineering Services in the day-to-day management and operation of the department.
• Mentor engineering staff, conduct formal annual reviews, and provide guidance for their work.
• n the absence of the Director, be able to collaborate & coordinate with the Deputy Director of Engineering Services to make decisions and communicate on behalf of the Engineering Department.

Recommended Minimum Qualifications:

Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree (Master’s Degree preferred) in an Engineering discipline with seven to ten (7-10) years of experience in the engineering field, or related work experience; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Special Requirements

• Professional Engineer (PE) license in Massachusetts.
• Valid Class D driver’s license.
• Preferred: MCPPO, PMP Certified (preferred)

Knowledge, Abilities and Skill

Knowledge: Knowledge of civil engineering principles and practices such as roadway design and construction techniques, sewer design and construction, drainage design and construction, hydraulics and hydrology; knowledge of roadway, sidewalk, sewer, water and drainage maintenance and repair techniques.

Abilities: Ability to analyze water system flows and pressures and water main and water service design and construction. Ability to work independently; ability to maintain, manage, and organize records; ability to handle problems effectively in response to day-to-day crises; ability to communicate effectively and persuasively in writing and in public speaking and presentations; ability to operate a computer; ability to deal appropriately with City employees, City official, contractors, trades workers and the public. Ability to synthesize complex information. Ability to prioritize projects based on multiple factors, which may include political, financial, public health and safety, etc. Ability to analyze and explain financial implications of complex capital planning decisions. Ability to recruit and train employees, foster effective team relationships and communicate with direct reports in a clear and direct manner.

Skill: Excellent organizational skills and skills in all work-related software applications. Strong conceptual, analytical, verbal and written communication skills. Outstanding administrative skills,

including the ability to produce, track, and manage multiple deliverables with overlapping deadlines in a high-performing environment. Excellent meeting facilitation skills. Bilingual language skills in Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian-Creole or Nepali a plus.

Work Environment

The work environment is an equal mix of office work and field work. The office work involves everyday discomforts typical of offices, with occasional exposure to outside elements. Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant. The field work requires moderate intermittent physical strength and effort around navigating and assisting construction and repair sites. Additionally, the employee may be required to work beyond normal business hours in response to attend evening meetings or complete work assignments.

Physical and Mental Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions.

Physical Skills

Little or no physical demands are required to perform the work. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform work tasks, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. There may also be some occasional lifting of objects such as books, office equipment and computer paper (up to 30 lbs.)

Motor Skills

Duties are largely mental rather than physical, but the job may occasionally require minimal motor skills for activities such as moving objects, operating a telephone system, computer and/or most other office equipment, typing and/or word processing, filing, and sorting.

Visual Skills

Visual demands include constantly reading documents for general understanding and for analytical purposes and routinely reviewing maps and blueprints with a need for color vision.

Hours: Full-time 
Salary: $110,000 - $114,400 
FLSA Status: Exempt 
Union Status: Non-union 

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The City of Somerville is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability or any other protected category. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities free of charge, upon request. Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact the ADA Coordinator at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or ADA@somervillema.gov.

Pre-Employment Requirements for All Employees:

• MA Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) clearance
• Completion of Conflict-of-Interest Law Education training for municipal employees

Overview of Total Rewards:

• 4 weeks annual vacation for non-union positions. Union positions vary by contract. Please note, police officers are members of the SPEA union. Public Health Nurses are part of Union A (SMEA).
• Medical insurance through the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) - 80% of premium costs paid by City
• Dental coverage low and high plans through Cigna
• Vision care through Vision Service Plan (VSP)
• Long term disability through Sun Life
• Group and voluntary life insurance through Boston Mutual
• Health Care and Dependent Care flexible spending through Benefit Strategies
• Deferred compensation plans through a choice of three vendors
• Free, confidential services through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provided by E4Health
• Annual cancer screening & wellness release
• Somerville Retirement Pension System
• Tuition reimbursement
• MBTA pass program
• FREE Blue Bikes membership
• Eligible employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)

Benefits listed are for benefits-eligible positions and the above information is meant to be a general overview of the benefit programs offered by the City of Somerville and not a binding contract.