Water Services Superintendent

ABOUT US

At the City of Santa Barbara, the best part of our organization is our people. As a City of Santa Barbara employee, you will work in an environment with other motivated individuals who are passionate about their work. We strive to provide employees with the support they need to thrive. Discover more about us, our values and our organizational culture here .

The mission of the Public Works Department is to provide the community with the sustainable foundation to thrive by delivering quality services and public infrastructure through efficient and fiscally responsible practices, including the communitys needs for transportation, water, wastewater, and public facilities.

THE POSITION

The City of Santa Barbara Public Works Department is seeking an experienced Water Services Superintendent in the Water Resources division. Reporting to the Water Supply and Services Manager, this position is responsible for directing, planning, supervising, and coordinating projects and programs critical to maintaining and enhancing trust and high regard with the Citys customers across the Water Resources Division. In addition to customer service, the position is also responsible for the metering (AMI) program, water conservation support and water-loss programs, as well as land development coordination for the Water Resources division. This position leads, plans, and reviews activities of staff, including managing the operations and maintenance of the AMI water metering system, associated hardware, software, database management, scheduling and planning of meter reads and replacements, and coordination with Finance and Utility Billing. Assists the Water Resources Management Team and Water/Wastewater Superintendents in developing and promoting best practices to ensure consistent high quality customer experience across the Water Resources Division. Assists Water Supply and Services Manager with developing and maintaining a customer service program, establishing a water-loss control program, short and long-term work objectives and goals for the work group, including annual and two-year budget development. Represents the City in meetings with County and State agencies for implementation, compliance, and reporting related to water-related land development issues, water conservation, water-loss management and water metering programs.

Knowledge of :

• Operational characteristics, services and activities of all elements of Advanced Metering Infrastructure systems (AMI), water conservation, and water distribution.

• Principles, practices and techniques related to water metering, including collecting and compiling reports on water service activities, producing accurate and timely water meter data for billing purposes, scheduling read, verifying, turning on and shutting off water services, trouble-shooting problems, overseeing meter replacement, and bench-testing meters.
• Principles, practices, and techniques related to customer service, including public outreach, end-use water conservation measures and programs, customer relationship management (CRM) software, and response to customer inquiries.
• Integration of hardware, software and databases such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) for the purposes of supporting the Citys AMI program and for the processing of service requests and reporting.
• Principles of modern supervision and leadership.
• Local, State, and Federal regulations related to assigned areas of responsibility.
• Procedures and practices of budget development and control.
• Modern office procedures, methods and computer software and hardware.
• Proficiency in MS Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Ability to :

• Plan, organize, direct, and budget for the operation and maintenance of the customer services, water conservation, land development, water-loss control and water-metering programs.
• Prepare and review reports and special studies on water service, conservation, and water metering systems.
• Respond with tact and discretion to City staff, officials, and the public.
• Create a positive work environment that values trust, respect, integrity and honesty.
• Lead and motivate staff towards a common vision that fosters a collaborative, inclusive, and trusting workplace.
• Perform responsible and difficult work involving the use of independent judgement and personal initiative.
• Interpret and apply program policies and procedures.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING GUIDELINES

Any combination of experience and training that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Experience :

Five (5) years of increasingly responsible experience in the operations and maintenance of a water system including experience with water metering and an understanding of water conservation, including two (2) years of administrative and supervisory responsibility or possession of a Grade D2 Distribution Operator Certificate issued by the State of California Department of Health at the time of appointment.

Education and/or Training:

Equivalent to a Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university with a major in environmental studies, hydraulics, biology, civil engineering, public policy, natural resource management or other related field.

It is important that your application and supplemental questionnaire show all the relevant education, training, and experience you possess which qualifies you for this position. All applications and supplemental questionnaires will be reviewed, and the most qualified candidates will be invited to continue in the selection process. Be sure to be thorough in your responses. Statements such as See application, Extensive Experience, or "See Resume" are not an acceptable substitute for a completed application and supplemental questionnaire.

The selection process may consist of an application screening, written exam, computer skills exam and/or an oral interview. The successful candidate's employment history will be thoroughly evaluated prior to appointment.

There is currently one (1) vacancy within the Water Resources Division of the Public Works Department. The eligibility list from this recruitment may be used to fill future vacancies throughout the City.

Communication regarding your application and/or status will be sent to the email address listed on your application. Please check your email and spam regularly throughout the recruitment process. You may also log into your governmentjobs.com account to view these emails.

CITY APPLICATION AND RESPONSES TO THE SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE MUST BE RECEIVED BY 5:30 PM ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2025.