Permitting Specialist - Program Coordinator

Title: Permitting Specialist - Program Coordinator

Location: Seattle United States

Salary: $105,168.13 - $133,306.78 Annually

Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week

Job Number: 2025-24356

Job Description:

The Environmental and Community Services Section (ECSS) is seeking a Permitting Specialist - Program Coordinator (Water Quality Planner/Project Manager III) to join the dynamic Capital Projects Local Permitting Team. This is a unique opportunity for an experienced permitting professional to step into a leadership role that blends technical expertise, strategic thinking, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. As a key member of a high-performing, collaborative team, this role supports the timely and compliant delivery of essential public infrastructure. Our focus is on providing strategic permitting guidance to program teams and managing the regulatory processes necessary to support capital project success. The role emphasizes a strong commitment to customer service, work-life balance, and a comprehensive understanding of permitting pathways, while contributing to a culture of collaboration and accountability to some of the region's most impactful capital projects.

About The Role: The primary function of the Permitting Specialist - Program Coordinator is to lead and coordinate permitting activities one of the 5 geographic programs of capital projects within King County's Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD). This role ensures that permitting work is proactively aligned with project schedules and scopes, while maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements and internal performance expectations. As a subject matter expert, the incumbent will shape permitting strategy, develop scopes of work for consultants, provide mentorship to junior staff, and foster partnerships with permitting jurisdictions to support successful project delivery.

The selected candidate will be working closely with project managers, engineers, real estate agents, and environmental planners to drive permitting deliverables from project initiation through construction. The role will require managing multiple simultaneous permitting efforts across projects with varying jurisdictional complexity and permitting pathways.

The impact of this role extends beyond permitting logistics-it serves a critical function in ensuring public infrastructure investments remain on time and within budget. Effective permitting coordination helps prevent delays in construction, improves communication across stakeholder groups, and supports community and environmental outcomes by maintaining compliance with environmental and land use regulations. In collaboration with internal staff and external regulators, the Permitting Specialist will also play a key role in advancing equity-centered permitting practices, supporting WTD's commitment to serving all communities equitably and maintaining the health of the region's water resources.

This position performs work remotely and onsite.

About The Team:

ECSS plays a vital role in advancing the mission of the Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) by integrating permitting, environmental review, real estate, and community engagement into the delivery of capital projects. Within ECSS, the Regulatory Compliance and Land Acquisition Services (RCLAS) Unit provides subject matter expertise in permitting strategy and regulatory navigation to ensure that WTD's infrastructure investments proceed efficiently and in full compliance with local, state, and federal requirements. Our work supports the division's core values of environmental protection, public health, and fiscal responsibility. We are committed to the principles of equity and social justice, and we actively seek diverse perspectives to build an inclusive, culturally responsive workforce.

The permitting team's efforts help safeguard natural resources by minimizing environmental impacts during project construction and ensuring that WTD meets all regulatory obligations. At the same time, our team is committed to equitable practices-working closely with jurisdictions and community stakeholders to improve transparency, reduce barriers, and promote fair and inclusive permitting processes across King County. By streamlining workflows and building relationships with permitting authorities, ECSS helps WTD uphold its promise to deliver clean water and a healthy environment for current and future generations.

Commitment to Equity, Racial and Social Justice: King County, named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a diverse and vibrant community that represents cultures from around the world. Our True North is to create a welcoming community where everyone can thrive. We prioritize equity, racial and social justice, making it a foundational and daily expectation for all employees. As a Permitting Specialist - Program Coordinator, you will actively apply these principles in all aspects of your work. Learn more about our commitment at http://www.kingcounty.gov/equity.

Apply now for a rewarding career at the Wastewater Treatment Division of King County Department of Natural Resources & Parks (DNRP). Join our talented workforce in protecting and restoring the natural environment and promoting more resilient, sustainable, and equitable communities. Enjoy training, comprehensive benefits, and growth opportunities.

Job Duties

What You Will Be Doing:

• Project Management and Compliance: Manage permitting activities across multiple capital projects and programs. Track permit submittals, reviews, and approvals using project management tools and databases. Ensure permitting work aligns with project scopes and supports timely project delivery. Monitor program and project-level compliance with applicable regulations and internal standards. Contribute to program-level reporting, analytics, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Consultant and Contract Management: Develop, negotiate and review consultant scopes of work related to permitting. Direct and oversee consultant performance, providing guidance and feedback as needed. Coordinate consultant resources in support of program needs and project timelines. Review and ensure permitting scopes in capital project or program contracts are sufficient for efficient delivery.
• Risk Mitigation and Quality Assurance: Identify, track, and elevate permitting risks across assigned Projects and Programs. Propose solutions or mitigation strategies. Perform QA/QC reviews of consultant and staff work products for accuracy, quality, and timeliness.
• Collaboration and Mentorship: Attend and actively participate in regular meetings with program teams, internal units, and permitting staff. Foster collaboration across disciplines (e.g., Engineering, Real Estate, Community Services, Environmental Planning) to ensure permitting is integrated with broader project goals. Mentor junior permitting staff (and consultants), offering guidance on strategy, technical requirements, and jurisdictional coordination.
• Project Expertise: Apply advanced knowledge of permitting strategy, regulatory codes, and wastewater constraints and drivers to support complex capital projects. Align permitting strategies with broader project and program objectives from design through construction closeout. Support elevation of issues, permitting scope reviews, and scheduling of permitting deliverables.
• Local Permitting Expertise: Develop strong working relationships with permitting jurisdictions and serve as primary point of contact. Understand and document jurisdiction-specific submittal requirements and review timelines. Identify and address roadblocks in the permitting process; collaborate on solutions including MOUs/MOAs when needed. Maintain current jurisdiction contact information and permitting process documentation. Share expertise with other permitting staff at regular huddles and check-ins.
• Leadership: Act as a subject matter expert and strategic advisor on permitting. Support the supervisor in coaching staff, coordinating program work, and influence unit culture. Participate at CIP meetings, retreats, and cross-program coordination efforts to elevate the permitting discipline.

Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills

Qualifications You Bring:

• Proven ability to manage permitting deliverables across multiple projects, including tracking schedules, ensuring documentation quality, and forecasting resource needs using tools such as PRISM or similar systems.
• Experience developing and executing permitting strategies for capital projects, including knowledge of permitting pathways for permitting, such as, for Land Use, Street Improvement Plans, Zoning, Shoreline Substantial Development, local Building, Street Use or grading permits, or other applicable permitting types.
• Strong organizational and communication skills, including the ability to document processes, maintain records for audits and certification, and communicate effectively with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Two (2) or more years of progressively responsible experience in permitting roles for complex capital projects-ideally in wastewater, utility, or public infrastructure sectors.
• Experience preparing and reviewing permitting scopes of work for consultants, evaluating consultant performance, and conducting QA/QC of technical submittals to ensure quality, consistency, and regulatory compliance.
• Experience with permitting on public sector utility or infrastructure projects, ideally within wastewater, stormwater, or environmental capital programs-preferably in a programmatic or multi-project delivery context
• Strong understanding of jurisdictional coordination, including experience navigating municipal, county, and state permitting processes; ability to build and maintain productive working relationships with permitting authorities.
• Washington State Driver's License or the ability to provide transportation to remote work locations with limited or no public transportation service options.

Competencies You Must Bring:

• Action Oriented: Taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm.
• Manages Complexity: Asks the right questions to accurately analyze situations. Acquires data from multiple and diverse sources when solving problems. Uncovers root causes to difficult problems. Evaluates pros and cons, risks and benefits of different solution options.
• Nimble Leaning: Learns quickly when facing new situations. Experiments to find new solutions. Takes on the challenge of unfamiliar tasks. Extracts lessons learned from failures and mistakes.
• Strategic Mindset: Formulates a clear strategy and maps the aggressive steps that will clearly accelerate the organization toward its goals.
• Decision Quality: Makes sound decisions, even in the absence of complete information. Relies on a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment when making decision. Considers all relevant factors and uses appropriate decision-making criteria and principles. Recognizes when a quick 80% solution will suffice.
• Builds Effective Teams: Establishes common objectives and a shared mindset. Creates a feeling of belonging and strong team morale. Shares wins and rewards team efforts. Fosters open dialogue and collaboration among the team.

Supplemental Information

Working Conditions:

• Remote and Onsite Work Details: Employees in this role work remotely from a home location, with occasional onsite reporting requirements. The frequency of onsite work is determined by business needs and may be adjusted accordingly. Onsite reporting locations may be at various King County worksites including the collaboration space at King Street Center (201 S. Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104) and treatment plant facilities. This work arrangement promotes work-life-balance and reduces carbon footprint under the department's vision of Green Where We Work.
• Requirement: Employees must reside in Washington State and be within a reasonable distance to King County worksites to meet onsite reporting requirements.
• Work Schedule: This full-time position works a 40-hour work week. This position is exempt from the overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) and is not overtime eligible.
• Union Representation: This position is represented by The Technical Employees' Association (TEA).

Sign up for Job Alerts to be notified of additional career opportunities with King County. Select the Natural Resources category for DNRP opportunities and explore other categories of interest.

Forbes named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.

Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.

Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles - we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer

No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.

King County offers a highly-competitive compensation and benefits package designed to meet the diverse needs of our employees and support our employees' health and well-being. Eligible positions receive the following benefits and have access to the following programs:

• Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage options: King County provides eligible employees with options, so they can decide what's best for themselves and their eligible dependents
• Life and disability insurance: employees are provided basic coverage and given the opportunity to purchase additional insurance for both the employee and eligible dependents
• Retirement: eligible King County employees may participate in a pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems and a 457(b) deferred-compensation plan
• Transportation program and ORCA transit pass
• 12 paid holidays each year plus two personal holidays
• Generous vacation and paid sick leave
• Paid parental, family and medical, and volunteer leaves
• Flexible Spending Account
• Wellness programs
• Onsite activity centers
• Employee Giving Program
• Employee assistance programs
• Flexible schedules and telecommuting options, depending on position
• Training and career development programs

This is a general description of the benefits offered to eligible King County employees, and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. If any information on this document conflicts with the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the CBA prevails.

NOTE: Benefits for Term Limited Temporary (TLT) or Short Term Temporary (STT) positions, including leave eligibility and/or participation in the pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems, will vary based upon the terms and details of the position. Short Term Temporary positions are not eligible for an ORCA transit pass.