King County is committed to equity and diversity in the workplace. In addition, the county is committed to recruiting and maintaining a quality workforce that shares our guiding principles: collaborative, service-oriented, results-focused, accountable, innovative, professional and fair and just.

OPENING DATE/TIME: 06/11/12 12:00 AM (GMT -8:00)

CLOSING DATE/TIME: 07/10/12 04:30 PM (GMT -8:00)

LOCATION: Chinook Building - 401 5th Ave, Seattle

JOB TYPE: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week

DEPARTMENT: Department of Executive Services - Director's Office

JOB NUMBER: 2012EF02396

SUMMARY:

Make a difference! The Department of Executive Services is seeking a new Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program Manager. The ADR Program Manager is responsible for overseeing the County's internal ADR program, as well as the inter-agency dispute resolution service and the Inter-Local Conflict Resolution Group (ILCRG).

The King County ADR Program services include facilitating collective bargaining and grievance discussions; chartering and facilitating labor-management committees and project labor agreements; training in negotiations, conflict resolution; mediating and facilitating complex multi-jurisdictional and land use cases involving King County; and citizen/County mediation. The ADR Program is dedicated to creating new products that support the responsible stewardship of County resources by reducing the cost of conflict for King County government, the tax payers, and our regional partners.

The ILCRG is a unique, regional program created jointly by the King County Executive and the King County Labor Council in 1998 to provide third party neutral services to resolve conflict. The ICLRG is a leader in regional governance, partnering with over 70 member cities, counties, and other public entities and over 30 unions to provide mediation services.

Our ideal candidate is a creative, energetic leader with an entrepreneurial spirit who will build and maintain strategic partnerships with various entities across western Washington, and earn the respect of our labor and regional partners, management, and citizens as a skilled and credible neutral party who has a positive influence on the labor/management relationship. A highly competent mediator, he or she will passionately pursue the program's goals with energy and drive, and create a climate where employees are empowered and motivated to succeed. He or she will bring out the best in their staff through consistent direction, clear communication, and regular performance evaluations.

Our new manager must have excellent conflict resolution skills and the ability to build rapport with all kinds of people. Maintaining composure, he or she is able to defuse high-tension/complex situations comfortably with diplomacy and tact. He or she will engender trust by being ethical and showing integrity in all dealings with clients, colleagues, employees, and external stakeholders.

WHO MAY APPLY: The recruitment for this career service position is open to all qualified applicants.

WORK SCHEDULE: This position is exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and is not overtime-eligible. This position is paid on a bi-weekly schedule, every other Thursday, comprising a 40-hour workweek; normally 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. This position may be required to work extended and/or flex scheduled work hours to respond to service needs.

REQUIRED MATERIALS: The following materials are required:

• King County Application Form (paper or electronic)
• Resume
• Letter of Interest detailing your background and describing how you meet or exceed the requirements listed in this job announcement.
  
  You can attach multiple documents if necessary or required, such as your resume and letter of interest to your electronic application.Your options are:
  • Copy and paste one or more documents into the text resume section of the application, or
  • Attach multiple documents/files in the resume attachment section, or
  • Send attachments to the HR contact below.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Please direct questions about this recruitment to Ellen Fluharty, Senior Human Resources Analyst, at (206) 263-9259 or ellen.fluharty@kingcounty.gov.

JOB DUTIES:

• Manage all aspects of the ADR Program, including the ILCRG. Design alternative dispute resolution methods within the county and for disputes to which the county and other local jurisdictions are parties.
   
• Oversee the promotion and marketing of ADR program services to other jurisdictions and professional associations in order to broaden the use of program services.
   
• Lead, coordinate, and direct ADR program staff in providing facilitation, mediation and other conflict resolution services for labor-management groups, management groups, task and project groups, County employees, and other parties. Recruit, hire, develop and supervise staff; coordinate work assignments, guide, motivate and evaluate employees.
   
• Establish, maintain, and grow strategic partnerships with intergovernmental agencies, labor unions, non-profits, and other professional organizations across the region for the purposes of collaborative service development. Serve as the County's representative on external, internal, and intergovernmental committees and projects.
   
• Coordinate and oversee the ADR Program budget and advocate for budget proposals with the Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget (PSB) and County Council. Oversee and direct the development of annual goals, business planning, performance measures and implementation strategies for the ADR program.
   
• Provide direct ADR services as required.

EXPERIENCE, QUALIFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS:

• Full-time experience in negotiation, mediation, and other types of alternative dispute resolution for groups of varying size with multiple areas of focus (e.g., EEO complaints, labor-management relations, employee relations).
• Professional Mediation Certification, or the ability to obtain certification within first six months of employment
• Experience applying collective bargaining principles and practices
• Knowledge of principles, practices, developments and trends in mediation and alternative dispute resolution
• Supervisory experience including coaching, mentoring, priority-setting, and measuring and evaluating work products and services
• Experience in performance management including establishing deliverables with clear expectations and focus, while providing positive and corrective feedback
• Experience speaking and writing clearly and succinctly with a wide variety of audiences in varied communication settings, and in a variety of styles, including public speaking
• Experience creating and sustaining broad and sincere relationships among individuals and organizations to encourage trust, advocate a team atmosphere, build consensus, and facilitate communication
• Experience providing excellent customer service and establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with multiple stakeholders
• Experience developing new markets for service and maintaining established customer base
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize work by identifying critical issues and creating focus, and effectively and efficiently allocating resources

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS: Competitive candidates will have multiple years of the previous experience, as well as one or more of the following:

• Master's Degree in Psychology, Sociology, Social Work, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Mediation or other related field
• JD with coursework in Mediation, Negotiation, and Arbitration
• Experience providing and marketing public-sector ADR services
• Direct experience in labor-management mediation including grievance mediation, facilitating contract negotiations, and resolving impasses

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:

RECRUITMENT PROCESS:

Please make sure your specialized experience/requirement(s) can be identified in your application materials.

Your application, resume and letter of interest will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. The information in these materials will be compared to your responses to the supplemental questions. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

Those applicants that possess the most competitive background in directly related experience, knowledge, and training may be contacted for interviews. Professional supervisory reference checks will be conducted prior to any offer of employment.

UNION MEMBERSHIP: This position is not represented.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Program Manager Supplemental Questionnaire

*

1.

Please choose the response below that best describes your full-time experience in negotiation, mediation, and other types of alternative dispute resolution for groups of varying size with multiple areas of focus (e.g., EEO complaints, labor-management relations, employee relations).

 I do not have this experience.
 I have less than one year of this experience.
 I have at least one year of this experience, but less than three years.
 I have at least three years of this experience, but less than five years.
 I have at least five years of this experience, but less than eight years.
 I have at least eight years of this experience, but less than ten years.
 I have ten or more years of this experience.

*

2.

Do you have a Professional Mediation Certification, or the ability to obtain certification within your first six months of employment?

Yes    No

3.

If you answered "Yes" to the question above, please describe your certification, or current status towards certification.

*

4.

Please choose the response below that best describes your supervisory experience, including coaching, mentoring, priority-setting, and measuring and evaluating work products and services.

 I do not have this experience.
 I have less than one year of this experience.
 I have at least one year of this experience, but less than three years.
 I have at least three years of this experience, but less than five years.
 I have at least five years of this experience, but less than eight years.
 I have eight or more years of this experience.

*

5.

What does your professional experience include? Please check all that apply.

 Experience applying collective bargaining principles and practices
 Knowledge of principles, practices, developments and trends in mediation and alternative dispute resolution
 Experience in performance management including establishing deliverables with clear expectations and focus, while providing positive and corrective feedback
 Experience speaking and writing clearly and succinctly with a wide variety of audiences in varied communication settings, and in a variety of styles, including public speaking
 Experience creating and sustaining broad and sincere relationships among individuals and organizations to encourage trust, advocate a team atmosphere, build consensus, and facilitate communication
 Experience providing excellent customer service and establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with multiple stakeholders
 Experience developing new markets for service and maintaining established customer base
 Demonstrated ability to prioritize work by identifying critical issues and creating focus, and effectively and efficiently allocating resources
 JD with coursework in Mediation, Negotiation, and Arbitration
 None of the above

*

6.

Do you have a Master's Degree in Psychology, Sociology, Social Work, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Mediation or another related field?

 Yes
 No

7.

If you responded "Yes" to the question above, please describe your degree(s).

*

8.

Do you have experience providing and marketing public-sector ADR services?

 Yes
 No

9.

If you answered "Yes" to the question above, please describe this experience. Do not put "See Resume."

*

10.

Do you have direct experience in labor-management mediation including grievance mediation, facilitating contract negotiations, and resolving impasses?

 Yes
 No

11.

If you answered "Yes" to the question above, please describe this experience. Do not put "See Resume."

*

12.

Your application materials require a resume to be considered complete. Please verify that you have included a resume with your application.

Yes    No

*

13.

Your application materials require a letter of interest to be considered complete. Please verify that you have included a letter of interest with your application.

Yes    No

*

14.

Your answers to these supplemental questions must match the information you provide on your application (do not rely on or refer to information provided only in a text resume or attached resume) or you may be disqualified. Do your answers to these supplemental questions match your application?

Yes    No

* Required Question