The City of Seattle is a leader on wage, labor and workforce practices that enhance equity, address wage gaps, and create a fair and healthy economy for workers, businesses and residents. The Office of Labor Standards (OLS) seeks to improve workers' lives through the development and implementation of innovative policy and laws that create a fair and equitable workplace with a commitment to racial equity and social justice.

The Office of Labor Standards has an opportunity for a strategic and visionary Policy Manager to join our highly skilled, innovative policy team in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment. This position will be responsible for supervising a small team of policy analysts and leading the office's efforts to develop workplace policies that impact over 580,000 employees and 54,000 employers in Seattle. Our forward-thinking policies seek to remove barriers to workforce equity and often lead the nation. Policies may include legislation, administrative rules, fiscal recommendations, and programs subject to review and approval by policy makers. 

The Policy Manager will play a pivotal role in promoting workplace equity through a race and social justice lens, protecting the rights of low-wage workers, and working with employers to comply with labor standards.

Job Responsibilities

Here is more about what you will be doing: 

Leadership

•Provide visionary, strategic leadership and oversight to a small, talented team of policy analysts.

•Lead, supervise, and collaborate with the Policy team to develop and implement Seattle's existing and future labor standards.

•Support and cultivate the team's leadership and growth potential.Serve as subject matter expert on Seattle's labor standards and as a key advisor on emerging policies that impact Seattle's workplaces.

•Develop long and short-term goals and amplify policies that can mitigate or eliminate negative impacts on the most vulnerable communities, including people of color, immigrants and refugees.

•Continually evaluate policies to heighten effectiveness and mitigate unintended consequences on the city's most vulnerable and marginalized communities.

•Collaborate with internal staff, Mayor's Office, elected officials, other City departments, and the community on highly complex and potentially controversial projects.

Budget Management:
•Participate in the development and assembly of annual and supplementary budget proposals including preparation of expenditure forecasts and drafting justifications of budget proposals.

•Manage consultant contracts, including negotiating scopes of work and overseeing projects through completion.

•Collaborate with the Office of City Auditor on research contracts as needed.

Legislative and rule development.

•Lead and support efforts to draft legislation, administrative rules, and other written documents that incorporate multiple levels of feedback and review from internal and external stakeholders.

•Facilitate stakeholder rule-making processes with community and business organizations, employers, and workers.

•Oversee and conduct policy and legal research on leading enforcement and outreach practices as reported by policy organizations, worker and business organizations, and local, state, and federal jurisdictions.

•Provide recommendations in verbal, written and visual formats to policy makers.Strengthen and build partnerships.

•In addition to government partners, work closely with community and business leaders, advocacy organizations, and other jurisdictions.

Outreach and Enforcement

•Strengthen and build partnerships with community and business leaders, advocacy organizations, and other jurisdictions.

•Provide input for outreach and enforcement efforts that involve cross team collaborations and community partnerships.

•Oversee staff support for the Labor Standards Advisory Commission and Domestic Worker Standards Board.

Race and Social Justice

•Apply a race and social justice lens to all work and engage in office efforts to eliminate racial disparities in the workplace.  

•Work to achieve racial equity in City government and broader community by understanding the history of racism and recognizing the unique role of government to address institutional and structural racism.

Qualifications

A successful applicant will have a professional career that reflects a commitment to race and social justice and demonstrated success in the research, development and implementation of ordinances, rules, policies, laws and/or programs, as well as experience in supervising staff and building teams, and building collaborative relationships with stakeholders and policy makers.
This career orientation should be complemented by demonstrated technical knowledge, skills and expertise in the following areas: 

•Project management experience in producing, tracking and managing multiple deliverables with overlapping deadlines.

•Creating and/or leading trainings and other presentations.

•Strong MS Outlook, Office, and Excel Skills.

•Facilitation, negotiation, and conflict-resolution skillsKnowledge of local, state and federal employment laws, including Seattle's labor standards.

•Budget preparation and oversight, particularly in public sector budgeting processes.

Additional Information

The Policy Manager is classified as a Strategic Advisor II, General Government. This is a full-time, over-time exempt position that reports to the OLS Director. 

Application Instructions: 

In addition to completing the application fully, to be considered you must include: 

• A cover letter describing your qualifications for this role and explaining how you see the role of policy  furthering the mission and goals of the Seattle Office of Labor Standards.
• A current resume
• A written sample of a policy brief or memo that does not exceed 10 pages.  

Who May Apply: This position is open to all applicants who meet the above Qualifications. The City of Seattle values diverse perspectives and life experiences. Applicants will be considered regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, disability, religious or political affiliation, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The City encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, veterans, and those with diverse life experiences.

Questions? Please contact Nicolette Hornbeck at nicolette.hornbeck@seattle.gov

To learn more about the Office of Labor Standards, please visit: www.seattle.gov/laborstandards