General Manager, Engineering & Regional Utilities

The City of Abbotsford is adjacent to Metro Vancouver and is the 6th largest municipality in British Columbia and the largest municipality by land mass. It is a rapidly growing community with a vibrant and diverse population. Abbotsford offers a rural charm and friendly small town hospitality within a fast paced urban cityscape. Council has a strong strategic plan that envisions Abbotsford as the Hub of the Fraser Valley. The work done at City Hall is connected to four supporting cornerstones: Vibrant Economy, Complete Community, Fiscal Discipline and Organizational Alignment.

Seldom does such an all-encompassing and strategic engineering leadership role in local government come along. Reporting to the City Manager, the General Manager, Engineering & Regional Utilities will be responsible for a wide variety of civic and regional planning, design, construction and maintenance priorities for the City of Abbotsford. Additionally, the position has accountability for regional water and sewer services for Abbotsford, Mission and First Nations communities in the region. 

Abbotsford continues to have dramatic population growth, therefore, a fundamental part of the quality of life in the community, led by Council’s priorities, is a range of key infrastructure initiatives ranging from transportation related projects to new water supply sources. Additionally, the General Manager must be proactive in identifying short, medium and long term operational issues and ensuring there is a shared vision within the department and across all civic sectors.

The ideal candidate will be a progressive and inspirational leader who embraces purpose and has a focus on working collaboratively with others in creating innovative solutions to challenging issues in local government. The selected candidate will be respected for their understanding of community engagement and participation, as well as being laser focused on outcomes related to complex engineering programs and projects where there are large financial investments. Proven experience in working with elected officials, Council and Committees will be required in order to carry out the broad spectrum of duties. The selected candidate will have demonstrated operational expertise in engineering related projects, but not just within one discipline. Ideally, the candidate will carry a P.Eng. designation, MBA or related designation and substantial on the ground operational experience.

If you are ready to take on a diverse and challenging senior leadership role in local government, please provide a cover letter and résumé in confidence to Allison Rzen or Shaun Carpenter at www.pfmsearch.com.