Employee News
Telling the stories of King County employees
With increased rainfall in King County during the fall and winter months, the risk of flooding in some parts of the county increases. “Flooding is a big problem in King County,” said Ken Zweig, Program Manager for River and Floodplain Management at Water and Land Resources Division. “Since 1990 we’ve had 12 presidentially declared disasters in this county. Historically the biggest floods have happened in the late fall and winter months.” The employees of King County’s Flood Warning Program work to educate and prepare residents who live in flood-prone areas about what… Read More
A new initiative launched a year ago by Executive Dow Constantine has prevented more than 3,000 people in King County from becoming homelessness. Results from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30 – the latest data available – show that 96 percent of the 1,024 client households still had a place to live, which prevented the need for additional shelter beds. It also decreased the number of children who suffer the trauma that homelessness can cause, which can affect brain development. Read more in the official press release.
The Bellevue Reporter recently featured Rafael Muñoz-Cintrón who, with his family, left the devastation caused to Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria, to begin a new life in Bellevue. Less than two months after arriving in King County, Rafael successfully applied for a Legal Secretary position with the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. “We thank God every day we were able to get on our feet so quickly,” Rafael Muñoz-Cintrón said in the article. Read more at the Bellevue Reporter.
Get in the holiday spirit with a do-it-yourself (DIY) project this season. DIY gifting can be fun if you want to get crafty. Best of all, “Green Holidays” give a second life to items you already have at home, while reducing the environmental impact during the holiday season. For many years now, Project Manager Tom Watson has managed King County’s EcoConsumer Public Outreach Program. One of the programs that Tom coordinates is Green Holidays. “The program started in the late 1990’s as the “Waste Free Holidays,” working with businesses to promote giving “experience… Read More
On Dec. 19, KCIT is rolling out a new Office 365 product called Office Delve. Delve is part of Office 365 and finds the documents you need no matter where they’re stored – from SharePoint to Planner to Excel. It’s designed to be a time saver. You no longer have to hunt through each application one at a time to find something or see if it’s been changed and by whom. It’s a great work hack or shortcut, fully supported by KCIT and accessible through your O365 waffle. We strongly recommend checking… Read More
Last summer, we asked you for your input on our health and well-being program. With the support of our labor partners, we heard from more than 2,400 employees throughout the County. Thank you for sharing your candid feedback. Getting your input is an important part of our commitment to Investing in You and essential to continuous improvement. Your ideas and suggestions will help us provide a program that works for you and meaningful resources to help you do your best work for our customers. We’ll continue to share more survey information in the coming… Read More
Best Starts for Kids builds on the strengths of communities and families so that more babies are born healthy, more children thrive and establish a strong foundation for life, and more young people grow into thriving members of their community. Follow the Best Starts for Kids on Facebook today! Click here to view all King County social media pages.
Closing Date/Time: Continuous Salary: $40.64 – $57.19 Hourly Job Type: Career Service Location: Kent Public Health at East Hill, Washington Department: Department of Public Health–Community Health Services Description: The Kent Public Health Family Planning Clinic is looking for a skilled, motivated and enthusiastic ARNP who is committed to serving men, women and teens to provide high quality sexual and reproductive health and education services. Family Planning ARNP’s work with a multi-disciplinary health care team to provide care and treatment in various clinics. The ARNP works in the ambulatory care setting integrating knowledge and data from… Read More
Employees can access discounted tickets to Monster Jam at the Tacoma Dome, Jan 12 – 14 and Disney Live at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Jan. 28. Buy Monster Jam tickets here and Disney Live! tickets here. Monster Jam – Employees can get discounted tickets to Monster Jam at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, WA, January 12-14, 2018. Click here for instructions. Disney Live! Mickey & Minnie’s Doorway To Magic – Employees can get discounted tickets to Disney Live! at the ShoWare Center in Kent, WA, January 28, 2018. Click here for instructions. See all available discounts on the Employee Discount webpage.
New year, new laptops, new software! Starting January 1, 2018, every new PC setup will come with Office 2016. To get a sneak peak of the new features, check out the Microsoft training materials at the Office 365 Training Center. Can’t wait for your next PC replacement to get the new version? KCIT will soon have a self service upgrade package available that you can use to upgrade your current PC Office version.
Five kittens from Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) were welcomed with open arms in the Chinook building on Tuesday, December 5. The kittens were part of a “Kitty Café”, a KC Employee Giving Program event sponsored by the Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget and Seattle Meowtropolitan Café. The event highlights a partnership with cat cafes located in Seattle promoting the adoption of RASKC cats. “There was a strong interest and tentative reservation made for 4 of the 5 kittens that were brought in,” Animal Services Administrator Lluvia Ellison-Morales said. “Overall, an overwhelming majority loved the well-organized event.” Employees stopped by to pet the kittens, which were all eligible for adoption. Attendees were also able… Read More
Crossposted from KC Healthy Incentives The holidays can be full of joy, loved ones, and fabulous food. They also can be triggers for sadness and fatigue. It’s especially important to practice stress management this time of year. Employee Health & Well-Being and King County’s Making Life Easier program offer the following tips to help you enjoy the season to the fullest. Acknowledge your limits You may feel pressure to cook and spend more money during the season. This can add stress to your routine and hurt your wallet. Keep expectations realistic by… Read More
Jay Osborne has accepted the position as interim Human Resources Division (HRD) Director, and will start full time on December 18, 2017. Jay has been with the County for nearly 30 years and comes with a wealth of skills and experience. Jay started his career as a summer hire with the Parks Division in 1988, and now he is the Deputy Director for the Road Services Division in DOT. Jay offers strong leadership skills, vast budget process knowledge, and a solid operations background in HR as a people manager and deputy director…. Read More
King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, and Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus today announced the formation of One Table, a comprehensive effort made up of business, service providers, healthcare, faith community, philanthropy, labor, academia, community members and people who have experienced homelessness. The group will assess the region’s current response to homelessness, including root causes such as escalating home prices, inequality and the need to expand mental health and addiction services. It will also work to scale up community-based and government programs that are successful. “We all know homelessness is a… Read More
Finding meaningful employment can be difficult for people who have been involved in the criminal justice system, but a King County program is offering new opportunity and hope. The King County Jobs Initiative (KCJI) provides assistance to individuals with previous convictions or justice system involvement who are unemployed and on food stamps. It focuses job training in employment areas that have the most potential for wage growth. The program recently partnered with the Ironworkers Union Local 86 to launch KCJI’s first Ironworkers Cohort Pre-apprenticeship training, a four-week intensive program that submerges participants into the world of ironworking. On Orientation Day, individuals went through a four-hour physical test; lifting 80-pound rebar to and from different areas for 30 minutes; various wire tying tests; a rope tying test; and a… Read More
Why did you start in your role with King County? I started as a short-term temp in the Elections phone bank. A few of my family members had worked seasonal King County positions and they recommended I come in and give it a try. After five months in that role, I saw that the Voter Services section was offering three full-time positions. I applied and was selected, and I’ve been working here six years now. What do you do in your role? I work as an Administrative Specialist 2 (AS2) in the… Read More
King County’s Vets 4 HIRE Program is an internship program for veterans with a purpose to support veterans in making a successful transition to civilian employment. It provides them with valuable hands-on practical experience to increase their competitiveness for King County and other civilian positions. It is available to veterans who reside in King County regardless if they are enrolled in college and places them in workplaces throughout the County. Hiring agencies receive up to $6,250 in wage reimbursement per veteran hired into a six month or longer experience. The program began in 2012… Read More
Organizations small and large are always on the lookout for top talent, and King County is no exception. Our organization employs some of the brightest, forward-thinking people in the nation who work every day to make King County a great to live, visit and work. Not only does King County draw talent from our community and across the country, it is also developing in-house talent through the Investing in You strategy. Recently, Records and Licensing Services Division launched a Leadership Fellowship pilot program in lieu of permanently filling their deputy director vacancy. The fellowship is a… Read More
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC Zulily, the Seattle based e-commerce company, has previously worked with RASKC to help raise awareness of our adoptable pets through in-studio photo shoots. On Cyber Monday, Zulily hosted a 12-hour Facebook LIVE segment to showcase their products at discounted deals. Zulily also invited RASKC to stop by during the show with a few of our adoptable pets. The video was co-hosted by RASKC’s Community Engagement and Communications Administrator Lluvia Ellison-Morales and Zulily’s User Experience Designer Jennifer French, who is also an 11-year veteran volunteer at RASKC. During the show, they provided information about RASKC… Read More