Salary: $22.40 – $28.40 Hourly  Location: Bellevue, WA  Job Type: Term Limited Temporary, Full Time, 40 hrs/wk  Department: DPH – Public Health  Job Number: 2019-09266  As the only county in the United States named after Martin Luther King Jr, one of the most influential civil rights leaders in our nations’ history, King County is a vibrant community with residents that represent countries from around the world. It is a region with increasing diversity that cherishes the artistic and social traditions of many cultures. We continue to build on an enduring legacy of shared values of… Read More

Dear fellow King County employee, The 2019 Employee Survey kicked off today and you will soon receive an email from our survey consultant asking you to participate. This is now our fourth successive survey and each year your responses help us make King County a better place to work and a more effective service provider for our residents. Your responses have already had an impact. Almost 8,000 employees participated in our last survey and 290 action plans were implemented to address the issues you raised. As a result we’ve made many changes,… Read More

Crossposted from Tails from RASKC  Who’s a handsome boy? Why, it’s Dexter, our Pet of the Week!  This young pittie is full of energy and loves to play! That’s why he’s one of our “Rambunctious Red” pets. He tends to calm down more when people around him stay calm. Dexter also does best when he gets lots of exercise and something to keep his mind busy.   Read more. 

Conflict Awareness in the Workplace, April 18: We all encounter difficult people. Whether you are a supervisor, a customer service professional, or have a challenging co-worker, it’s important to know how to rise above your initial emotional reaction and turn negative situations into positive outcomes. Topics include understanding why we label people as difficult, types of difficult people, tools and techniques for resolving issues, coping strategies for dealing with the effects of difficult people, and conflict management strategies. Register and learn more. Introduction to Organizational Performance Measurement, May 8: Have you ever struggled to create… Read More

March is Women’s History Month, and as we celebrate, we want to introduce you to Bernice Stern, who in 1969 became the first woman elected to the King County Council. Online encyclopedia History Link has a great piece about Bernice’s life and legacy. Read it here. Photo courtesy of King County Archives. 

The Art of Facilitation is a six-session training, hosted by the Office of Equity and Social Justice, for King County employees that is rooted in experiential learning. The training is designed to increase effectiveness in working in cross-racial teams, combining skills in group facilitation, communication, and presentation with self-development and resilience building. The learned skills are transferable across all areas of work at King County.  Applications are now being accepted for the spring and fall cohorts: May through June and September through November. This training opportunity is limited to 30 people per… Read More

Get to meet some of the amazing heroes who work hard to keep our region safe everyday in this video of the recently held 2018 King County Sheriff’s Awards. View the video here or below. 

Crossposted from Clean Water Stories  Check out this article about how King County Wastewater Treatment is working to recruit employees that represent our diverse and growing communities through the Operator in Training Program, featured on the WEF Highlights website, the news site for the Water Environment Federation. Read the full article here. 

Our employees went above and beyond to help keep residents safe and moving during the biggest snowstorm the region has experienced in decades, and King County Executive Dow Constantine took a moment to thank employees in a brief video.  “It tested our ability as a local government to serve the people under extraordinary circumstances, and thanks to our dedicated employees, we rose to the challenge,” Executive Constantine said in the video. Click the image below to watch the video.

King County Executive Dow Constantine has proclaimed the month of March Women’s History Month in King County, and encouraged all residents to participate in events to commemorate and honor women and their contributions to our community and nation. “Women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of King County, the state of Washington, our nation, and the global community,” Executive Constantine said in the Proclamation. “Women are making history every day and will continue to do so in ways that will change our… Read More

King County Career Support Services and the Administrative Professionals Advisory Committee are excited to announce the Fourth Annual Administrative Professionals Recognition Event. This event  recognizes administrative professionals who embody the attributes of excellence and innovation. It will be held at the King County Courthouse on Wednesday, April 24 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Event registration will open on Wednesday, March 27. Register for the event here.

Starting Saturday, March 23, seven bus routes will shift from the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel to surface streets and buses on a total of 15 routes will change bus stop locations on Seattle streets to accommodate the Washington State Convention Center construction and future Link light rail expansion.   To keep buses and riders moving, the City of Seattle is establishing a new transit pathway on Fifth and Sixth Avenues and Metro will establish all-door boarding in the Third Avenue corridor and at stops along Westlake Avenue North.  Metro will also add trips,… Read More

Executive Dow Constantine shares his experience participating in the annual point-in-time count of people who are experiencing homelessness in King County. It included responding to a young person who was struggling and asked for help.  

The King County Employee Engagement Survey kicks off March 11 and is a great opportunity to check-in with employees to learn what is going well and where we need to improve.  Employees who participated in the survey over the last three years have helped us make King County a better place to work, and a more effective service provider for our residents. This year we’re making some enhancements to make the survey work better for everyone:   The survey is shorter.    Analysis will be done in house.   There will be more ways to… Read More

If you still have funds set aside in last year’s Health Care or Dependent Day Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA), be sure to get reimbursed for expenses incurred in 2018. Check your FSA balances: Go to Navia Benefits and log in as a participant. Learn about eligible expenses incurred Jan. 1—Dec. 31, 2018: Health Care FSAs cover a variety of medically necessary expenses for you and your eligible family members, including deductibles, coinsurance, and copays, and other Eligible Health Care Expenses. Dependent Day Care FSAs cover a range of services for your child, disabled spouse, or dependent parent that… Read More

Lominger Competency and Skill Assessment, March 28: During this class, you will have the opportunity to evaluate your professional skills and generate a list of self-identified competencies that reflect your towering strengths and challenges. Next, based upon the next job you want, you will compare your skills to the Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge and Skills required for your next desired position. We will also discuss possible developmental activities, action steps and resources to help you succeed. Register and learn more. Supervision and Leadership Skills Series, April 18 and May 23: Develop your leadership, communication, motivation, and problem-solving… Read More

The Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) is hosting its 12th-annual  School-to-Work Transition Resource Fairs for students with disabilities and their families. Sponsored by King County Developmental Disabilities Division, this fair will include workshops for families, educators, and students. Learn about supported employment, community resources, transportation, parks and recreation programs, family advocacy, and housing. Learn more about the fairs here and in the video below.  Saturday, March 16, from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Highline College. Register here.   Wednesday, March 27, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at Microsoft. Register here.

Salary: $115,717.06 – $146,678.48 Annually  Location: Seattle, WA  Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week  Department: KCIT – Information Technology  Job Number: 2018-08907B  Closing: 3/15/2019 11:59 PM Pacific  This position is responsible for leading the Production Operations Infrastructure section of the King County Information Technology Department. As the leader of this section, this position is responsible for the delivery of Enterprise wide services with a focus on servers (compute), operating systems, hypervisor layer, storage, backup, data center technologies, local and wide area network, wireless services, security tools, structured cabling and infrastructure facilities…. Read More

A new podcast from King County Superior Court features King County Clerk Barb Miner who shares why the Clerk’s Office is the most important office you’ve probably never heard of. With 200 employees, reams of critical documents and even bloody knives, it’s where you can find everyone’s story.    Listen to the podcast here. 

Would you like to have a mentor, someone who can help you grow professionally? Do you want to strengthen your coaching skills? As a Mentee, you will have a trusted advisor who can help you navigate complex situations, and as a Mentor, you can uncover new or forgotten skills and build influence. If the thought excites you, join King County’s mentoring program by signing up for one of our monthly Lunch-n-Learns to uncover more about mentoring and search for a Mentor!  Thursday, March 14, noon to 1 p.m., Administration Building. Register here.  Thursday, April… Read More

All staff are invited to learn about King County’s commitment to confront climate change and understand how to contribute to a major update to the County’s Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP) that will start in 2019. The SCAP is King County’s five-year blueprint for County action to confront climate change, integrating climate change considerations into all areas of County operations and our work with communities. Based on high demand, we’ve added a final lunch and learn session in March to outline the SCAP update process and share how staff can engage and contribute ideas…. Read More

Judge Aimee Sutton was sworn in Monday at King County Superior Court. Congratulations, Judge Sutton.  We look forward to your outstanding work on the bench at the Maleng Regional Justice Center.  

In a recent article, The New York Times highlighted how West Coast cities are leading the way in innovative public transportation, as compared to East Coast cities. It included commentary from transit experts and regional leaders in Los Angeles, New York, and here in King County, featuring King County Executive Dow Constantine.  “Folks are tired of sitting in traffic,” he said. “They’re mindful of the environmental implications of driving.”  Read more in Why the West Coast Is Suddenly Beating the East Coast on Transportation. Image courtesy of The New York Times. 

Executive Dow Constantine announced his proposal to renew the current King County Parks Levy, scheduled to expire at the end of the year. His proposal for the August ballot would generate an estimated $738 million over the next six years to expand and connect regional trails, improve access to green space and recreation, and keep the county’s parks and trails clean, safe, and open.   The current King County Parks levy – which voters approved in 2013 – will expire Dec. 31. On Feb. 21, Executive Constantine sent to the King County Council… Read More

Four years into a more robust employee engagement effort that is part of Investing In YOU, we have been holding focus groups to figure out how to make our response to survey data more effective in improving engagement. We’ve learned a lot from you about what works and can offer these best practices that have helped boost belief that action will be taken as a result of the survey 11 points since 2015. This is the largest increase countywide on any question and speaks to the trust that is being built in… Read More