Join King County Parks in shaping the future of public spaces and community service! In this new leadership role, you'll guide initiatives that enhance service delivery, strengthen employee engagement, and build a culture of excellence and collaboration across the organization.

About the Role: In this new role, the Parks Chief of Staff serves as a key advisor to the Director and Deputy Director, supporting strategic direction and organizational alignment. Working across the Director's Office and Parks Management Team, this role ensures effective processes, engaged employees, and an inclusive culture. The Parks Chief of Staff collaborates with Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Human Resources, and Performance, Data, and Analytics teams to advance employee engagement and track performance against key objectives, while ensuring alignment with DNRP departmental goals.

This position follows a hybrid work model, blending remote and in-person work.

About the Team: King County Parks has evolved from 150 acres in 1938 to more than 32,000 acres. Today, our system consists of more than 205 parks, 185 miles of regional trails, and 250 miles of backcountry trails. Our mission is to steward, enhance and acquire parks to inspire healthy communities. We seek to cultivate strong relationships with community partners to enhance park amenities for all King County residents and guests to enjoy today and for generations to come. With the passing of the $1.4B levy in August 2025, it is an exciting time to join King County Parks as the agency grows and provides green space, facilities, partnerships, and services throughout the county.

Commitment to Equity, Racial and Social Justice: King County, named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a diverse and vibrant community that represents cultures from around the world. Our True North is to create a welcoming community where everyone can thrive.  We prioritize equity, racial and social justice, making it a foundational and daily expectation for all employees. As the Parks Chief of Staff you will actively apply these principles in all aspects of your work. Learn more about our commitment at http://www.kingcounty.gov/equity.

Apply now for a rewarding career at the King County Parks Division of the King County Department of Natural Resources & Parks (DNRP). Join our talented workforce in protecting and restoring the natural environment and promoting more resilient, sustainable, and equitable communities.  Enjoy training, comprehensive benefits, and growth opportunities.

What You Will Be Doing: 

• Develop and implement goals that strengthen organizational culture, enhance performance, and build Parks' overall capacity, resilience, and morale.
• Work with DNRP Department Leadership Team and the DNRP Director's Office to manage and track progress against key division goals and objectives. Create and implement internal strategies to help support Parks' growth over time.
• Coordinate with communications staff on strategic key messages aligned with the Division's goals to employees and customers. Oversee the development and implementation of an internal communication plan. 
• Collaborate with the Parks Management Team to enhance operational efficiency and improve service delivery to the public, with a focus on Parks Levy initiatives.
• Lead initiatives that enhance Parks' productivity, effectiveness, and overall organizational performance.
• Provide supervision, leadership, and guidance to Division Public Information work unit. May supervise other teams as assigned. 
• Lead Lean and continuous improvement efforts throughout the Division.

Qualifications You Bring: 

• Demonstrated experience serving on a leadership team to shape and drive strategy across multiple programs in large, multifaceted organizations. 
• Experience improving workplace culture and driving employee engagement through effective team building, internal communications, feedback and performance improvement, and professional development initiatives. 
• Ability to analyze and assess multi-year budgets and implementation plans to support effective decision-making in organizations anticipating future growth. 
• Experience developing and using performance metrics to inform decision making processes. 
• Demonstrated experience advising senior leaders and supporting organizational strategy, operations, policy development, or program management.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, with the ability to communicate effectively within multiple levels of the agency and various external agencies and stakeholders.

Competencies You Bring:  

• Manages Complexity: Making sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
• Strategic Mindset: Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies.
• Collaborates: Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
• Drives Engagement: Creating a climate where people are motivated to do their best to help the organization achieve its objectives.
• Instills Trust: Gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity.

It Would Be Great if You Also Bring:

• A bachelor's degree in environmental science, business or a related field, or any combination of education and experience that clearly demonstrates the ability to perform all of the job duties of the position.
• Leadership experience in a large public sector, government, or similarly complex organization.

Working Conditions:

• Work Location: The Parks Director's Office works in a hybrid model, with days in the office as well as telecommuting. The ratio of remote to onsite work will be dependent on business needs and is subject to change. The primary onsite location is King Street Center, 201 S. Jackson, Seattle, Washington 98104.  
• Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.
• King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely. The individual selected for this opportunity will join an innovative and progressive team that is redefining how we work as we transition to the department's hybrid environment. Employees will be provided with a County-issued laptop and must maintain a home workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours.
• Work Schedule: This full-time position works a 40-hour work week. This position is exempt from the overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) and is not overtime eligible. 
• Union Representation: This position is not represented by a union.

Application and Selection Process: We welcome applications from all qualified applicants.   We value diversity, diverse perspectives and life experience and encourage people of all background to apply.

Application materials will be screened for clarity, completeness and alignment with the experience, qualifications, knowledge, and skills essential for this role to determine which candidates may be invited to participate in one or more panel interviews.   

To apply, submit a:

• Complete Application
• Resume
• Cover Letter

Note: Additional documents won't be considered during minimum qualification screening.

Who to Contact: For more information regarding this recruitment, please contact Patty Jurgens at patty.jurgens@kingcounty.gov.

Discover More About the Parks Division: Visit our website and check us out atFacebook, Twitter, Instagram and Flickr.

Discover More About DNRP: Visit our website, explore aninteractive mapof our recent accomplishments and check us out atFacebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, YouTubeand Keeping King County Green News.

Sign up for Job Alerts to be notified of additional career opportunities with King County. Select the Natural Resources category for DNRP opportunities and explore other categories of interest.

Forbes named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer

No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.

To Apply

If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.