Development Services Manager,
City of Littleton Department of Public Works & Utilities

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Mackenzie Eason & Associates has been retained by the City of Littleton's Public Works and Utilities Department to recruit a dynamic Development Services Manager.  Reporting to the City Engineer, the new Development Services Manager will join a high-functioning team focused on the future of Littleton and the continued evolution of the city.  The Development Services Manager will lead all engineering compliance issues within the built environment, focusing on industry best practices, safety, and ordinances in the development process.    
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The Development Review Division of Public Works will collaborate with developers, property owners, and engineers to ensure safe and sustainable development while providing exceptional customer service.  The Division will also work with neighborhoods, businesses, and other public partners to enhance the economic prosperity and vitality of the community.  The ideal candidate will be a collaborator and advocate at all levels; from their team of employees to management and peers, and of course, to the public it serves.  

Envision Littleton 2040

Among Littleton's core values are a passion and commitment to local history, the outdoors, being inclusive, being a model community, civic involvement, integrity, quality, and safety.  Envision Littleton, the 2040 vision and plan, manages change and growth amid the reality of a community that is largely already developed.  As a framework to proactively plan for the next 20 years, this Plan outlines the community's aspirations, with each section paying tribute to the legacy of past planning, key issues and considerations, and a framework for action.

The Opportunity

The Development Services Manager directs and manages all areas of the city's engineering protocols within the development review process, including inspection and engineering approvals, in coordination with the Community Development Department.  They also collaborate with the Community Development Department to evaluate and update ordinances and suggest code changes related to public infrastructure.  Littleton City Council recently approved a new Unified Land Use Code, the first in nearly 40 years, that governs future commercial and residential development as well as sets the standards for neighborhoods and the downtown area.  One of the challenges with this role will be to help the staff and community developers learn and interpret the new code and make policy and judgment calls that navigate issues not directly addressed within the new code. 

The Development Services Manager will continue to push modernization and streamline City processes and technologies to help drive data-based innovation and decisions.  They will develop and implement processes and technology used to review the engineering components of permit applications, design standards, and policies.  The Development Services Manager shall endeavor to make the development review process logical, efficient, and user friendly while ensuring the public's safety within the built environment.

The Development Services Manager will require a high level of political understanding and acumen as they will liaise with members of the public, development and construction industries, and city, state, and federal agencies on all infrastructure associated with development on behalf of the city.  They will be a subject-matter expert and technical advisor to the City Manager, City Council, City Engineer, and the Directors of Public Works and Utilities and the Community Development Department.  In doing so, they will prepare ordinances and staff reports and make presentations to the City Council, and other boards and commissions as needed.  It is also expected that the Development Services Manager attend public hearings and meetings as required to share information on current projects, policies, and procedures.  Further contributions include master planning efforts and assisting with the preparation and administration of the annual budget with the City Engineer. 
 
Leadership and business acumen are fundamental, and the capacity to influence and impact the City and community, as well as be a catalyst and a strategist is critical to success.  With the responsibility of directly supervising three to five positions, this leader will need a positive, supportive, forward-looking approach to people management.  The Development Services Manager will break down siloes, provide mentorship, and promote diversity, collaboration, communication, and cooperation with internal departments and external stakeholders of the development community, ensuring the staff provides quality customer service to all customers.

Some challenges the Development Services Manager will address in the next 3-5 years include:
  • As stated, the implementation of the new Unified Land Use Code ensuring city employees and the development community stakeholders understand and interpret it accurately.  
  • The voters just passed a sales tax initiative and the Department received additional federal and state grant funding, which has created an influx of available funds for public works capital projects.  Over the next few years, the department will face capacity and workload issues while it grows while still delivering services to the community.   
  • Cross-functional collaboration and training to break down siloes and integrate the engineering review, community development, economic development, and legal teams to align with the department's vision, goals, and culture and ensure shared responsibility for achieving them. 
  • Some systems and processes are antiquated.  While some strides have been made to integrate new technology and software, there is still a long process to completion.  The new Development Services Manager will stay abreast of new trends and innovations in engineering and permitting that facilitate the transition of new software and best practices to improve the customer experience and services delivered. 

​The Development Services Manager will unify the cross-departmental teams and reinforce the culture of transparency, compliance, customer service, and shared responsibility for achieving the department and City visions.  It will be important that the next Development Services Manager operates with high standards of ethics, values, transparency, and accountability to gain trust and respect, internally and externally.  They will also bring new perspectives to the department and foster an environment that listens and values others' opinions.

City of Littleton Public Works Department Overview and Organizational Chart

The Public Works and Utilities Department is comprised of seven divisions: Administration, Engineering, Traffic, Street Maintenance, Grounds Maintenance, Facilities Maintenance and Fleet Maintenance. 

These divisions are responsible for design, construction, inspection, and preventative maintenance of the roads, traffic systems, public buildings and landscape areas within the city. Additionally, the staff is responsible for infrastructure planning in the community and construction inspection of projects proposed by the private sector. 

About the Public Works Director

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Keith Reester is defined by helping organizations and individuals transform from middle of the pack performers to high performing excellence.  For the past 20 years Keith's career has defined him as a change agent, both as a consultant and as an organizational leader.  Career highlights include serving as a transformative and innovative public official as the City of Littleton's and City of Loveland's Public Works Director.  During his tenure, Reester and his teams received accolades from the White House for one of the 100 Most Innovative Stimulus Projects, the American Public Works Association Project of the Year, and redefining urban intersection design in the United States with the US's first urban continuous flow intersection. Keith managed to do this in the public sector with difficult political challenges, declining revenues, and limited options to reward outstanding performers.  Reester has been named an Eisenhower Institute Fellow to Australia, 2007 Industry Trendsetter by Public Works Magazine, a member of the American Public Works Association Center for Sustainability, and a Donald C Stone Leadership Center Fellow.

While serving as a consultant with FMI, a boutique consulting firm to the design and construction industry, Reester helped clients overcome massive challenges in building great teams and great projects, working on projects from the $1 billion General Motors Headquarters renovation at the Renaissance Center to Colorado's TREX transportation overhaul to the Denver Broncos Sports Authority Field at Mile High.  Reester's early career focused on transformative change and strategic planning, first as a public servant in New York then as a leader for Waste Management, the world's largest environmental and waste services firm.

Reester has a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from Penn State University and a Bachelors from Alfred University (NY) in Public, Business Administration and Coaching.

Keith also has a penchant for adventure, having traveled to such extreme locations as Antarctica, Iceland, Alaska and others; always seeking to explore, grow, and learn from our global partners and friends.

The Ideal Candidate

We are looking for a strong leader and problem solver to join the City's Public Works and Utilities leadership team.  The Development Services Manager should ideally be an expert in understanding land use code and the development process.  They should be a visible and articulate champion of those principles, both within the organization and around the community.  The Development Services Manager should also understand the vision for both the organization and individual projects and make policy decisions and judgments that mitigate risk.  In some instances, code decisions are not black and white, and they will need to find creative and equitable solutions to unique circumstances.

The successful candidate should exhibit strong leadership skills to mentor a talented team and increase department performance.  They should have a decentralized, positive leadership style that allows their staff to work autonomously, removing obstacles or political adversity and supporting innovative, out-of-the-box thinking to help stretch and grow employees.  The next Development Services Manager must be a collaborative, innovative, astute professional who is adept at assessing the need for process improvements, challenging the status quo, and communicating the City's progress toward providing consistently exceptional customer experiences. 

The ideal candidate will possess experience, knowledge, and skills in the following areas:
  •  Updates to all State, Federal, and local land use, zoning, and development laws, ordinances, and policies.
  • Principles and practices of civil engineering, including review requirements for drainage, utility and street design.
  • Principles and practices related to surface water management and control, including requirements of NPDES Phase II.
  • Principles and practices related to sanitary sewer management and operation, including requirements of Industrial Pretreatment.
  • Advanced skills of data entry into various software formats, such as spreadsheets, databases, word processing, and permitting.  Familiarity with TrackIt software is preferred.   
  • Expert ability to enforce codes and regulations in a firm, tactful, and impartial manner.
  • Outward mindset and furthering customer service culture.
  • Lead process improvements and change management.
  • Adaptable and strong supervisory experience that can boost and maintain positive employee morale and inspire them to maximize their performance, and consistently provide the highest level of internal/ external customer service.
  • Principles and practices of municipal budget preparation, financial reporting, and administration.
  • Robust track record of collaboration and building strong partnerships with developers, non-profits, business stakeholders, neighborhood groups, City departments, and other governmental agencies.
  • Solid negotiation skills in a broad range of project-related and administrative functions.
  • Managing organizational change through the development and implementation of departmental goals, objectives, policies, and priorities for each assigned service area.
  • Be able to build consensus among multiple and very diverse constituencies both internally and externally.
  • Excellent communication skills with the ability to articulate big ideas, sell a vision and influence others, and easily convey how to execute it.

Education & Experience Requirements

We realize your time is valuable, so please do not apply if you do not have at least the following required minimum qualifications:
  • Bachelor's degree in one of the professions related to land development such as Engineering, Planning, or Architecture, or related field; and
  • A minimum of 5 years’ experience in reviewing development plans, issuing permits, conducting inspections, and/or managing the above; and supervisory experience including employment regulations, or
  • An equivalent combination of education, formal training, and work experience that produces the knowledge, skill, and ability to perform the essential duties and responsibilities of the position. 
  • Professional Engineers (P.E.) License preferred.
Mackenzie Eason & Associates is a performance driven retained executive search firm, focused on delivering measurable results.  We are boutique by design – allowing us to eliminate the conflict issues of larger firms and engage in a more collaborative search process. Our partners enter into engagements selectively, limiting the number of searches at any given time in order to maintain the highest level of accountability to each client.  We employ a unique methodology, utilizing a highly customized and targeted approach to each search, and a follow through process that further ensures client satisfaction and increased placement success. We also know the importance of diversity to creating long-term strength for an organization, and at MEA, we are committed to delivering a more diverse range of candidates to reflect today’s increasingly inclusive workforce.