Project​/Program Manager IV - Policy Manager

This recruitment is open only to current King County employees. External applicants are not being considered.

Are you ready to step into a high-impact leadership role where your expertise will shape environmental policy, guide strategic decisions, and influence regional partnerships across King County? The Hazardous Waste Management Program is seeking a dynamic policy manager to lead our Policy line of business, drive upstream solutions, and ensure our communities thrive in a cleaner, safer future.

This is a chance to work at the intersection of strategy and action. This role offers the chance to influence high-impact initiatives, drive equity-centered solutions, and ensure King County remains a leader in protecting communities from hazardous waste and harmful chemicals.

This position will serve as a key leadership position on highly visible priorities, including:
1) analysis of complex policy, legislative, and social issues;
2) development of upstream policy and legislative strategies to reduce toxic exposures to people and the environment;
3) supervise and inspire a talented team of policy professionals;
4) development and implementation of operational policies, procedures, methods, and standards for the Program’s policy work; and
5) provide strategic direction and leadership to a broad range of policy, planning, and initiatives to advance the Program’s mission and vision.

If you’re a leader who excels at collaborations, tackling complex challenges, and driving policies that create lasting change, this is a great opportunity for you!

The Policy Manager plays a critical role in shaping and advancing policies that protect King County residents and small quantity generator (SQG) businesses from hazardous waste and harmful chemicals. Reporting to the Program Director, this expert-level leadership position leads and develops a team of policy professionals, providing strategic direction, setting clear priorities, and ensuring the delivery of high-impact, system-level results.

The Policy Team leads key initiatives to expand access to safer products and convenient end-of-life options for moderate-risk waste (MRW). This includes advancing product stewardship and extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs, such as EPR for all household hazardous waste (HHW); supporting policies that drive safer chemical and material alternatives; implementing and assessing new laws; and collaborating with partners across local, regional, and national coalitions.

The team also works to reduce exposure to priority contaminants and materials, including lead, chemicals of emerging concern, and persistent bioaccumulative toxins.

Success in this senior leadership role requires deep public-sector policy expertise, legislative strategy experience, systems thinking, and strong data and regulatory analysis skills. The ideal candidate is politically astute, highly collaborative, and an exceptional communicator with a strategic mindset and the ability to navigate complex and evolving policy issues. They demonstrate strong supervisory skills, including the ability to lead and develop staff, set clear priorities, and hold teams and cross-functional processes accountable to high standards of performance.

The Policy Manager excels at building durable partnerships, driving innovation, and advancing policy solutions that strengthen environmental and public health protections, embed equity, and reduce toxic exposures across King County.

The Local Hazardous Waste Management Program is a multijurisdictional coalition of government agencies working together to protect and enhance public health and environmental quality across King County. This is done by reducing the threat posed by the production,…