Policy And Resources Specialist - Water

Policy And Resources Specialist

The City of Torrance is recruiting for a Policy and Resources Specialist to be part of the Municipal Water Division! The Public Works Department is responsible for providing the essential infrastructure needs of the City. The department is comprised of six divisions:
Engineering, Sanitation, Street Operations, Streetscape, Water and Administration. Torrance Municipal Water is an enterprise-funded municipal utility serving approximately 105,000 residents and businesses throughout about 78% of the City. The Water Division is responsible for water supply reliability, water quality, conservation, infrastructure planning, regulatory compliance, and regional partnerships that ensure safe, dependable water service for the community.

Reporting to the Water Operations Manager, the Policy & Resources Specialist for Water provides strategic policy, planning, financial, and regulatory support for Torrance Municipal Water. The position leads initiatives involving water resources, conservation, enterprise fund management, legislative analysis, grants, contracts, and regional partnerships that strengthen the City's long-term water reliability and sustainability. The position also researches and analyzes emerging water legislation, regulations, policies, programs, and funding opportunities and develops recommendations to support the City's water supply reliability, conservation, and long-term resource planning objectives.

Key responsibilities of the Policy and Resources Specialist include:

• Water Commission & Regional Agency Liaison – Act as liaison to the Water Commission and regional agencies including Metropolitan Water District (MWD), West Basin Municipal Water District (WBMWD), Water Replenishment District (WRD) and other agencies on policy, regulatory, legislative, and programmatic matters impacting water.
• Water Use Efficiency & Conservation – Act as program manager for water-use efficiency and conservation; collaborate on regional conservation efforts.
• Grant Strategy & Administration – Identify, pursue, prepare, administer, and monitor state, federal, and regional grant opportunities supporting water reliability, conservation, groundwater sustainability, infrastructure improvements, climate resilience, recycled water initiatives, and regulatory compliance.
• Planning & Strategic Initiatives – Develop the Urban Water Management Plan for TMW and other water resource, strategic, and business plans, initiatives, and studies.
• Groundwater Rights Management – Manage groundwater rights for the City, oversee conjunctive use carryover each year, and pursue acquisition of additional groundwater rights through lease or purchase.
• Agreements & Contracts – Assist in preparing pricing and service agreements with MWD, WBMWD and WRD.
• Boards, Committees & Partnerships – Serve on regional boards or committees as needed and develop collaborative partnerships with other agencies.
• Enterprise & Policy Support – Assist with enterprise budgeting and forecasting, rate studies, legislative analysis, regulatory compliance, audits, contracts, and other policy and resource related activities.
• Prepare reports, presentations, staff recommendations, and other materials for the Water Commission, City management, and other decision-makers regarding water policy, programs, projects, and resource issues

Any combination of education and experience that would have provided the required knowledge and skills is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and skills would be:

Bachelor's Degree from a college or university in Public Administration, Business Administration, Public Policy, Environmental Planning, Biology, or a related field.

Three (3) years of progressively responsible professional experience in environmental resources related to water, which includes at least one (1) year of lead or supervisory experience of at least one major environmental resources program.

A valid California driver's license. Successful candidates will possess the following:

• Strong knowledge of water policy, regulatory, and legislative issues impacting municipal water utilities.
• Demonstrated experience building…