Job Description

Posting number: 2026-07530

Department: Utilities and Transportation Commission

Division: Energy Rates & Services

Job classification: WMS BAND 2

Posting type: Open & Promotional

Categories: Sanitation, Transportation, Waste Management, Wastewater, Utilities, Statistics/Mathematics, Mathematics, Program Management, Audit

Summary

WASHINGTON UTILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

Respect. Professionalism. Integrity. Accountability.

Rates and Tariffs Section Manager

Salary:

The starting salary offer will be determined based on the successful candidates’ qualifications within the budgeted salary range of $101,856 - $110,316 annually. However, there is an ability for growth and development in this salary band for the individual once employed.

This recruitment is open until October 01, 2026, at 11:59pm.

The Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) reserves the right to make a hiring decision and/or choose to close or extend this recruitment at any given time after seven (7) days from the date posted. Applications for this recruitment could be used to fill comparable positions that open within the next 60 days.

The Opportunity:

The UTC is seeking to fill the role of one (1) Section Manager within the Rates and Tariffs Section of the Regulatory Services Division. As the Section Manager of the Water, Solid Waste, and Transportation Unit (WST Unit C), you will lead the WST Unit by performing objective technical analysis; giving necessary recommendations for the commission’s decision-making processes; coaching staff that focus on water, solid waste, and transportation reviews; providing training and professional development to unit employees; and managing day-today operations of the unit.

The WST Unit is responsible for overseeing and regulating several transportation and utility industries across Washington State. The work includes monitoring:

• 54 solid waste companies serving 898,000 customers and earning $578,392,000 in annual revenue.
• 48 water companies serving approximately 50,000 customers, and earning $34,112,000.
• 281 household goods moving companies earning $122,391,000.
• 5 commercial ferries and 12 airporters, earning a combined total of $28,900,000.

Hybrid:

Although this is a hybrid opportunity, the successful incumbent must reside within Washington state. This position is eligible to telework but will be required to report on-site to meet business needs.

Travel:

Occasional travel during and outside normal work hours throughout the state for investigations, meetings, hearings, or other program-related activities. Method of travel may include driving or riding in motor vehicles or traveling on commercial aircraft. Out-of-state travel may occur for conferences and events of program significance.

Our Mission:

To protect the people of Washington by ensuring that investor-owned utility and transportation services are safe, equitable, available, reliable, and fairly priced.

Our Vision:

To strive to achieve equitable and fair outcomes as a regulator of utility and transportation services and prioritize inclusion and belonging in the workplace.

What We Offer Our Employees:

• UTC fosters an environment of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, while striving to hire and retain a workforce from the communities we serve.
• We place importance on a healthy balance between personal and professional lives; offering flexible work schedules, wellness programs, and mobile/telework opportunities.
• Through the state, our employees (and their families) are offered options for medical, dental, vision and basic life insurance.
• We offer enrollment into the state retirement programs and a deferred compensation plan.
• Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to paid holidays and one paid personal holiday per calendar year.
• For more information about our benefits or working at UTC, please visit our website.

How to Apply:

Interested in joining the UTC team? Click the Apply button at the top to begin! To be considered for further screening, ensure you attach the following documents to your completed application:

1. Letter of Interest - describing how you meet the position qualifications and why you believe you are the ideal candidate.
2. Resume - detailing your applicable competencies, experience and education.
3. References - At minimum, three (3) professional references with current telephone numbers and email addresses must be included with your application; one (1) contact MUST be your current or most recent supervisor.

The initial screening of candidates will be solely based on the contents and completeness of the application materials, including answers provided to the ‘Supplemental Questionnaire’, along with the additional application materials submitted as part of the application process.

If you are viewing this recruitment on any website other than www.careers.wa.gov, please note the recruitment title and apply through Washington state’s official portal. Your application may be received incomplete when using a third-party website. If you are having technical difficulties creating, accessing, or completing your application, please call NEOGOV toll-free at (855) 524-5627 or email support@neogov.com.

NOTE, indicating ‘see resume’ will not substitute for completing the "work experience" section or supplemental questionnaire of the application packet and may result in your submission being marked incomplete.

Examples of duties

What you’ll do:

The Section Manager supports WST Unit employees with their deliverables and managing daily operations of the unit. This role also provides staff with professional development opportunities by mentoring and training WST Unit employees on complex regulatory theory, policy topics, and filings. The successful incumbent will be expected to provide one-to-one coaching and performance feedback timely and in a virtual/hybrid environment.

The Section Manager is considered the WST Unit’s subject matter expert (SME) and resource on regulatory theory, cost of capital, accounting principles, ratemaking, and tariffs. This position is expected to provide the commission with objective recommendations on the most highly complex, politically sensitive, or impactful issues in formal adjudications, such as general rate case proceedings, through written, expert testimony.

Additional duties include, but aren’t limited to the following:

• Establishes, implements, and supports procedures for the efficient management of work within the Rates and Tariffs Section.
• Serves as part of a team, team lead or project manager to explore defined investigative, administrative or policy issues, initiated by the Commission, regulatory staff, or utility filings.
• Interacts with other internal managers, internal regulatory analysts, Commissioners and their policy advisors, administrative law judges, and various groups.
• Leads or participates as a team member to a policy docket.
• Initiates and leads complex and specialized staff investigations.
• Works collaboratively with staff to identify new, evaluate, and address new and emerging issues related to planning, policy, or regulatory standards.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

The commission values diverse career paths and recognizes that competencies may be acquired through a combination of education, training, certifications, research, volunteer service, lived experience, military service, professional practice, or other demonstrated accomplishments.

• Advanced knowledge in one or more of the following disciplines: economics, financial accounting, business administration, statistics, public utility regulation, public policy, or a closely related field.
• Applicants must also be able to demonstrate the following:
• Extensive experience in utility regulation, economics, accounting, finance, business administration, public policy, law, engineering, transportation, environmental regulation, or a closely related field.
• Exceptional mastery conducting complex research, analysis, investigations, policy development, regulatory review, program administration, or similar professional-level work.
• Influences and accountability with large, complex projects, initiatives, teams, or programs, either in a supervisory, lead, project management, or informal leadership capacity.
• Exceptional mastery in communicating complex technical, financial, policy, legal, or operational concepts to diverse audiences.
• Expert proficiency in developing recommendations, resolving complex issues, and exercising independent judgment in a professional setting.
• Thoughtful leadership through influencing and accountability with teams, and their outcomes.

Position Specific Competencies:

• Expertise in Regulatory Theory and Ratemaking Standards and Policy - Has extensive knowledge of applicable State and federal laws, Commission rules, regulations, policies, standards, and precedents, regulatory theory and principles, and the economic framework in which regulated companies operate. Has a demonstrated ability to develop positions and recommendations in accordance with relevant legal precedent and policy standards. Can examine, communicate, and teach complex regulatory and ratemaking concepts in an effective and accessible manner.
• Organizational Management – Possesses superb ability to manage limited resources efficiently, demonstrating an ability to identify and mobilize resources to fulfill key objectives, plan to ensure the best use of available capacity, and develop processes to improve performance and efficiency; Possesses effective personnel management skills, demonstrating interpersonal understanding, an ability to encourage, coach, and support individuals, communicate proactively, promote professional development, articulate key expectations, evaluate employee performance, and encourage teamwork and cooperation.
• Leadership - Leads by example, demonstrating professional conduct at all times, exhibiting balance and fair-handedness in considering various perspectives, maintaining composure and level-headedness in difficult situations, and engaging with others in a courteous, considerate, and respectful manner; Demonstrates emotional intelligence and intellectual humility; Demonstrates critical thinking and tactical execution; Pursues compromise and collaboration; Actively engages in section strategic planning exercises and critical examinations of the section's business processes; Listens carefully and helps others to understand the merits of opposing arguments.
• Project Management - Plans, designs, organizes, and executes the work of an individual or team project, ensuring a high-quality work product within specific time constraints. Identifies and communicates goals, key deliverables and criteria for success. Outlines responsibilities and resource requirements, organizes tasks and establishes meaningful timelines. Regularly monitors progress and takes corrective action where necessary. Provides leadership, building and managing interpersonal relationships to ensure project success; demonstrates personal accountability and commitment to the success of a project.
• Analytical Skills and Critical Thinking - Formulates judgments on complex issues through the identification, organization, and analysis of factual evidence and quantitative data; Reaches unbiased conclusions through logical reasoning and analytical objectivity; Maintains skepticism of unsupported claims and reliably identifies fallacious logic; Distinguishes information that is not pertinent to a decision or solution.
• Professional Writing and Communication - Writes clearly, concisely, and coherently, using organized thought and logically reasoned arguments; Effectively translates complex technical concepts into messages non-technical audiences can readily grasp; Listens carefully, reflects upon what is being said, and responds appropriately; Presents information clearly, accurately and in an audience-specific manner.
• Professional Conduct - Takes responsibility for actions; Is courteous, considerate and respectful at all times in all interactions with coworkers, interactions with coworkers, utility representatives and other parties with whom we interact; Maintains cordial relations with coworkers; Exercises self-awareness, recognizing and controlling behavior that is disrespectful, aggressive, unnecessarily argumentative or overly confrontational; Sets aside personal differences to complete work as part of a team; Respects the point of view of others and approaches disagreements with patience, tact and good will.

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Competencies:

• The ability to take action to learn and grow: Takes responsibility for knowing their own strengths and weaknesses and uses their learning to make government programs and processes more efficient and effective to serve all in Washington.
• The ability to take action to meet the needs of others: Flexible, adaptable, customer-service focused, and willing and able to empathetically respond to the unique needs of the people they work with and serve.

Demonstration of UTC Leadership Principles:

• Challenge Systems of Inequity
• Set the Example
• Strengthen Others
• Recognize Contributions
• Foster Collaboration
• Envision the Future
• Manage Your Program
• Challenge Your Business Processes

UTC Core Competencies:

• Accountability
• DEI Knowledge, Understanding, & Commitment
• Self-Awareness and Commitment to Growth
• Cultivating Mutually Beneficial and Trusting Strategic Partnerships
• Inclusive Excellence & Allyship
• Measuring Success and Improvement
• Customer Focus

Preferred/Desired Qualifications:

• An advanced degree in a relevant field, such as business administration, economics, financial accounting, law, or public utility regulations.
• Focused experience in science or engineering, economic analysis, financial accounting, public utility regulation, public utility law, or utility business operations.
• Influential leadership experience with highly diverse professional teams.
• Expert proficiency in testifying before a public utility commission or other regulatory or legal body.
• Professional experience writing for decision makers or applying principles of legal or argumentative writing.
• Organization authority in writing administrative rules or participating on a rulemaking at a regulatory agency.
• Mastery in the standards of professional writing.

Preferred Competencies:

• Public Speaking - Presents information and responds to questions clearly and accurately in public and in formal legal settings. Presents analytical findings and recommendations at open public meetings before the Commission. Defends analysis and recommendations against cross-examination by opposing counsel in formal adjudicative proceedings.
• Self-Development - Demonstrates proactive learning and keeps energy knowledge and skills up to date. Solicits and accepts constructive feedback. Turns challenges into learning opportunities and seeks developmental assignments to improve skills.

Supplemental information

READ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION COMPLETELY:

• This position is included in the Washington Management Service (WMS) and covered under civil service rules.
• The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 80.01.020 limits the UTC's ability to employ any person who owns stock in any company the UTC regulates or is otherwise financially interested in such company. Such interests include those of an employee's spouse.
• UTC does not use E-Verify. Therefore, we are not eligible to extend STEM-Optional Practice Training (OPT). For more information, please visit www.uscis.gov.

If you have gotten this far and are thinking you do not qualify, consider again! Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At the UTC, we are dedicated to building a diverse and authentic workplace centered in belonging. If you are excited about this role but your experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may just be the candidate needed for this or other roles.

All information may be verified; additional documentation may be required. Candidates may be disqualified if the education and/or work experience does not include information used to meet the minimum qualifications of the job.

The UTC is an equal opportunity employer. We want to make sure you have an equal opportunity to join our team. Our commitment is making sure current and future employees are treated fairly and equally without regard to age, sex (including gender identity), race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, marital status, or religious or political affiliation.

Persons needing accommodation in the application process may contact the recruiter via telephone at (360) 664-1130 or email the UTC HR office at humanresources@utc.wa.gov. For TTY service, please call the Washington Relay Service at 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6384.

Veterans Preference

For information about YesVets click here.

Applicants wishing to claim Veterans Preference should attach to their application a copy of their redacted DD-214 (Member 4 copy), NGB 22, or signed verification of service letter from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Please blackout any personally identifiable data such as Social Security numbers. For further information, contact UTC Human Resources at humanresources@utc.wa.gov.

For more information about the UTC, please visit:

www.utc.wa.gov, www.twitter.com/wautc and www.facebook.com/wautc

The State of Washington:

http://access.wa.gov