PUBLIC WORKS POLICY MANAGER

Mayor

Exempt | Location: Civic Center

Annual Salary

$75,600 - $110,500

contact information

Mayor's Office HR Team
213-978-0600
Mayor.Jobs@lacity.org

job description

The Mayor’s Office of Public Works (MOPW) advances a holistic approach for the planning and delivery of robust, resilient public works at the nexus of sustainability and equity. The Office coordinates efforts of city departments with purview over the public right-of-way, including core services like maintaining our streets, sidewalks, trees,street lights, sanitation, bridges, mobility assets and other public spaces. MOPW supports clean, safe, vibrant community design that enhances quality of life, adapts to climate change, and makes it easier for all Angelenos to walk, bike, and use transit. This entails centering work around community needs and strengthening workforce development through public works revitalization, with particular focus on improving outcomes in historically underinvested neighborhoods.

SUMMARY:

The Public Works Team oversees the Department of Public Works (DPW), which includes the Board of Public Works and its five Bureaus: Contract Administration, Engineering, Sanitation, Street Lighting and Street Services. The Public Works Team reports to the Deputy Mayor of Public Works. The Public Works Manager is primarily responsible for cross departmental coordination throughout the City Family and externally. This role reports to the Director of Public Works, and works closely with other policy teams and Mayor’s Office policy shops.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Public Works Manager will lead efforts to achieve operational and infrastructure goals related to public works, including but not limited to planning, delivery, and maintenance of streets, sidewalks, solid waste, wastewater, stormwater, and the urban forest. The Public Works Manager will succeed by developing strong working relationships with bureau staff as well as with other public agency and community stakeholders to champion the Mayor’s policy priorities and fulfill the administration’s strategic objectives.

The Public Works Manager responsibilities will vary over time depending on priority and stakeholder needs. Job duties include:

Work with the Director of Public Works to implement the Mayor’s policy priorities relevant to the Department of Public Works by: advising Bureau executive management on policy development; ensuring policy direction is reflected in the budget process.
Lead Public Works programs closely tracking program implementation and project delivery.
Coordinate and lead interdepartmental meetings discussing key public works projects and programs by setting agendas, note taking, and researching best practices.
Support Infrastructure Directors to oversee successful implementation of operations, policies, and infrastructure projects in the public right-of-way and public facilities/buildings and open spaces.
Report out on Board of Public Works meetings, City Council and relevant committee meetings, and relevant administrative oversight/steering committees.
Identify, research, and prepare policy recommendations and white papers for consideration by the Deputy Mayor for Infrastructure and relevant City departments regarding public works policy and other issues related to the Mayor’s public works policy agenda.
Work with Council Offices to resolve Public Works related matters with the bureaus.
Represent the Mayor’s Office of Infrastructure at professional conferences, meetings and public events. Including participation on panels and providing remarks.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

BA/BS in public policy, urban planning, engineering, public administration, or a related discipline with 4+ years of relevant experience or demonstrated equivalency of experience and/or education
Familiarity with and affinity for the City of Los Angeles, including government operations, rules, policymaking process, MyLA311and functions of departments, agencies, and commissions
Demonstrated ability to forge effective working relationships with multiple parties
Ability to analyze policy and data and synthesize information into clear and concise recommendations
Ability to multi-task and adapt within an active work environment, including on nights and weekends as needed
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Experience working in the diverse communities of Los Angeles

How to apply

HOW TO APPLY

Applicants should send a cover letter and resume to Mayor.Jobs@lacity.org with “PUBLIC WORKS MANAGER” in the subject line no later than end of day Friday, March 20, 2026. Please note that applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, and suitable candidates may be contacted and hired before the application deadline. We encourage interested candidates to submit their applications promptly.

This is an exempt, at-will position. The individual appointed to this position will not accrue any civil service tenure, contractual employment rights, or due process rights. The incumbent may be removed, without any finding of cause, by the hiring authority. The City of Los Angeles is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to its programs, services and activities. Please call (213) 744-9300 if you need assistance.

exempt employment

If employment is said to be exempt, it is meant that the employment is exempted from the civil service provisions of the City Charter. In order to receive a regular civil service appointment, employees must have successfully participated in a civil service examination, received a high enough score on the examination to be placed on and receive an appointment from an eligible list, and they must serve a probationary period. Exempt employees do not compete in a civil service examination, they are not placed on an eligible list and receive an appointment from that list, nor do they serve a probationary period. As a result, exempt employees do not have what is referred to as a “property interest” in their job. Exempt employees serve at the will of the appointing authority and can be terminated at any time without cause. Employees with a property interest in their job, i.e. civil service employees, cannot be deprived of their employment(discharged or suspended) without due process.

General Information About Exempt Employment

Exempt employees serve at the will of the appointing authority, and as such, they may be discharged, suspended or otherwise disciplined without cause. Exempt employees have no property interest in their employment, and any procedural benefit or other prerogative extended to them by their appointing authority is not intended to create and does not create any such property interest. No officer or employee of the City may make to any other officer or employee any representation of a property interest in employment which does not correspond to Charter provisions unless the City Council, by ordinance, permits such representation. No unauthorized representation can serve as the basis of an employee's reliance on, or expectation of, a property interest.

Employees Seeking To Become Civil Service Employees

There is no protective leave for an exempt employee appointed to a civil service position. Upon receiving a civil service appointment and passing probation, the former exempt employee will be subject to the Civil Service provisions described in Article X of the City Charter. Upon appointment, the civil service employee will begin to accrue displacement and layoff seniority on the first day of his/her civil service appointment and may file for promotional examinations for which s/he qualifies. A full or half-time exempt employee appointed to a full or half-time civil service position continues to: contribute to the Retirement System; accrue vacation time; accrue sick time; receive anniversary date salary increases; and, receive health and dental benefits identical to those received in the civil service position.

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