Transit Leaves Manager

Summary

Job Duties

Applying equity and social justice principles is a daily responsibility and a foundational expectation for all King County employees. In this role, you will apply equity and social justice principles that exemplify shared values, behaviors, and practices to all aspects of the work.

As the Transit Leaves Manager, you will:

• Lead and manage the Transit Leaves Team by setting clear goals, promoting effective communication, supporting performance, and fostering team development through coaching, feedback, and recognition.

• Oversee protected leave management processes to ensure compliance with state and federal laws, labor agreements, and internal policies. Ensure consistent, equitable application across the organization.
• Implement and manage a centralized leave strategy for the entire Metro Transit Department, focusing on fair and consistent access to leave programs and entitlements.
• Develop and monitor performance metrics for the Transit Leaves program to track effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.
• Create and maintain onboarding and training programs for current and future team members to ensure understanding of leave systems, policies, laws, and best practices. Provide ongoing learning to keep the team up to date.
• Foster a collaborative team culture by encouraging involvement in decisions and valuing team feedback and input.
• Evaluate and support team performance, working closely with individuals to build skills and improve results. Serve as the team’s expert on FMLA and related laws, guiding them through complex leave cases.
• Collaborate with internal and external partners, including HR, Safety & Claims, Labor Relations, and Payroll, to ensure compliant and consistent leave guidance aligned with labor agreements, policies, and regulations.
• Resolve escalated service issues and policy exceptions by identifying root causes and implementing effective solutions.
• Participate as a working manager on Employee Services’ Management Team (ESMT) and perform other duties as assigned.

Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills

Minimum Qualifications and Skills:

• At least three years of leadership, management, or supervisory experience, or a combination of education, training, and experience that provides the necessary knowledge and abilities.
• Extensive knowledge and experience applying federal, state, and local leave and accommodation laws (e.g., FMLA, ADA) in a large, unionized organization.
• Strong understanding of supervisory principles, including team leadership, employee development, and coaching.
• Skilled in strategic planning, project management, and change management, with a proven ability to plan and execute initiatives.
• Clear understanding of legal protections under FMLA, ADA, EEO, and related employment laws.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly and simply, including use of visuals.
• Strong skills in prioritizing tasks, allocating resources, and managing cross-functional projects.
• Capable of identifying process gaps, gathering input, and creating effective solutions.
• Proven ability to build collaborative work environments, resolve conflict, and guide teams.
• High level of integrity and discretion, especially when handling confidential information.
• Excellent customer service and communication skills, with the ability to handle sensitive situations tactfully.
• Strong organizational skills, including managing multiple priorities and attention to detail.
• Familiarity with general human resources processes and procedures within the employee life cycle.
• Strong delegation and time management skills.

Highly competitive candidates will also have:

• Related vocational certifications such as Professional Human Resource designation (SPHR, PHR, SHRM-SCP, SHRM-CP, or IPMA-HR).
• Experience with PeopleSoft Human Resources Software.
• Experience working in the public sector, in a highly unionized workforce.

Supplemental Information

Required Application Materials

• Supplemental questions must be completed.
• An online employment application, to include all relevant employment history and experience related to this role as well as responses to supplemental questions.
• A cover letter, limited to one page, addressing the following points:

NOTE: Applications that do not include the required materials may be rejected as incomplete and not advance in the process.

Selection Process

All the application materials will be screened for qualifications, competitiveness, completeness, attention to detail and written communications kills. The most competitive candidates may be invited to participate in one or more interviews. Final offers are contingent on successful completion of reference checks.

Work Schedule

This position is exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and not overtime eligible. Employees are paid on a bi-weekly schedule, every other Thursday, comprising a 40-hour workweek, normally 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Union Membership/Job Code

This position is not represented by a union. / 117401 (Human Resources Manager I)

Work Location

Teleworking Requirement

The work associated with this position will be performed predominantly in a hybrid work environment working in the office and at home. Employees will have access to shared workspaces at various King County facilities. Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.

Who May Apply
This position is open to the general public and all King County employees.

To Apply
If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact: Manal Tirhi, [email protected]

Forbes recently named King County as one of Washington State's best employers. Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work, and play.

Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion, and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles-we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way, and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer.
No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.