Port Captain

*** This position is open to King County Metro Transit employees and the general public. ***

The Marine Division with King County Metro Transit is hiring for a Port Captain for the Water Taxi team.

The Port Captain is responsible the safe and timely operation of Water Taxi services and ensuring both the vessels and crew members are compliant with all policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements. Incumbents in this position will plan, organize, schedule, and administer the safest and most efficient utilization of the fleet, while managing the short- and long-term staffing, services, and operational budgets. The Port Captain will also oversee a diverse crew of about 30 unionized Marine Information Agents, Deckhands, and Captains, including all aspects of hiring, training, scheduling, personnel management, motivation, and development of on-call, seasonal, and career service crews.

This position requires incumbents to build strong working relationships quickly and effectively with crew members, colleagues, internal King County partners such as Finance and Employee Services, and external partners such as the US Coast Guard, the Port of Seattle, the City of Seattle, Washington State Ferries, Kitsap Transit, labor representatives, and other contracted vendors, suppliers, and consultants. The most competitive candidates for this position will be able to demonstrate their ability to create an environment of inclusion and belonging, provide a high level of customer service to internal and external partners, motivate and manage a team of diverse crew members, and possess knowledge of the local regulatory environment that the Water Taxi operates within.

This recruitment will immediately fill one (1) Career Service (CS) position, and may be used to create an eligibility pool to fill future fully-benefitted Career Service (CS), Term-Limited Temporary (TLT), and/or Special Duty Assignment (SDA) vacancies that may come available in this classification. Eligibility pools remain valid for twelve (12) months upon creation, or until the pool is exhausted, at the discretion of the hiring authority. 

Interviews are anticipated to occur between February 5 through February 9, 2024, though dates are subject to change.

WHO MAY APPLY: 
This recruitment is open to all current King County employees and the general public.

King County Water Taxi System

King County has been operating Water Taxi services since October 2009. In 2019, the Marine Division joined King County Metro Transit to help Metro meet its goals of incorporating multiple modes of transit, including buses, boats, trains, shuttles, accessible services, and rideshare programs.

The Marine Division operates the Water Taxi ferry service on two routes in Puget Sound, both originating at the County’s new passenger ferry terminal at Pier 50 in downtown Seattle: one route to West Seattle and the other to Vashon Island. The Water Taxi provides year-round service 7 days a week, 11 to 17 hours daily. In addition to King County Water taxi service, Kitsap County currently provides passenger-only ferry service to Kingston, Bremerton, and Southworth, which all use the King County passenger-only facility in Seattle.

To Apply:

Required Forms and Materials

• An online employment application with employment history going back at least ten years if you have ten years of employment (or more to include all relevant experience). Be sure to list all job duties, dates of employment, and reasons for leaving. 
• Completed supplemental questions.
• A cover letter/letter of interest, which describes how you meet or exceed the qualifications posted for this position.

Note: Please limit your cover letter/letter of interest to no more than two (2) pages. 

Want to make sure your application materials are as competitive as possible?
We highly recommend visiting the Career Support Services website for tips and examples on how to make your application materials most effective: Career Support Services - King County.

For more information regarding this recruitment, please contact:

Erica Minshull, Talent Advisor for King County Metro Transit

Erica.Minshull@KingCounty.gov or 206-477-6059