OC Parks Capital Projects Manager

Job Description:

OC Parks Capital Projects Manager

Description

CAREER DESCRIPTION

OC Parks Capital Projects Manager
(Capital Projects Manager)

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
This recruitment is being held to establish an open eligible list to fill current and future Capital Projects Manager positions within the OC Community Resources/OC Parks. The eligible list established may also be used to fill similar and/or lower-level classifications throughout the County of Orange.

DEADLINE TO APPLY
Monday, June 1, 2026 at 11:59PM PT.
Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply immediately.

THE COUNTY
The County of Orange is a regional service provider and planning agency whose core businesses include public safety, public health, environmental protection, regional planning, public assistance, social services, and aviation. Click here for more information.

OC COMMUNITY RESOURCES (OCCR)
OC Community Resources is a multi-faceted department comprised of OC Animal Care, OC Community Services, OC Housing & Community Development, OC Parks, and OC Public Libraries. Click here for more information.

OC PARKS
OC Parks encompasses regional, wilderness, and historical facilities, as well as OC Parks Zoo and coastal areas throughout the County of Orange in California. Featuring nearly 60,000 acres of parkland, open space and shoreline, Orange County's award-winning parks and programs are enjoyed by millions of residents and visitors each year, in ways as diverse as the parks themselves.

THE OPPORTUNITY
OC Parks is seeking a qualified and experienced Capital Projects Manager (CPM) to join its Planning and Design Division to lead project management teams responsible for delivering planning initiatives and capital improvement projects. Rather than managing individual/specific projects, the CPM provides strategic leadership, direction, and technical oversight to help ensure projects are delivered within scope, on schedule, aligned with approved budget, and in compliance with regulatory requirements. This role oversees adherence to applicable laws, County policies, and design, construction, and environmental standards, while coordinating closely with OC Public Works, consultants, contractors, regulatory agencies, and internal OC Parks divisions.

Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Provide program-level oversight of capital projects managed by OC Parks Project Managers, including review of schedules, budgets, scopes, risks, and overall project performance.
• Supervise and mentor Project Managers and staff; assign workloads, provide performance feedback, and support professional development.
• Coordinate with internal departments (OC Public Works, CEO Real Estate, CEO Risk Management), consultants and community partners to align departmental priorities, funding strategies, community expectations, and support executive briefings/high-level project communications.
• Review project budgets, funding strategies, invoices, and change orders, ensuring fiscal accountability through structured monitoring in coordination with Project Managers and OC Parks Business Office.
• Support project prioritization, capital planning efforts; align projects with departmental goals by reviewing preliminary cost estimates, funding strategies, and scheduling impacts to inform realistic phasing and sequencing across the capital portfolio.
• Oversee permitting and environmental compliance to ensure projects meet County and regulatory standards in collaboration with Environmental Resources team.
• Ensure projects maintain compliance with CEQA, Coastal permits, Section 1600/404/401 permits, ADA requirements, Tribal consultation obligations, County standards, and other regulatory requirements

• Represent OC Parks management at meetings, interagency discussions, and professional events
• Assist is preparation of 5-year Strategic Financial Plan along with 7-year Capital Improvement Plan

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
At least one (1) year of experience supervising, leading, or coordinating project managers, project teams, planners, or professional staff responsible for capital improvement, large maintenance, or infrastructure projects
AND
Reviewing and interpreting project schedules, cost estimates, construction documents, consultant proposals, or technical reports OR Leading multidisciplinary project teams through planning, design, permitting, construction, or project closeout phases.

The ideal candidate’s work experience will also demonstrate the core competencies outlined below:

Technical Expertise

• Ability to oversee and manage multiple capital projects simultaneously by prioritizing workloads, allocating resources, and tracking scope, schedule, budget, risks, and overall program performance Skill in reviewing budgets, funding strategies, invoices, and changing orders to support fiscal accountability
• Ability to review technical project documents to ensure alignment with requirements and standards

• Knowledge of CEQA, permitting, ADA, environmental compliance, and related regulatory requirements

• Ability to determine and calculate variances in budgeted to actual results
• Recommend corrective action plans to address variances

• Skilled in the preparation and review of presentations, executive summaries, and project documentation
• Proficient with project management systems, scheduling tools, spreadsheets, and reporting platforms
• Proficient with Adobe Acrobat, Bluebeam, and Microsoft Office suite, including Outlook, Teams, Excel, Word, Visio, PowerPoint
• Proficient with County systems like CAPS+, CAPS Data Warehouse, Expediter, etc.

Analytical Skills

• Identifies, researches, evaluates, estimates, accurately interprets, and applies technical data and policy information
• Identify problems, gather relevant information, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions, and recommend solutions
• Use sound reasoning and logical judgment to arrive at conclusions and find alternative solutions to complex problems
• Ability to collect and analyze cost and other data and prepare recommendation of findings

• Knowledge and experience applying County policies and procedures, including but not limited to the County Procurement Manual, Contract Policy Manual, and County Budget standards of best practice
• Ability to analyze data, identify and evaluate alternative approaches/solutions, and implement or lead implementation of recommendations in support of Department goals
• Ability to develop creative, innovative, and comprehensive solutions to improve existing processes and workflows.
• Demonstrating an aptitude for critical thinking, strong analytical skills, and attention to detail

Communication Skills

• Present complex ideas clearly, concisely, logically and persuasively, both orally and in writing

• Ability to influence without direct authority through subject matter expertise, emotional intelligence, and strategic communication to gain support and drive results
• Ability to build collaborative relationships and navigate organizational structures across departments, teams, and external partners

• Effectively present, orally and in writing, proposals, progress reports, and recommendations to executive management, county executive management, contractors, and external stakeholders
• Comfortable with navigating an occasionally political environment
• Ability to demonstrate diplomacy, professionalism, and a strong customer-service mindset when addressing sensitive or challenging situations.
• Communicate using both technical and non-technical language appropriate to the audience

Organizational Skills

• Strong document management and recordkeeping practices to maintain accurate and accessible project files
• Skill in prioritizing workloads and allocating resources efficiently across a portfolio of projects
• Ability to anticipate project needs, constraints, and potential conflicts.
• Strong attention to detail relating to schedules, budgets, contracts, and compliance requirements
• Strong planning skills to prepare for upcoming phases, approvals, and resource needs
• Ability to quickly organize and respond to urgent issues while maintaining overall project control

Leadership

• Effectively manage, lead and coordinate with employees, management and executive staff to successfully put together the annual review and update of the 7 year Capital Improvement Program
• Skill in building team capacity by mentoring staff, supporting professional growth, and developing future leaders
• Strong ability to drive program-level alignment by ensuring teams understand priorities, expectations, and desired outcome
• Effectively develop plans to complete projects, collaborate, delegate assignments to staff accordingly
• Ability to make well-informed and objective decisions by perceiving the impact and implications of the decisions in order to accomplish organizational goals
• Makes sound business decisions based on limited, complex, or contradicting information while taking into account relevant public service ethical principles
• Skill in reinforcing accountability through clear performance expectations, follow-through, and outcome tracking.
  
  

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Please click here for information on the minimum qualifications, physical, mental, environmental and working conditions for the Capital Projects Manager.

License/Certification
Some assignments may require one or more of the following licenses or certifications by date of appointment:

• Project Management Institute (PMI)
• Project Management Certification
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Certified Construction Management (CCM)
• Possession of a valid California Driver's license, Class C or higher

RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Application Screening | (Refer/Non-Refer)
Applications and supplemental responses will be screened for qualifications that are highly desirable and most needed to successfully perform the duties of this job. Only those applicants that meet the qualifications as listed in the job bulletin will be referred to the next step.

Structured Oral Interview | SOI (Weighted 100% )
Candidates will be interviewed and rated by an oral interview panel of job knowledge experts. Each candidate’s rating will be based on responses to a series of questions designed to elicit the candidate’s qualifications for the job. Only the most successful candidates will be placed on the eligible list.

Based on the Department's needs, the selection procedures above may be modified. Candidates will be notified of any changes in the selection procedures.

Eligible List
Once the assessment has been completed, Human Resource Services will establish an eligible list of candidates. Candidates placed on the eligible list may be referred to selection interview to be considered for present and future vacancies.

Veterans Employment Preference
The County is committed to providing a mechanism to give preferential consideration in the employment process to veterans and their eligible spouses and will provide eligible participants the opportunity to receive interviews in the selection process for employment and paid internship openings. Please click here to review the policy.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

EMAIL NOTIFICATION
Email is the primary form of notification during the recruitment process. Please ensure your correct email address is included in our application and use only one email account.

NOTE: User accounts are established for one person only and should not be shared with another person. Multiple applications with multiple users may jeopardize your status in the recruitment process for any positions for which you apply.

Candidates will be notified regarding their status as the recruitment proceeds via email through the GovernmentJobs.com site. Please check your email folders, including spam/junk folders, and/or accept emails ending with "governmentjobs.com" and "ocgov.com." If your email address should change, please update your profile at www.governmentjobs.com.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Click here for additional Frequently Asked Questions.

For specific information pertaining to the Capital Projects Manager recruitment, please contact Jenny Kim at [email protected] or 714-480-2861.

EEO INFORMATION

Orange County, as an equal employment opportunity employer, encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.

Administrative Management *
In addition to the County's standard suite of benefits -- such as a variety of health plan options, sick and vacation time and paid holidays -- we also offer an excellent array of benefits such as:

• Retirement: Benefits are provided through the Orange County Employees' Retirement System (OCERS). Please go to the following link to find out more about Defined Benefit Pensions and OCERS Plan Types/Benefits.
  http://www.ocers.org/active-member-information.
• Paid Leave: Twelve holidays per year plus sick and vacation time
• Health & Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts
• Dental Insurance: County pays 100% of employee and dependent premiums
• Paid Life Insurance: $100,000 life insurance policy
• Paid Accidental & Death and Dismemberment Insurance: $100,000 AD&D insurance policy
• Paid Short & Long Term Disability insurance programs
• 457 Defined Contribution Program

*Effective 07/01/20, management employees who are sworn Public Safety Managers receive health insurance benefits through the AOCDS Medical Benefit Plans.

Click here for information about benefits offered to County of Orange employees.

Closing Date/Time: 6/1/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

Salary:

$116,251.20 - $161,012.80 Annually