Public Works Director

Sumter Local Government Consulting is pleased to assist the City of Forest Park, GA, in recruiting its Director of Public Works. The Director of Public Works reports to the City Manager and is a critical member of the city’s executive leadership team. The City of Forest Park is the largest municipality in Clayton County, Georgia, and occupies a strategically significant position within the Atlanta metropolitan region. Home to nearly 20,000 residents, Forest Park benefits from unparalleled regional access, including immediate proximity to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, major interstate corridors, rail and freight infrastructure, and the Tri-Cities area of East Point. The geographic advantage has long shaped Forest Park’s role as a center for logistics, industry, and regional commerce. Today, it also presents new opportunities for redevelopment, reinvestment, and economic diversification. The City is characterized by established residential neighborhoods, legacy commercial corridors, and redevelopment-ready sites that offer meaningful potential for industrial, mixed-use, and community-serving development. Forest Park is a diverse and resilient community with a strong sense of identity and civic pride. Residents value accessible leadership, visible progress, and a City government that delivers services professionally, equitably, and transparently. The community expects its leadership to be responsive, accountable, and focused on results that enhance quality of life while maintaining affordability and neighborhood stability. Forest Park is at an important moment, well positioned to build upon its history while advancing revitalization efforts that strengthen the tax base, support economic opportunity, and ensure long-term sustainability. Ideal Candidate Experienced Public Works Leader. A seasoned municipal professional with a broad understanding of public works operations, infrastructure, maintenance, capital projects, and the delivery of essential municipal services. Strategic and Forward-Thinking. An individual who can look beyond immediate operational demands to establish short- and long-term priorities, anticipate future infrastructure and service needs, and develop strategies that support Forest Park's overall goals. Strong Manager and Team Builder. A leader who develops employees, establishes clear expectations, holds staff accountable, recognizes strong performance, and creates an environment where employees are encouraged to work collaboratively and take pride in providing excellent service. Effective Financial Manager. A fiscally responsible administrator with experience developing and managing operating and capital budgets, allocating resources, evaluating expenditures, overseeing procurement, reviewing bids and contracts, and identifying grant opportunities. Collaborative Relationship Builder. Someone who develops productive working relationships across City departments and with outside agencies, consultants, contractors, boards, community organizations, businesses, and residents. Skilled Communicator and Presenter. An articulate professional who can translate complex public works and infrastructure issues into clear, understandable information for the City Manager, Mayor, and City Council, employees, residents, boards, and other stakeholders. Politically Astute and Professionally Grounded. A professional who understands the appropriate relationship between elected officials and professional staff and can operate effectively in a highly visible municipal environment. The ideal candidate will provide objective professional recommendations, respond appropriately to policy direction, and keep the City Manager well informed regarding significant departmental matters. Customer and Community Focused. A leader who recognizes that Public Works has a direct and highly visible impact on residents' quality of life. The successful candidate should be accessible and responsive and able to professionally address citizen questions, concerns, and complaints while maintaining a strong commitment to service. Strong Problem Solver. An individual who exercises sound judgment, decisiveness, creativity, and composure when addressing complex operational challenges, emergencies, infrastructure failures, and unexpected circumstances. Effective Project and Priority Manager. A highly organized professional capable of managing numerous projects and operational responsibilities simultaneously, establishing priorities, monitoring progress, and ensuring projects are completed efficiently and effectively. Committed to Safety and Risk Management. A leader who establishes a strong culture of workplace safety, ensures compliance with applicable requirements, monitors working conditions, and promptly addresses unsafe practices or conditions. Responsive During Emergencies. A dependable leader who understands the essential role Public Works plays during emergencies and is prepared to coordinate the City's response to protect, repair, and maintain critical public infrastructure. Innovative and Adaptable. A leader willing to evaluate existing policies, procedures, work practices, technology, and resource allocation and make appropriate changes when better approaches are available. High Integrity and Professionalism. An ethical, transparent, and accountable leader who earns the confidence of the City Manager, elected officials, employees, and community through sound judgment, consistency, fairness, and professional conduct. The Position The City of Forest Park seeks a highly motivated, experienced professional to serve as its next Director of Public Works. This key executive leadership position provides strategic direction, administrative leadership, and operational oversight for the City’s Public Works Department. The Director will play an important role in maintaining and improving the infrastructure and municipal services that directly affect the community's quality of life, appearance, accessibility, and economic vitality. Reporting to the City Manager, the Director serves as a member of the City’s executive management team and ensures that departmental goals, programs, and work plans support the City’s broader mission and priorities. The Director establishes short- and long-range strategic plans, coordinates departmental activities, develops performance measures and key performance indicators, evaluates service delivery, and recommends changes to policies, procedures, priorities, and resource allocation when necessary. The position also requires close coordination with the City Manager and the ability to provide professional recommendations, reports, budget information, and operational updates to the Mayor and City Council. The Director is responsible for effectively managing and developing Public Works personnel. This includes setting expectations, assigning and prioritizing work, developing staff, evaluating performance, addressing personnel issues, and ensuring the department’s functions work together effectively. The successful candidate will be expected to build a strong organizational culture emphasizing accountability, teamwork, responsiveness, safety, professionalism, and exceptional customer service. Financial and resource management are also important components of the position. The Director develops and administers the department’s annual operating and capital expenditure budgets; oversees purchasing and expenditures; reviews budget amendments; procures equipment, vehicles, and supplies; participates in contractor selection and bidding processes; and pursues grant funding for eligible projects. The position requires a leader who can effectively manage both day-to-day service delivery and longer-term infrastructure priorities. The Director will establish benchmarks and performance measures, monitor programs and operations, identify performance gaps, and implement improvements designed to maximize resources and enhance departmental performance. The Director must also ensure that departmental operations comply with applicable City, state, and federal requirements. Collaboration will be critical to success. The Director coordinates extensively with other City departments as well as outside agencies, consultants, contractors, businesses, residents, and community organizations. The position specifically involves interaction with partner agencies such as the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and Clayton County transportation officials, requiring a Director who can develop productive intergovernmental relationships and effectively advocate for the City's infrastructure needs. This external coordination is particularly important given Forest Park's location and economic environment. The Director will also be a highly visible representative of the City. The position interacts with elected officials, boards and authorities, residents, businesses, community organizations, the media, and other governmental agencies. The successful candidate must be comfortable explaining complex infrastructure and operational issues, responding to citizen concerns, making presentations, and providing clear and well-supported professional recommendations. Public Works also has an essential role in the City's emergency response and continuity of operations. The Director must be prepared to lead and coordinate departmental activities during emergencies to protect, repair, and maintain public infrastructure while ensuring appropriate safety practices for employees and the public. The next Director of Public Works will have an opportunity to make a visible and lasting impact on Forest Park. The City is seeking a leader who can balance immediate operational demands with long-range planning; develop and support employees; responsibly manage public resources; strengthen infrastructure; build effective relationships with elected officials, City departments, partner agencies, and the community; and continually identify opportunities to improve the efficiency and quality of services provided to Forest Park residents and businesses. The position requires the successful candidate to meet the following qualifications: · Requires a Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction, Public Administration, Business Administration, or a closely related field. and · Seven (7) years of related experience in a public works setting with progressive responsibility, including administrative, supervisory, and budgetary experience or equivalent combination of education and experience. Preferred Qualifications · Certified Public Works Manager · Professional Engineer License (PE) The hiring range for this position is $140,545.60 - $175,676.80. Application Process For more information on this position, including supplementary documents and resources, visit the recruitment webpage at: https://sumterlocalgovconsulting.com/recruitments/public-works-director-forest-park-ga/ The first round of resume reviews will take place on October 22, 2026. Please refrain from contacting the City of Forest Park’s staff or elected officials. Please contact the Executive Recruiter with any questions or concerns: Billy Grogan Email: billy@sumterconsulting.com Phone: 770-403-8086 Website: www.sumterlocalgovconsulting.com Requirements Job Description Benefits Benefits Guide