Water Meter Operations Engineer

JOB SUMMARY

The mandate of the Revenue Service is to ensure that all revenue functions at the City of Ottawa are undertaken with a strategic corporate outlook, reflect industry best practices, and comply with statutory regulations to meet the expectations of Council and provide equitable services to the citizens of Ottawa.

You are responsible for serving as the engineering expert and approver on fireline meters and water meters used for recording water consumption across the city, and providing related review, advice and recommendations to management and staff in the unit, branch, Finance Services and other departments. 

You are also responsible for developing or optimizing relevant water meter programs, administering the sewer service rate exemption program,  planning and managing assigned projects and contracts and forecasting water consumption reports.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Completion of 4 year university degree in Civil Engineering or other relevant engineering discipline.

Minimum of 5 years of experience after P.Eng. licensure in a public works or utility environment with progressive practical experience in operations and maintenance, technical support, or water meter and system design.

CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENCES

KNOWLEDGE

• Engineering concepts, principles, theories and models 
• Complex infrastructure systems (such as watermains, sewers, watermain structures, chambers, pump stations and watermain network) and asset management principles, as applicable to the specific position responsibilities 
• Engineering planning, design, construction/rehabilitation pertaining to the work, and related national, provincial and municipal engineering standards, including legislation, regulations, codes and By-laws
• In-depth knowledge of the City's infrastructure, including design, operations and performance
• In-depth knowledge of the City’s rate supported budget and revenue model, including water, wastewater, and stormwater rate structures, and long range financial plan
• Principles of project management to plan, organize and control project budgets
• Principles for evaluation of deficiencies in infrastructure system components
• Legal issues pertaining to infrastructure system components, specifically related to the preparation of supporting documentation for proceedings regarding litigation, contract disputes and cost sharing
• Working knowledge of Infrastructure Management Systems, digital inventories and schematic mapping with an ability to determine data requirements, feasibility and architecture to manage the inventory
• Federal, provincial and municipal legislation, including standards, regulations and guidelines pertaining to water supply and billing, water quality and potable water (By-laws, Safe Drinking Water Act)
• Water Meter technology, installation, maintenance and testing best practices (AWWA manual of water supply practices)
• Techniques used in planning, conducting and managing engineering and other studies/projects
• Techniques used in performance measurement, cost-benefit analysis, forecasting, risk assessment/management, evaluation, and quantitative, qualitative and statistical analysis
• Technological systems, solutions and tools that benefit water meter operations (e.g. GPS, GIS, maintenance management systems, mobile work units, etc.)  
• City, departmental, Branch and Unit policies, procedures, processes, guidelines, etc.
• Preventive and corrective maintenance activities and procedures
• Knowledge of Maintenance Management
• Knowledge of applicable health and safety legislation, including the rights and duties of workers
• Strong knowledge of computer modeling tools including data requirements, results interpretation, model sensitivities, predictive modeling techniques and calibration techniques
   

COMPETENCIES, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Strong communication skills (written and oral) to deal effectively with the public, elected officials, management, staff and external contacts
• Analyze and resolve highly technical and abstract problems and provide opinion in situations where time for detailed review/analysis is not available; make decisions independently
• Ability to provide preliminary design of specific projects, including the integration of existinginfrastructure and future needs
• Organization, co-ordination, prioritization and time management skills
• Work with plans, drawings and documents of many forms and scales
• Ability to read engineering drawings from existing records or for proposed works relating to a civil engineering environment
• Able to lead, and participate in, multi-disciplinary teams
• Able to perform data queries and statistical analysis, formulate recommendations, and create and maintain reports
• Able to evaluate and recommend new material and equipment
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with contractors, suppliers and consultants for investigation and inspection work and familiarity with methods of payment procedures and quality assurance
• Demonstrated ability to guide technical staff and organize student programs for data collection purposes, including delegating activities and monitoring assignments and providing leadership
• Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills and the ability to make formal presentations
• Demonstrated ability to write advanced technical reports and utilize computers and software associated with specification preparation and tracking
• Ability to deal effectively with multiple demands and conflicting priorities
• Ability to incorporate and apply new technologies for current use and to identify future opportunities for their application
• Ability to provide guidance to Engineering Consultants
• Excellent organizational skills with attention to detail
• Ability to handle contentious issues and situations
• Work effectively in an operations’ environment with changing priorities and heavy workloads
• Work independently and as a leader or member of a team
• Demonstrate initiative, tact, discretion and sound judgement