GovHr USA is pleased to announce the

recruitment and selection process for City

Engineer for the City of Rockford, Illinois.

This brochure provides background information

on the City of Rockford, the Department of

Engineering, as well as the requirements and

expected qualifications for the position.

Candidates interested in applying for the

position should submit their résumé and cover

letter, along with contact information for three

professional references by November 30,

2017 to GovHRUSA.com/current-positions/

recruitments.

GovHRUSA, LLC 630 Dundee Road, Suite 130 Northbrook, Illinois 60062 847-380-3243 Formal Applications should be submitted to: www.govhrusa.com/current-positions/recruitment

Heidi Voorhees, President

Executive Recruitment for

ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS CITY ENGINEER

Rockford, Illinois

PROFESSIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Rockford, IL (150,000) The city of Rockford is seeking an

experienced, progressive, professional engineer to serve as its next City Engineer. The third largest city in the

state, Rockford is located in north central Illinois, 60 miles

northwest of Chicago near the Illinois/Wisconsin state line.

Rockford operates under

a Mayor/Alderman form

of government with a full-

time City Administrator.

The City Engineer reports to the Director of Public

Works and directs a

division of 26 employees

which includes four

professional engineers,

project managers, an

Engineering Operations

Manager and other

technical staff. Please note the following about

this opportunity:

• The City Engineer is responsible for all capital

construction with oversight over infrastructure projects

including streets and highways, bridges, storm sewer and water utility improvements. This includes

collaboration with relevant federal, state and local

agencies and knowledge of funding mechanisms for

these capital projects.

• The City Engineer is a key member of the City’s

development team, working closely with the Director and other senior staff members on development

proposals as they impact the City’s current and future

infrastructure. The City has a number of exciting

economic development projects planned and

underway.

• As the lead professional engineer for the City of

Rockford, the City Engineer will make presentations

before the City Council and at various neighborhood

and other public meetings as needed.

Candidates must have a bachelor's degree in civil

engineering and also possess a professional engineer’s

license with the State of IL, or if licensed in another state,

have the ability to acquire a State of IL license within one

(1) year of hire. Candidates must have 8 years increasingly responsible civil engineering experience, preferably at the

local government level, of which 3 years in a supervisory/

managerial capacity. Any satisfactory equivalent

combination of experience and training may be substituted

for the required experience. The successful candidate will

be a highly collaborative, experienced executive with a

proven track record in CIP budgeting, administration and

creative problem-solving. Candidates must possess the

ability to work closely with elected and appointed officials

as well as with other department heads on any issues

impacting the City’s infrastructure. The starting salary range is $92,000 - $112,000 DOQ. Residency within

Winnebago County or within 15 miles of the Rockford

Public Safety building within

one year is required. Apply

by November 30 to Heidi

Voorhees, President, GovHRUSA

at www.govhrusa.com/

current-positions/recruitment Electronic submission required.

Tel: 847-380-3243. Additional

information available at

GovHRUSA.com.

COMMUNITY

BACKGROUND

Rockford was settled

between 1834 and 1835

midway between Chicago and Galena (a mining

boomtown at the time). The New Englanders who came to

this region settled on both banks of a shallow, rocky stretch of the Rock River where there was a natural ford.

Early settlers called it “Forest City” because of the river

valley’s verdant woods.

Rockford is now the third largest City in Illinois. It’s

strategic location, just 60 miles northwest of Chicago and

adjacent to the Wisconsin border, make it a hub for

business, recreation and cultural activities. Notable in

earlier years for its heavy machinery and tool manufacturing, Rockford at one time was the second

leading center of furniture manufacturing in the nation. In

recent years, Rockford has significantly diversified its

economy with the aerospace industry gaining dominance.

Woodward and UTC Aerospace Systems both are located

in the region with Woodward investing $200 million into a

manufacturing campus in nearby Loves Park, a suburb of

Rockford. The healthcare industry is also strong in Rockford, with several hospitals located in the community

including OSF St. Anthony Medical Center and

SwedishAmerican Hospital which recently partnered with

Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center in opening a $39

million Regional Cancer Center.

Cultural and recreational opportunities abound in Rockford

which is known as the City of Gardens. With 10,000+

acres of parks and forest preserves, there’s plenty of outdoor fun in and around Rockford. Anderson Japanese

City Engineer

Gardens is considered one of the top two Japanese

gardens in the Western World; the other one's in Portland,

Oregon. Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens at Sinnissippi

Gardens, a linear park on the Rock River, brings the

tropics to the Midwest. Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden has many rare and unusual trees and shrubs.

You can bike, hike, roller-blade, swim, boat, sail, picnic,

camp, fish, bird-watch, ride horses, play miniature golf.

The Rockford Area has 25 miles of interconnecting trails

and a dozen golf courses. Enjoy the 35-acre Magic

Waters Waterpark and the two huge Mercyhealth

Sportscore One and Two. Rockford is also home to a

world-class water ski team, the Ski Broncs who provide free weekly shows during the summer. Other options are a

river excursion boat and/or car and motorcycle races at

Rockford Speedway and Blackhawk Farms Raceway.

Today, Rockford is a vital, multicultural community of

people with roots in Africa, Asia, Europe and the

Americas. Rockford’s landmarks, restaurants and shops

reflect the city’s rich ethnic heritage.

ROCKFORD AT A GLANCE

Population: 150,000

County: Winnebago

Square Miles: 65

Median Household Income: $40,720

Median Home Value: $87,200

Public Library: 500,000 books plus thousands of ebooks and other educational/informational materials Racial make-up: White: 55%; Hispanic: 19%; and Black 19%

THE MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION

The City of Rockford is governed by a Mayor/Aldermen form of government. The City Council consists of 14 city

council members elected by ward for four-year terms. The

Mayor appoints a City Administrator who works closely

with the Mayor, Council and senior staff to carry out the

policies adopted by the elected officials. The City of

Rockford provides comprehensive municipal services

which include: full-time police and fire protection including

emergency medical and ambulance services, public works, community and economic development; human

services, finance, legal and information technology.

THE PUBLIC WORKS

DEPARTMENT

The Public Works Department has been and continues to

be integral to the ongoing success of the City of Rockford.

The department has three divisions including Engineering,

Street and Water. The department has 140 full-time em-

ployees.

The following are some key infrastructure facts:

Arterial and Collector Streets: 229 miles

Local Roads and Streets: 538 miles

Alleys: 1,121

Bridges and Box Culverts: 130

Street Signs: 31,727

Multi-use paths: 87 miles

Traffic Signals: 123

Sidewalks: 793 miles

The Engineering Division

The Engineering division is a highly professional team

comprised of 26 employees including 4 other professional

engineers including a P.E. focused on water, one focused on traffic and one serving as the CIP Manager. There are

also project managers and engineering technicians as well

as an Engineering Operations Manager who oversees

permitting, development issues and special events.

Together the team coordinates infrastructure maintenance

and construction including the development,

implementation and ongoing oversight of the City’s Capital

Improvement Program.

Rockford, Illinois

The City has a well developed Capital Improvement Plan

that encourages pedestrian/bicycle ways, the relocation of

overhead utility lines and other investment in City corridors

that improves the overall quality of life in the City. The CIP

is funded by MFT funds (approximately $5 million annually) state/federal grants and other general fund

revenue sources.

The City Engineer

The City Engineer is expected to be a highly collaborative

leader with a strong background in infrastructure

maintenance, capital planning and construction. The City Engineer is a key member of the senior management

team participating in discussions regarding current and

future economic development issues and all matters

pertaining to the City’s infrastructure. The City Engineer

reports to the Director of Public Works and interacts with

the Director, the City Administrator, and the Mayor and

City Council on issues involving the City’s infrastructure.

The City’s next City Engineer can expect to be involved in some exciting, transformational projects for the City of

Rockford – the following are just a few:

Barber-Colman Village Redevelopment Agreement:

This is a City partnership with Rock Valley College and

Winnebago County to construct a machine tool training

facility on a 22 acres site.

West State Street Phase II: This is in the property acquisition phase and is a City/Illinois Department of

Transportation (IDOT) project scheduled for 2019-2020

construction. The total project cost is approximately $10.3

million and is an IDOT led project.

North Main Street: This $33 million project will be led by

IDOT and involves a four lane complete reconstruction of

the Auburn Street to Riverside Blvd. corridor of North Main

Street into a modern State highway.

Mercyhealth Hospital: Mercyhealth is planning the

construction of a $505 million hospital off Riverside Blvd.

The City is working closely to shepherd $10 million in

IDOT funds for road construction related to the hospital

development.

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATION

CRITERIA Candidates must be experienced executives with a civil

engineering degree, a P.E. designation and a strong

background in the planning, construction and maintenance

of municipal infrastructure. Experience in municipal

engineering/public works or a field closely related to

municipal public works is very important. The ideal

candidate will be a creative, team-oriented professional

who can effectively work in partnership with the Director of

Public Works, City Administrator, Mayor and elected officials on key issues facing the City of Rockford.

The following factors of education, experience, and

leadership and management skills have been identified as

ideal attributes for the City Engineer to possess in order to

function effectively in the position.

Education and Experience

Successful candidates:

• Must have a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and

a professional engineering license either in Illinois or

with the ability to obtain an Illinois license. Ideally,

candidates will have 8 years increasingly responsible experience in civil engineering leadership positions

ideally at the local government level. Any satisfactory

equivalent combination of experience and training

which provides the knowledge, skills and abilities

required by the position may be substituted for the

required experience.

• Must be highly collaborative with the ability to form

effective partnerships with other city departments,

other units of government and state, federal and

regional agencies critical to the success of Rockford’s

initiatives.

• Must be able to lead the highly professional

Engineering Division, working effectively with the

department’s staff; be able to serve as a professional

resource and team leader for the division ensuring the

deadlines and City goals are met.

City Engineer

• Must have state of the art professional knowledge of

infrastructure construction, maintenance and planning practices with the ability to translate this knowledge

into layperson’s terms.

• Must be strong decision makers with the ability to take

in professional information, synthesize it, evaluate it

and make a decision that reflects sound professional

judgment.

• Must be comfortable making presentations to the City

Council, neighborhood groups and other stakeholders,

conveying technical information in an understandable

manner and being open to suggestions regarding pos-

sible changes to plans.

• Must have demonstrated experience in infrastructure

issues, understanding the multiple layers of funding

for capital projects and the ability to effectively utilize

the City’s funding sources.

• Must have well developed administrative skills with

experience in budgeting, human resources manage-

ment, and capital planning. An appreciation for and

understanding of information technology and how it

can improve division and City initiatives is important.

• Must have a strong commitment to excellence in

customer service with a desire to always pursue improvements in this area.

Management Style and Personal

Traits

Successful candidates should:

• Possess complete integrity and exemplify professional

and personal characteristics of impeccable behavior

which meet the highest ethical standards.

• Be an excellent communicator and a good listener; be

someone who honestly and openly seeks and enjoys

the input of others whether they are citizens, staff, or

elected officials.

• Be effective in public presentations to the media,

community organizations, citizen groups and other

gatherings with the ability to convey a message in a

genuine, transparent manner.

• Be approachable, patient, and accessible to the

elected officials, employees and public; be sincerely

empathetic with the ability to understand citizens’

perspectives.

• Possess strong leadership skills, understanding when

it is critical to exercise leadership and when to be

flexible and adaptable to new ideas.

• Be a strong administrator who is self-confident and

has the courage of her or his convictions to present

carefully thought-out policy-related alternatives and recommendations.

• Be comfortable delegating broadly and providing wide

latitude to professional staff where appropriate, while

being personally knowledgeable of the status of

department activities and projects and holding staff accountable for results; be able to challenge staff to

be creative and innovative in addressing public works

issues.

• Believe in and practice participatory team

management; be a consensus builder; have faith in department supervisors and encourage and foster a

collaborative decision-making environment.

• Be a proactive manager, anticipating trends, providing

the City with information, analyses, alternatives and

insights on municipal operations and community issues.

• Be a welcoming, consensus-building leader who

genuinely enjoys working collaboratively with all

members of the community.