Assistant County Administrator Recruitments

For Immediate Release: Monday, July 19, 2021

Recruitment begins for four assistant county administrators

Through an initiative called “Design the Future,” Washington County is beginning a process of recruiting for four new assistant county administrators to serve within a restructured County Administrative Office.

The recruitments are part of a new configuration of appointed leaders within the organization’s top office as well as a reorganization of functions currently within the Support Services Department.

County Administrative Office officials say they are implementing these changes to build a more equitable, responsive and strategically collaborative organization. The Design the Future process would then set the stage internally to better support the Board of County Commissioners as they lead a new community strategic planning process over the next two years.

“Our Washington County community strategic plan was adopted about 35 years ago. Times have changed, the community we serve has changed. Design the Future is our initiative to evolve, provide better service and help inform a new Washington County community strategic plan for our 21st century,” said Board of County Commissioners Chair Kathryn Harrington.

“Washington County faces multifaceted challenges and opportunities that range across several of our systems of service, but through it all there is a common thread: the need for a well-trained, well-resourced, diverse and inclusive workforce that can function across disciplines and organizational structures,” said County Administrator Tanya Ange.

“Design the Future is about making a more human-centered organization that integrates equity into decision-making and supports the health, effectiveness, creativity and talent of our employees in our role as public servants. The intended outcome is a strengthened organization that better faces the challenges of growth and evolving community need,” added Ange.

The four assistant county administrator positions would each be responsible for leading a designated portfolio of services, including:

• County Administrative Office Operations, Government Relations, Sustainability, Information Technology, Facilities and Park Services and liaison to the offices of County Counsel and Auditor.
• Health and Human Services, Housing Services, Community Development and Assessment and Taxation.
• Land Use and Transportation, Economic Development, Cooperative Library, Westside Commons (formerly the Fair Complex) and Watermaster.
• Community Corrections, Juvenile Services, Law Library and liaison to the offices of the Sheriff, District Attorney and Courts.

Washington County has contracted with The Novak Consulting Group to conduct the recruitment process. Novak intends to keep the recruitment open until each position is filled with the first review of applications beginning on September 7, 2021.

Washington County is a home-rule municipality operating under the council-manager form of government. The five non-partisan elected commissioners appoint a county administrator to serve as the chief executive of the organization. The chair of the board of commissioners is elected at-large while the four other commissioners are elected from districts. All commissioners are elected to serve four-year terms.

County services are made possible through a workforce of approximately 2,300 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. The county’s all-funds budget for fiscal year 2021-2021 is $1.4 billion, of which $333.9 million is in the general fund.

The county works cooperatively with more than a dozen cities and school districts that are wholly or partially within the county’s boundaries, five fire districts, plus Clean Water Services and other service districts to serve the county’s shared residential, business and institutional constituents.

Washington County’s 620,080 population, the second largest county in Oregon, is among the state’s most diverse, including the state’s largest county population of Latino/Latina/Latinx community members and the highest percentage of Asians and Pacific Islanders. The county is home to a thriving high-technology industry, sometimes referred to as the Silicon Forest, as well as world leaders in sports and recreational apparel and a long-established agricultural sector.

Media Contact: