Supervisor, Distribution and Collections

Job Description

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The Opportunity

Halifax Water is inviting applicants for one (1) Regular Full-time Supervisor, Distribution & Collections in the Wastewater and Stormwater Services Department. Halifax Water believes a diverse workforce positively contributes to its success, and the success of our community. We encourage applications from qualified African Nova Scotians, LGBTQ+ community, racially visible persons, women in non-traditional positions, persons with disabilities and Indigenous persons. Halifax Water encourages applicants to self-identify in the cover letter.

The Supervisor, Distribution and Collections, provides leadership and supervision to work crews and oversees the development, implementation, scheduling and control of all municipal water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure.

This is a non-unionized job. The job description and benefits to working at Halifax Water can be viewed on the Halifax Water website.

Interested applicants are asked to submit completed cover letters and resumes, stating Competition #HW26-04, by 4:30pm on January 24, 2026.

As part of the selection process, applicants meeting minimum qualifications for the position may be required to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and abilities for the position through a set of practical applications.

What you'll do

Responsibilities

Process / Technical:

• Responsible for assignment of work to crews and supervision of work including planning, scheduling, organizing, implementing operational programs, including repair, inspections and maintenance of the linear systems providing uninterrupted service. This includes creating, completing, and closing of work orders in the Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS).
• Responsible for ensuring that all water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure is operated for their intended use in accordance with all relevant guidelines, approvals, and regulations.
• Full understanding and navigation of the SCADA system and any non-SCADA related systems in order to determine issues and recommend upgrades (as required) for all relevant system infrastructure.
• Facilitates effective work planning processes, actions-results based plans, maximizes available resources, and uses innovation to access new resources, monitors results and adjusts accordingly.
• Identifies and evaluates risks related to the infrastructure consistent with the Halifax Water Enterprise Risk Management System.
• Ensures ongoing compliance with Halifax Water's Environmental Management System (EMS), to maintain ISO 14001 certification, by maintaining knowledge of Halifax Water's environmental policy and scope. Safeguards compliance with the policy from staff, visitors, consultants, and contractors. Oversees compliance with ISO 14001 certification by identifying significant environmental aspects, development and maintenance of operational controls, such as SOPs and forms, as well as proper QA/QC for any instrumentation or equipment. Responsible for timely and accurate reporting of environmental incidents or non-conformities, as well as defining and implementing corrective actions.
• Administer and assist with capital programs and asset management plans. Participates and provides recommendation in the asset management planning process.
• Responsible for the construction and commissioning of capital projects in collaboration with the Engineering and Technical Services.
• Work with water or wastewater treatment staff to deal with emergencies, collaborate on capital or other operational projects.
• Make recommendations to the Manager regarding improvements to the assets they are responsible for. Provide forecasts of repairs and maintenance projections for the inclusion in the business plans for Operations and supports the goals of Halifax Water Business Strategies.
• Subject matter expert for all other group/departments within the organization when key operational information is required for determination of expenditures for both capital, and operational needs.
• Work with engineering, and consultants during capital project completion, providing technical input at the design stage and leadership during implementation.
• Assists in preparation of contract specifications, Request for Proposals, and tender documents for repairs or replacement of equipment, materials, and contractor supplied services.
• Maintain current knowledge of trends/developments through networking with government agencies, regulatory bodies, professionals in the field and other sources.
• Responsible for dealing directly with customers during difficult conditions such as weather events and infrastructure failures. Ensures performance standards are met and service is delivered in the most efficient and effective way including analyzing alternative service delivery methods and making suggestions reference policy development.
• Investigates and prioritizes responses to work requests from the public and other Departments. Manages on-site contractors carrying out work on Halifax Water assets.
• Receives and resolves complaints from customers and members of the public.

Supervisory:

• Accountable for Human Resources management issues and participates in new hire interviews, performance management, disciplinary action, and ensures adequacy with resources to meet service levels. Consistently recognizes and rewards the contributions of staff.
• Recommends and coordinates training and professional development for employees and ensures staff are knowledgeable in Halifax Water policies and procedures (Occupational Health & Safety, etc.). Ensure staff are adequately trained and safety certificates are valid according to the Safety Training matrix.
• Effectively administers and has thorough knowledge of collective agreements. Apply collective agreement fairly across work groups.
• Conducts and reviews performance and develops employees.
• Responds to all emergency situations and weather events. Possesses knowledge of the Incident Command System (ICS). ICS training will be required to the level stated in the Halifax Water training matrix.
• Identifies and participates in the creation of hazard specific guides in accordance with Halifax Water's Comprehensive Emergency Management Program (CEMP).
• Provides leadership in the development and maintenance of a positive working environment and acceptable staff morale. Conducts regular staff meetings and ensures good communications.
• Manages and guides employees by monitoring requests for leave, attendance, and by coordinating and assigning workloads. Approves Overtime.
• Mandatory participation in scheduled duty week functions.

Financial:

• Responsible for purchasing all goods and services required for their respective systems and for ensuring all purchases are made in accordance with the Halifax Water procurement policy.
• Assists in the preparation and justification of related operational and capital budget expenditures. Provides forecasting and monitors budgets.

Reports:

• Effective preparation of various detailed technical, operational, and financial reports, for Senior management, and/or Federal/Provincial departments.
• Responsible for the compilation and organization of field data collected by staff.

Safety:

• You will be responsible for your personal safety and that of your direct reports and co-workers by observing all Occupational Health and Safety Rules and Regulations and Halifax Water's Occupational Health and Safety Program Manual. This includes participating in the JOHSC and workplace incident/accident investigations.
• Ensures all safety related equipment is available and maintained in compliance with applicable regulations and manufacturer's recommendations.
• Participates or leads site safety audits and inspections.
• Ensure all staff safety training is current and scheduled accordingly.
• Ensure completion of all relevant safety forms and paperwork.
• Thorough knowledge of safe work practices and SOPs, review, make recommendations, and update as required.

Other:

• Liaises with Fleet Services and Regional Manager on the specification and maintenance of equipment.
• Must have effective oral and written communication skills.
• Oversees and directs contractors at their respective facilities and on-site.
• Conducts site and facility tours for educational and interest groups.
• Ensure accurate records management in accordance with regulatory and business process obligations. Corporate document management system.
• Periodically act on behalf of manager(s).
• May perform other duties as assigned.

What you'll need

Qualifications

Education:

• Minimum two year post-secondary education in Construction Technology, Engineering, or related field.
• A combination of industry recognized wastewater/water collection and distribution, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, or instrumentation training and experience may be considered.

Experience:

• A minimum of seven (7) years broad based knowledge and experience in municipal water, wastewater, and stormwater system operations and maintenance with demonstrated supervisory experience.

Certificates / Licenses / Registrations:

• Must have Level II Water or Wastewater Collection/Distribution Certification
• A valid NS driver's license with recent drivers' abstract is required.
• Must be willing to undertake and maintain the safety training in accordance with HW (Halifax Water) requirements

Other Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Possess a comprehensive knowledge of water utility practices, system operations, stock materials, construction and repair practices, municipal service delivery and excavation experience.
• Strong public relations and communication (written and verbal) skills including the ability to represent the utility in a professional manner.
• Thorough knowledge of Occupational Health and Safety procedures, regulations, current certification in WHMIS, Temporary Workplace Traffic Control and Signage Entry to Confined Spaces, Trench Safety, Accident/Incident Investigation, Hazard Identification, gas meters and related safety procedures
• Desire to learn and ability to fully utilize emerging Computer systems such as GIS, Cityworks, Microsoft products, SCADA, and other related applications
• Ability to coordinate multiple initiatives and activities in a rapidly changing environment.
• Experience in dealing with a unionized environment is considered an asset.
• Must be able to accurately interpret contracts, legislation, and technical standards. Must be able to keep accurate and well-documented records.
• Must be able to analyze emergency and alarm conditions quickly and take immediate appropriate action to reduce environmental threats.
• Demonstrated capability to maintain accurate records, respond to emergencies, service calls and other related duties in a competent and efficient manner.

Working Conditions:

• This position exposes the Supervisors to varying degrees of physical, emotional, and mental demands.
• Unscheduled overtime is required, and it is mandatory to participate in supervisor on-call duty rotation.
• A mixture of office and field site conditions
• Considerable contact with the public, and internal and external clients.
• Unionized work environment as well as working with partnerships, contractors, etc.
• Since much of the work is weather dependent, supervisors must maintain a high degree of flexibility in their work schedule.
• They have a wide range of experience and knowledge on all aspects of the Utility Operation, together with the versatility to fill in for supervisors in fields outside of their own.

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A little bit about us

Halifax Water

As Atlantic Canada's Largest Water Utility, our purpose is to supply and safeguard sustainable, high-quality water services.

Everything we do at Halifax Water is tied to our purpose. With employees who are dedicated to supplying high-quality services for water, wastewater, and stormwater, through a 'One Team One Water' attitude, we can meet the challenges of a growing population, aging infrastructure, and increasing regulatory compliance.

Halifax Water employees strive to be stewards of our environment and are fueled by a passion to serve our communities. Employee commitment and dedication of service mean a great deal to our customers, stakeholders, and to Halifax Water.

As an employee, Halifax Water is proud to offer you:

• Pension & Benefits: We invest in our employees. As a member of our team, you will have access to a competitive benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plans, long-term disability, paid holidays, vacation, sick leave, fitness incentives and much more. Learn more about the benefits of working at Halifax Water on our website;
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: We continually foster a more diverse workforce representative of our communities at all job levels. We know that a diverse workforce positively contributes to our success and the success of our community.
• Career & Professional Development: We encourage job development opportunities for all employees, including on-the-job training, tuition assistance, eLearning courses, classroom-based training, and more.

We are committed to providing a safe and hazard-free work environment. Our employees' health and well-being are a top priority, and we promote a safety-first culture to provide daily healthy, safe, sustainable, and reliable services. We take this responsibility seriously and feel immense pride in reaching beyond industry service standards.

As a public service utility operating critical infrastructure on behalf of our customers, our employees are trained in Emergency Measures Operations (EMO) and Incident Command System (ICS). This type of training allows Halifax Water to respond to all emergencies, from simple water main breaks to keeping customer water flowing (water, wastewater, and stormwater) through Hurricanes and other major natural events.

To learn more about What We Do, visit Halifax Water .