What does a public works director do?
Public Works Directors can expect an average salary of $70K per year in a career that will demand strong communication skills, planning, organizational, and problem-solving skills. Also, strong leadership will be a must for implementing and recommending alternative courses of action for administrative problems. This career choice requires a bachelor's degree in public administration, business administration, liberal arts, or law and presents responsibilities such as daily maintenance of a city's infrastructure services, such as sewer, sanitation, or street maintenance, as well as sanitary sewer operations.
Public works director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real public works director resumes:
- Manage key controls, CCTV, safety devices, and training activities.
- Conceptualise, initiate & independently manage innovative after-school & lunch programs, and innovative successful school fundraiser.
- Manage, delegate and perform facility repairs, apartment renovations, preventive maintenance and inventory control utilizing CMMS program for maintenance.
- Provide management oversight of safety and training programs, ensure quality management certification and OSHA standards are maintain.
- Complete all EPA require monthly testing.
- Help with on air promotions and giveaways.
- Work with OSHA to create a safer workplace.
- Coordinate with updating installations maps in the GIS system.
- Work as a DJ producing a popular jazz show.
- Enact safety programs that bring the department up to current OSHA standards.
- Review transmitter logs to ensure DJ compliance to station policies and addressed any discrepancies.
- Utilize GPS and GIS methods used to locate, monitor and track usage of existing underground utilities.
- Recommend physical security including card access systems, CCTV, fire alarms, and intrusion detection systems.
- Process, organize and edit all PSAs, and are then responsible for coordinating when they are to be air.
- Edit monthly newsletter, run master control, prepare amortization reports, edit films and syndicate television series for broadcast.
Public works director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Public Works Directors are proficient in Public Works, Infrastructure, and Building Maintenance. They’re also known for soft skills such as Management skills, Problem-solving skills, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Public Works Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Public Works, 12%
Produced proposals and statement of qualifications with win strategies for new business development for public works departments in Nevada.
- Infrastructure, 10%
Develop and manage an approximately $8.5 million annual budget to fund infrastructure replacement and capital improvement projects.
- Building Maintenance, 8%
Directed approximately 323 employees including 2 divisions consisting of 12 individual departments and subordinate supervisors in building maintenance and custodial services.
- Oversight, 6%
General oversight and management of the City Sewer, Streets and Fire Water control.
- Project Management, 6%
Develop and maintain client relationships with City departments and other outside governmental agencies relative to construction project management services and requests.
- Storm Water, 4%
Provided staff assistance to Storm water and Drainage Review board or any other board/or committee that relates to City PW functions.
"public works," "infrastructure," and "building maintenance" are among the most common skills that public works directors use at work. You can find even more public works director responsibilities below, including:
Problem-solving skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling public works director duties is problem-solving skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "top executives need to identify and resolve issues within an organization." According to a public works director resume, here's how public works directors can utilize problem-solving skills in their job responsibilities: "engaged community groups, coordinated funding and develop engineering solutions to resolve road infrastructure deficiencies for abandoned subdivisions. "
Time-management skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of public works directors is time-management skills. This skill is critical to many everyday public works director duties, as "top executives do many tasks concurrently to ensure that their work gets done and that the organization meets its goals." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "assure preventative maintenance is completed on time and properly. "
Communication skills. For certain public works director responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of a public works director rely on this skill, as "top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what public works directors do: "supervised 40 engineers and technicians supporting three intelligence sites equipped with highly secure computer and communications infrastructure. "
Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in public works director job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what public works directors do. Public works director responsibilities rely on this skill because "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources." You can also see how public works director duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "key attributes of position included leadership, project management skills, and experience with both tax abatement and tif incentives. "
The three companies that hire the most public works directors are:
- City of Reno5 public works directors jobs
- City of Baltimore3 public works directors jobs
- Muckleshoot Casino3 public works directors jobs
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Compare different public works directors
Public works director vs. Owner
Owners, in the most basic sense, own the business, company, or organization. They are responsible for building the business. They create business plans and the general vision and mission of the company, set goals, work on these goals, and ensure that the business keeps running. They manage all aspects of their business, from finances to marketing to people, etc. When the business becomes stable, owners eventually hire more employees. As such, owners also become overseers who would ensure that the organization remains afloat.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between public works directors and owner. For instance, public works director responsibilities require skills such as "public works," "infrastructure," "building maintenance," and "oversight." Whereas a owner is skilled in "customer service," "payroll," "financial statements," and "product development." This is part of what separates the two careers.
On average, owners reach lower levels of education than public works directors. Owners are 8.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Public works director vs. Board member
Board members are fiduciaries of an organization leading it to its sustainable development. They are elected by its board of directors or its supervisory committee. They remain true to the mission and vision of the company whenever there are conflicts. Outstanding board members have good qualities like meeting participation, supportive attitude, anxious feeling to better serve the committee, and passion for any kind of cause. Being a board member improves business, and strategic acumen enhances confidence, and heightens skills in corporate governance.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that public works director responsibilities requires skills like "public works," "infrastructure," "building maintenance," and "oversight." But a board member might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "non-profit organization," "financial statements," "community outreach," and "governance."
Board members earn similar levels of education than public works directors in general. They're 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Public works director vs. Co-founder
A Co-Founder is an essential member of a company as they complement the skills, vision, and mission of the Founder. Most of the time, the tasks of a Co-Founder revolve around the financial planning and developing strategies that would be beneficial for the company's financial gain and workforce. Furthermore, a Co-Founder must coordinate with the Founder and other staff and departments to remain aware of the progress or issues, should there be any, to provide timely resolutions.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, public works directors are more likely to have skills like "public works," "infrastructure," "building maintenance," and "oversight." But a co-founder is more likely to have skills like "financial statements," "business strategy," "business plan," and "non-profit organization."
When it comes to education, co-founders tend to earn similar degree levels compared to public works directors. In fact, they're 1.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Public works director vs. Chief operating officer
A chief operating officer, also known as a COO, is a high-ranking official who oversees a company or organization's daily administrative and overall operations. They are typically the second in the chain of command, reporting directly to the company's chief executive officer, also known as a CEO. Among their duties include developing strategies and guidelines, reviewing reports, performing assessments, and implementing the company's policies, standards, and regulations. Additionally, they lead and empower staff to reach goals, helping solve issues and concerns when any arise.
Types of public works director
Updated January 8, 2025
