Listing Summary

A Special Opportunity

The heart and soul of a dynamic metro area with a population of some 6.3 million, the City of Atlanta is at the center of one of the nation’s most vibrant regions. There are just over 500,000 residents in the City itself, but its services and influence spread well beyond the city’s legal limits.

The City’s Department of Public Works (DPW) is little known by the general public, but its work touches more residents every day than almost any other city department. Among DPW’s core responsibilities:
• Maintaining, protecting and improving the public right of way
• Collecting, recycling and disposing the solid waste created by Atlanta’s residents and visitors
• Maintaining the vehicles used by various city departments, from fire trucks to police cars to riding mowers, a total of some six thousand individual assets.

The effective leadership of the department is central to residents’ sense of a well-run city, and the people of DPW have an outsized impact on the daily functions that most people take for granted— until there is a problem. As one resident put it, “This is government at its most basic, delivering fundamental services without which a community simply cannot function.”

Atlanta’s Department of Public Works has had numerous leaders in recent years. Some former commissioners have been tapped to lead other, larger City of Atlanta departments, and some have been recruited away by other government entities.

As Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens concludes the third year of what most observers expect to be the first of two terms as Mayor, he has redoubled efforts around an agenda to “Move Atlanta Forward.” This agenda is built on four pillars:
• One Safe City
• A City of Opportunity for All
• A City Built for the Future
• Effective and Ethical Government.

DPW may be one of the city’s smaller departments, but it has a direct impact—even an outsized one— on the overall city’s trajectory. Accordingly, we seek a public-spirited leader who understands that strategy and tactics depend on each other, and that nothing matters more than a workforce motivated by the opportunity to contribute every day to the livability of a city they all call home.

There is much work to be done. Atlanta’s Department of Public Works has experienced underinvestment in its own operations for quite some time. Employee turnover is high, especially among the most labor-intensive roles, and too much city equipment is outdated, as other funding priorities have taken precedence.

There’s good news, too: There is a stable, experienced and enthusiastic group of middle managers that takes genuine pride in the department’s contributions; as one supervisor put it, “We keep Atlanta rolling—and clean!” Recent upgrades in technology have strengthened the role of data in such areas as route management, preventive maintenance and customer service. And a larger-than-expected turnout for the department’s recent career fair showed encouraging interest in the department’s training programs (“As a second-chance employer, we change people’s lives”), resulting in a healthy number of new hires.

The Mandate

Atlanta’s Commissioner of Public Works will be an experienced, adaptive and broad-gauged leader with a passion for excellence in civic services. Reporting to Atlanta’s Chief Operating Officer, the Commissioner will be an adaptable leader, combining strategic perspective with tactical competence to ensure a shared vision throughout the department of major goals, priorities and the metrics to support them.

The Commissioner will bring stability and focus to a department often taken for granted, reinforcing collaborative relationships within the department and with its many stakeholders and customers.

The Commissioner must be an effective advocate for departmental employees, leveraging its reputation as a second-chance employer to promote a people-first environment. That does not mean the Commissioner should be a soft touch; to the contrary, a transparent management style that expects and rewards mutual accountability would be fully consistent with the management culture being sought throughout Mayor Dickens’ administration.

In June and July of 2026, Atlanta will host eight FIFA World Cup matches, including one of the semifinal matches. Although large events are relatively commonplace in Atlanta, one of the country’s most active convention centers, the reputational impact of World Cup matches will be exceptional. They also provide a handy marker for the level of service global visitors expect—and Atlanta residents deserve.

Key Responsibilities

 The Commissioner of Public Works has a multifaceted role, with many overlapping responsibilities. Here are just a few of the priorities the next Commissioner can expect:

Executive Leadership

• Lead and oversee the Department of Public Works, ensuring the department’s people, processes, outcomes, and impact are sources of pride within city government and across the larger community. 
• Provide strategic direction and tactical support to division directors in support of policies and priorities subject to Mayoral and/or City Council approval.
• Leverage data and analytics to monitor progress, assess performance and inform decision-making processes; ensure that relevant data are being collected, analyzed and utilized to best effect in monitoring and supporting desired outcomes. 
• Lead the department with respect and transparency, reinforcing a service-oriented atmosphere at all levels of the organization and promoting connectivity between and among the deputy commissioners and the three divisions.
• Ensure the department’s communications are timely, responsive and relevant, anticipating the needs of stakeholders and customers, not merely responding to them. 
• Be vigilant about the department’s long-term priorities, minimizing the risk of their getting lost among the ever-present immediate needs intrinsic to DPW’s work—in effect, promoting preventive maintenance for the department, not just for the vehicles in its care.

Financial Planning & Oversight

• Oversee the development and management of the department’s operating and capital budgets, enforcing fiscal responsibility and efficient allocation of resources.
• Represent the Department before the City Council, the City Utilities Committee and other oversight bodies as appropriate.

Human Resources

• Lead, support and mentor departmental staff, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement. 
• Ensure the department’s workforce is well-trained, well-led and equipped to meet the challenges of a modern public works department. 
• Be a visible, respectful leader, quick to affirm team and individual contributions in what is often a gritty operating environment. 
• Oversee the recruitment, hiring and onboarding processes to ensure the department attracts and retains the talent its plans require.

The Candidate

The next Commissioner of Public Works will be an operationally oriented leader who combines vision and strategy with an inviting management style. We are open to prospects from a variety of backgrounds, but the most compelling contenders will likely be those who combine a record of meaningful civic leadership with the business and operating acumen to lead a $100-million department.

Among the attributes, experience and characteristics being sought:

• An engaging and inspiring leader committed to collaboration, ethics, equity and inclusion. A superior communicator, the Commissioner will establish and nurture relationships within the department and with the department’s customers, stakeholders and communities being served. 
• A leader with an innovative lens, who can evolve the department’s operations and technology to meet emerging needs. 
• A systems manager with the proven ability to coordinate logistics to ensure operational effectiveness and increase the department’s efficiency. 
• A transparent leader who communicates with clarity, respect and a learning mindset. 
• An authentic, empowering leader who inspires by example, welcoming both people and ideas. 
• Superior listening, communication and relationship building skills. 
• A proactive, forward-thinking manager who leads with both confidence and humility. 
• A consensus builder with the courage to make tough decisions.
• A record of leading a diverse team, largely made up of blue-collar workers; demonstrated respect for front-line workers, without whom all other plans are meaningless.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities combined with a knack for interpreting complex data in making informed decisions. 
• The ability to communicate authentically with people at all levels of the hierarchy, from the mayor to the maintenance shed. 
• A self-aware executive with a curious mind; a courageous, empathetic leader who is not averse to taking smart risks.

For potential consideration or to suggest a prospect, please email relevant materials to ATLDPW@BoardWalkConsulting.com or call Diane Westmore, Sam Pettway, or Cynthia Moreland at 404-BoardWalk (404-262-7392). For the current status of this and other searches, please visit www.BoardWalkConsulting.com.

Read the full Leadership Profile here: https://bit.ly/COA-DPW