Chief Operating Officer

About the Job

THE ORGANIZATION:

The San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority was established in January of 1992 and consists of 27 member agencies providing water service to approximately 1,200,000 acres of irrigated agriculture, 2 million people, and 130,000 acres of wetlands within the western San Joaquin Valley, San Benito and Santa Clara counties.

One of the primary purposes of establishing the Authority was to assume the operation and maintenance (O&M) responsibilities of certain United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) Central Valley Project facilities at an optimum level.

FACILITIES & OPERATIONS:

Authority facilities include the C.W. "Bill" Jones Pumping Plant, Delta-Mendota Canal, O'Neill Pumping/Generation Plant, San Luis Drain, Delta Cross Channel, Tracy Fish Collection Facility, and the Delta-Mendota Canal-California Aqueduct Intertie.

THE ROLE:

A senior executive role at the intersection of infrastructure, public service, organizational leadership, and California water.

The COO is an executive leader responsible for operational performance, organizational alignment, and effective execution of Capital Projects across the Authority.

The COO reports directly to the Executive Director and directs Operations & Maintenance, Engineering, Procurement, Capital Improvement Projects, Control Operations and Safety.

The COO is responsible and accountable for the planning, management, performance, and improvement of the Authority's O&M and Capital Improvement Project functions. As a key member of the executive leadership team, the COO represents the Executive Director in interactions with employees, the public, member agencies, and other organizations.

The COO will work in Tracy with a regular presence in Los Banos for Committee and Board Meetings and time at other Authority locations as needed.

LEADERSHIP PRIORITIES:

• Provide executive direction for administration of the O&M Transfer Agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for Transferred Works facilities.
• Lead development, preparation, and administration of the annual budget, including fiscal analysis and review of budget proposals and requests.

• Provide direction and leadership for O&M staff and ensure the Authority's safety practices and programs are coordinated, implemented, and maintained.

• Coordinate activities across departments to promote a high level of organizational and program efficiency.

• Work closely with the Executive Director on strategic planning, implementation plans, priorities, and Authority policy development.

• Represent the Executive Director before federal, state, and local agencies and other organizations.

• Support Board of Directors meetings, information flow, and coordination among member agencies.

• Oversee Capital Improvement Projects, special studies and evaluations of Authority programs and services and communicate established Board policies effectively.

The Ideal Candidate:

SLDMWA seeks an accomplished leader who combines sound judgment, operational discipline, strong communication, and the ability to build trusted relationships.

The ideal candidate will have a demonstrated ability to identify creative, practical solutions to complex problems and the determination to see them through. The ability to approach difficult challenges with confidence, remove obstacles to progress, and ensure the Water Authority successfully fulfills its responsibility to deliver safe, clean, and reliable water to its members.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

Any combination of education and experience that provides the necessary knowledge and abilities may be qualifying. A typical path includes a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in engineering, public administration, business administration, or a related field, together with ten years of supervisory, management, or executive experience.

Broad management experience in a public agency, including responsibility for program formulation and implementation and the management of administrative operations, is preferred.

WHAT SUCCESS REQUIRES:

• Executive leadership in a public-agency environment, including governance, strategic planning, performance management, policy development, and continuous improvement.
• Strong people leadership: selecting, motivating, developing, supervising, and constructively evaluating managers and staff.
• Knowledge of water-agency operations, including operation and maintenance of major infrastructure, asset management, and capital construction.
• Working knowledge of laws, regulations, legal mandates, guidelines, and standards affecting public agencies, particularly water agencies.
• Ability to establish goals, objectives, policies, procedures, work standards, and internal controls-and to translate them into effective execution.

• Ability to balance competing objectives, negotiate effective resolutions, and maintain discretion and integrity with sensitive information.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to build cooperative relationships with member agencies, public agencies, staff, and the public.
• Ability to manage complex, multi-team projects requiring coordination with external agencies and senior executives.

BENEFITS:

• Executive Benefits: include company vehicle or monthly vehicle allowance, executive compensatory time off.
• Retirement: 401(a) Defined Contribution Plan funded by an Authority contribution equal to 8% of gross base annual salary; Executive 401(a) plan with mandatory 5% employee contribution matched by a 5% employer contribution; Voluntary 457 Deferred Compensation Plan. Contributions under both plans vest immediately. The Authority does not participate in Social Security.
• Health: Three medical plans offered through ACWA-JPIA (Blue Cross PPO, Blue Cross HMO, and Kaiser HMO). The Authority contributes 100% of the employee premium and 75% for eligible family members.
• Dental & Vision: Authority contribution of 100% of the premium for the employee and eligible family members.
• Employee Assistance Program: Available to employees and household members, with the Authority paying 100% of the premium.
• Additional benefits: paid holidays, vacation leave and medical leave
• Optional/Voluntary benefits : life insurance, Short/Long term disability insurance, AFLAC, credit union.

COMPENSATION & APPLICATION:

The anticipated salary range for the COO is $227,417-$264,642. Compensation will be commensurate with the experience of the successful candidate.

HOW TO APPLY:

Visit: or visit our job opportunity page at

All applications must be received no later than the application deadline of Monday, October 19, 2026 at 12:00pm.

Verification of Employment:

The Authority conducts verification of a candidate's employment history, education, training and other information contained in the application and any other materials submitted by a candidate.

Conditional Offer of Employment: An offer of employment will be conditional.

The San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority is a Veteran/Disabled Equal Opportunity Employer

This organization participates in E-Verify Sponsorship is not available.