DAGS creates new district office, hires new program manager

A Kailua-Kona civil engineer is stepping into the role of program manager at the recently formed West Hawaiʻi District Office for the Department of Accounting and General Services. (DAGS).

Ramzi Mansour brings more than four decades of experience in both the public and private sectors; he was most recently Hawaiʻi County’s director of the Department of Environmental Management.

On the neighbor islands, DAGS helps maintain public school facilities, state office buildings, courthouses, and public libraries. It supports or manages 164 buildings across six neighbor islands.

“We are grateful to the Legislature and the governor for funding this new, stand-alone office. Hawaiʻi Island is so geographically large, it merits having offices on both coasts,” said DAGS Director and Comptroller Keith Regan. “This will ensure we can give adequate attention to all the facilities we support — especially the schools — and meet our work order requests in a more timely fashion.”

Half of the buildings maintained by DAGS are on Hawaiʻi Island, with East and West Hawaiʻi managing roughly the same number of buildings.

Mansour has received many civil engineering industry awards and certifications and has a diverse background that spans roles from project engineer to director to business owner. He has worked in fields that include wastewater, solid waste, landfills, recycling, gas emissions, and more.

According to Mansour, DAGS represents service at the highest level, and this job is an opportunity to continue being a public servant and to deliver the kind of support communities truly deserve.

“My role is to build a mutual relationship based on transparency and clear communication with our partners, lead and manage staff and projects that ensure our facilities and communities receive the infrastructure and services they need, and create efficiencies and savings for the taxpayers,” Mansour said.

In his inaugural position, Mansour hopes to “establish a strong, lasting foundation of excellence — one the future generation can build upon.”

The Legislature allocated $278,858 to fund eight new jobs — including Mansour’s — for this office. Mansour will be hiring more positions shortly.

Job vacancies will be posted to the state of Hawaiʻi jobs website.