SUMMARY

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments' (COG) Department of Transportation Planning seeks a Program Manager for the Planning Data and Research Team to manage the department's travel monitoring program and lead planning analyses that support other departmental programs and initiatives as part of the metropolitan transportation planning program. The Program Manager will also assist in providing technical assistance to the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board's (TPB) partner agencies, as needed, including data gathering/analysis and planning studies.

The program manager will provide leadership over and be actively involved in shaping the department's travel monitoring program, including the collection, processing and analysis of (1) travel monitoring data such as traffic counts, active transportation counts, transit ridership, AADT, and VMT; (2) transportation performance planning data including bridge and pavement condition; (3) HPMS related data; and (4) demographic and socioeconomic data, among others.

As a program manager, the employee will have equally-distributed responsibilities to (1) perform technical work, (2) supervise junior staff, and (3) conduct project and program management activities. The ideal candidate will possess a professional track record that demonstrates success in all three areas.

EXAMPLES OF WORK

• Initiates and manages the development of data and technical methods for various elements of the Department's annual work program, including regional travel monitoring and analysis.
• Supervise and mentor technical staff engaged in travel monitoring and planning analyses.
• Supervises the collection, processing and analysis of travel monitoring data, and presents results to technical and policy committees.
• Supports Planning Data and Research Program Director in leading departmental efforts to coordinate and consider land use and transportation planning linkages and representing DTP staff at meetings of the Planning Directors Technical Advisory Committee and the Cooperative Forecasting and Data Subcommittee.
• Supports cross-program and/or cross-departmental planning activities by leading and/or significantly contributing to complex quantitative technical planning analyses.
• Develops work program elements, schedules projects, evaluates progress, and manages resources to keep costs in line with project budgets. This includes tracking and reviewing project financial reports to evaluate financial performance, monitoring program expenditures, and making needed course corrections to ensure projects are performed within scope and budget.
• Develops scopes of work and budgets for technical projects and seeks funding support for their implementation.
• Develops work statements and specifications for RFPs, negotiates and manages consultant contracts.
• Collaborates in the application of GIS technology for transportation planning and research activities.
• Analyzes and presents data on current and forecast changes in regional growth trends and travel patterns.
• Makes presentations to policy and technical committees on data-related work program activities.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

The successful candidate will be responsible for managing personnel, which may include both supervisory and non-supervisory employees. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising employee performance; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

The ideal candidate will have in-depth knowledge of transportation planning and possess excellent communication skills and demonstrated skills in critical thinking, judgment, and data analysis and manipulation. Foremost, the candidate will demonstrate experience and familiarity with travel monitoring data, including state of the practice methods and procedures for collecting, managing, analyzing, and reporting travel monitoring data. The candidate will also have experience with programming languages (e.g., Python, R, SAS, STAT), geospatial analysis (e.g., ArcGIS, GeoPandas), data management, data mining, quantitative analysis, and data visualization. Knowledge of land use and transportation planning is preferred. The candidate will have experience working with or will be familiar with large passively-collected travel datasets (Big Data) and understand how they can be applied as part of a regional travel monitoring program.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

To be considered, candidates must possess a master's degree in urban or regional planning, transportation planning, statistics, data science, geography, economics, or an appropriately related field, and five or more years of progressively responsible experience in the development and provision of data to support major regional transportation planning and related activities. The candidate must possess a demonstrated track record in budget development, project management, and successfully supervising technical staff in transportation planning or a related field.

Comprehensive knowledge of the use of data, technical methods and computer technology in transportation planning; extensive knowledge of experience applying geographic information systems technology in research and analysis; extensive knowledge of transportation data collection and processing practices; experience with or knowledge of analyzing Big Data and applying results as part of a regional travel monitoring program; knowledge of forecasting techniques; knowledge of regional planning practices and principles and of the socio-economic implications of planning; skill in applying data and technical methods to the solution of transportation planning problems; skill in directing research and analysis programs and activities; ability to present technical results in terms understandable to policy officials and staff; ability to secure cooperation of others in executing plans; ability to conduct project financial management for the entire lifecycle of a technical project; ability to speak and write effectively.

Any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, analytical and writing skills and abilities will be considered.

COMPUTER KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Experience with Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), statistical software (e.g. R, Python, SAS, STAT), geospatial analysis, data management, and data visualization software.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community. Ability to write speeches and articles for publication that conform to prescribed style and format. Ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with accounting, contracts, and legal personnel in the execution of project management responsibilities. Ability to effectively present technical information to top management, public groups, and/or Boards of Directors. Ability to lead strategic discussions; demonstrate critical thinking; and identify and manage risk and opportunities.