As Central Ohio's regional council, MORPC is an association of cities, villages, townships, counties and regional organizations and serves rural, suburban, and urban areas. We take pride in bringing communities of all sizes and interests together to collaborate on best practices and plan for the future of our growing region. We do this through a variety of programs, services, projects and initiatives – all with the goal of improving the lives of our residents and making Central Ohio stand out on the world stage.

Examples of Duties:

Under the administrative direction of the Transportation Study Director, the Associate Director of Transportation Planning is responsible for directing the activities and elements of transportation planning for both the MORPC Metropolitan Transportation Organization (MPO) and Rural Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO). The position provides team management for all planning and engineering staff for regional transportation planning. The Associate Director of Transportation Planning leads a team in carrying out planning related elements of an annual work program.

Typical Qualifications:

• Thorough knowledge of the principles and best practices of transportation planning and engineering.
• Strong understanding of the resources available to and needs of Central Ohio seeking transportation infrastructure funding.
• Ability to communicate effectively with MORPC members, state agencies, federal agencies and lead a staff of technical and administrative personnel in program planning, development, and delivery of planning and funding programs services.
• Demonstrated experience in qualitative and quantitative research methods, project scoping and delivery, and current management practices.

Acceptable Experience:

• A bachelor's degree and eight (8) years' experience in planning, engineering, public policy, or a related field is recommended. This should include two (2) of those years having involved the supervision of other engineers or planners.
• A master's degree and/ or professional certifications like Professional Engineer (PE) or members of American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) is preferred. A master's degree may be substituted for two (2) years of the required non-supervisory experience.
• Experience in leading multi-discipline teams of technical and or analytics-focused members across interagency departments in completing projects is strongly preferred.

Essential Functions:

• Carry out the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) continuing, comprehensive, and cooperative (3C) Transportation Planning Process for Central Ohio.
• Lead development and maintenance of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP).
• Monitor federal and state regulations to ensure compliance and consistency of MTP.
• Lead review and update of MTP Goals, objectives and targets in accordance with MTP update schedule.
• Lead review of state and local transportation planning activities and internal modeling to identify candidate projects for the MTP.
• Update, improve, and maintain the MTP project database.
• Coordinate with other staff to maintain specific components of the database such as the cost estimating procedures.
• Lead evaluation of transportation projects for the MTP update.
• Coordinate all sections of the MTP both within the department and throughout the agency.
• Prepare portions of the MTP documentation pertaining to roadway planning, thoroughfare planning, access management, system continuity, and others assigned.
• Set and track performance measurements.
• Maintain MPO performance measures and targets to meet federal performance measure target requirements.
• Report on performance measures in coordination with ODOT to meet federal performance measure reporting requirements.
• Participate in ODOT led highway related special studies. Provide summaries to other staff and CAC and TAC. Provide MORPC comments to ODOT on their studies.
• Lead MORPC involvement in local highway related planning studies. Provide summaries to other staff and CAC and TAC. When appropriate, provide MORPC comments to the local entities.
• Coordinate changes or perform other activities related to the functional class/federal-aid systems, national highway system and/or urban boundary, as needed.
• Supervise staff that perform the day-to-day activities related to transit planning and Transportation Demand Management (TDM).
• Ensure transit and TDM planning meets all Federal Transit Administration (FTA), FHWA and ODOT requirements and is completed on schedule.
• Coordinate with staff and member agencies on long-range mobility planning and short-range service delivery in the region.
• Guide the Mobility Manager in troubleshooting administrative functions related regional transit organizations, TDM/rideshare platforms (Gohio) and mobility management programs.
• Serve as MORPC liaison at other regional planning commissions' policy/tech meetings in the MORPC service area.
• Provide timely assistance and information to co-workers and coordinate transportation projects with other planning activities.
• Assists the Director and other management staff on work programs, schedules, policies and budgeting.
• Make routine reports succinctly and in a timely fashion.
• Attends all meetings of the Commission and appropriate committee meetings to report progress, assist in decision-making, and to recommend policies.
• Participates in professional associations, conferences, and other professional development opportunities to maintain technical and subject matter expertise and to keep MORPC as a leader in data and mapping practices.
• Actively supports MORPC's Affirmative Action Plan, Equal Employment Opportunity Policy, Diversity program, Code of Ethics and other MORPC policies.
• Address other, miscellaneous work requests, as needed.
• Essential functions include the ability to use phone, computer, and conduct professional meetings. MORPC has a flexible work environment which allows for some remote work capabilities. However, this position will have the expectation to work in-person most often.