ABOUT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT:

The Community Development Department (CDD) is the planning agency for the City of Cambridge. Our mission is to foster a livable, sustainable, just, and equitable community. CDD has four divisions -- Community Planning & Design, Economic Opportunity & Development, Transportation Planning, and Zoning & Development. Together, we engage and collaborate with community partners, other government agencies, businesses, and residents to make Cambridge a desirable place to live, work, learn, play, and innovate.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

Reporting to the Assistant City Manager for Community Development, the Director of Transportation Planning oversees operation of all transportation planning functions. The ideal candidate will be data and evidence driven with deep knowledge about multi-modal transportation planning, particularly sustainable transportation modes. They will be focused on equitable community engagement and able to represent the department at public meetings and City Council hearings related to ongoing work on mobility planning. The Director of Transportation Planning is responsible for the following functions:

Division Oversight

• Actively supervise and manage staff in multimodal sustainable planning– walking, bicycling, and public transit use; infrastructure planning to support these modes; and transportation demand management.
• Develop and oversee the division’s annual strategic planning, staffing, workplan, and budget.
• Direct and coordinate the work of project teams and the division’s portfolio of projects and programs. This includes setting targets with timelines and ensuring that all participants are aware of expectations.
• Lead the team to collaborate and achieve consensus on projects that involve multiple disciplines and diverse opinions. Ensure that plans are data-driven, evidence-based, and actionable.

Culture & Staff Development

• Create an inclusive, supportive, learning and growth focused team culture for the Transportation Planning Division.
• Develop leadership capabilities in staff including skill development and strong team orientation.
• Support the team in developing innovative solutions to difficult problems.

Programmatic Leadership

• Lead transportation planning studies and projects that create and advance the City’s strategic goals related to mobility planning e.g. the Bicycle Network Vision, Pedestrian Plan, Transit Strategic Plan and Net Zero Transportation Plan.
• Manage community and design processes for EV charging infrastructure, multi-use paths and ped-bike bridges and, in collaboration with other departments, redesign of major street corridors.
• Oversee transit planning and infrastructure including MBTA and private shuttle service and the Bluebikes bikeshare system. Manage monitoring and evaluation of the City’s mobility infrastructure projects and Parking and Transportation Demand Management (PTDM) ordinance requirements.
• Oversee identification, writing and management of state and federal grants.
• Advance public education for all ages related to sustainable transportation options, rules and norms for sharing the road in a dense urban environment like Cambridge.
• Lead and participate in community meetings with neighborhood organizations, developers, and public officials; undertake equitable engagement processes with community members and other constituencies to solicit input and feedback.
• As needed, represent the department on committees and at public meetings of various elected and appointed bodies such as the City Council, Planning Board, City committees and regional advisory committees.

Collaboration

• Collaborate with other CDD divisions and City departments on mobility planning and implementation. Frequent partners are the Traffic, Parking & Transportation Department, Department of Public Works, Police Department, and Cambridge Public Schools.
• Build relationships with neighboring communities, regional, and state partners to advance programmatic goals.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in transportation planning or related field and a minimum of 9 years of professional work experience in mobility planning functions in a municipal or similar setting, including 3 years in a supervisory role.
  • Master’s degree in transportation planning or related field may be substituted for 2 years of experience.
• Demonstrated experience managing direct reports and teams in comprehensive assignments.
• Experience in project management, including the ability to navigate complex relationships and to identify, develop, and deploy resources across multiple initiatives.
• Track record of driving execution of effective solutions to complex problems and mediating alignment across stakeholders.
• Experience managing and supervising staff effectively and fairly.
• Prior experience and demonstrated success working in a diverse community.
• Strong public engagement and consensus-building experience, especially involving stakeholders with diverse interests and opinions.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Applicant must be innovative and eager to take initiative to tackle issues and enhance organizational excellence. They must possess:

• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop leadership in others.
• Strong strategic planning, community engagement, communication, and public presentation skills.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with senior leaders, subject matter experts, public, staff, and elected and appointed officials.
• Excellent analytical skills with high attention to detail.
• Deep sense of humility, curiosity, and learning-orientation.
• Good judgement, high ethical standards, and personal integrity.
• Ability to navigate a highly public and political environment.
• The City of Cambridge's workforce, like the community it serves, is diverse. Applicants must have the ability to work and interact effectively with individuals and groups with a variety of identities, cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies.
• Highly organized and experienced in prioritizing and managing multiple demands across many projects and initiatives for themselves and their team.
• Ability to handle a dynamic workload with constantly changing priorities.
• Background in the public sector in a local or regional setting, with demonstrated ability to understand and integrate multiple facets of local issues.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Knowledge of the Cambridge community preferred.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Ability to access, input and retrieve information from a computer. Must read and analyze large quantities of information. Must have sufficient mobility to get back and forth from office to off-site meetings. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Standard office environment, which includes fluorescent lighting and air conditioning. Moderate noise level, which can elevate with phone calls and walk in members of the public. Busy office work environment characterized by multiple work demands from department staff, a great deal of customer interaction, and heavy email and call volume. This position may be eligible for hybrid work under the City's Telework Policy depending on operational needs.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED:

Please upload the below documents to complete your application:

• Resume
• Cover Letter

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