Manager

ARC•Atlanta, GA

About The Position

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is the regional planning and intergovernmental coordination agency that focuses on issues critical to the region’s success, including growth and development, transportation, water resources, services for older adults and workforce solutions. ARC is dedicated to unifying the region’s collective resources to prepare the metropolitan area for a prosperous future. This is done through professional planning initiatives, the provision of objective information, and the involvement of the community in collaborative partnerships. ARC functions as the Atlanta region’s federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), which means ARC is a hub of coordination and planning for transportation in a 19-county metropolitan area of over 5 million people. The MPO function is housed within the Transportation Planning Department (TPD), which is responsible for producing four core deliverables required by the federal government: 1) the long-range Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP); 2) the short-range Transportation Improvement Program (TIP); 3) the annual Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP); and 4) the Public Participation Plan (PPP). The department also leads a variety of other initiatives to support development of those core deliverables, including modal plans, subarea plans, travel demand and air quality modeling, data management, performance analysis and reporting, technical assistance, community engagement, and stakeholder coordination. TPD collaborates with other departments and centers within ARC, including Community Development, Research & Innovation, Natural Resources, Mobility Services, Aging & Independence Services, and Workforce Solutions, to ensure its plans fully address all federal transportation planning requirements and support the One Great Region vision. The Deputy Managing Director for Program Management & Operational Excellence will report directly to the TPD Senior Managing Director and coordinate with other departments and offices throughout the agency to ensure compliance with all relevant federal and state laws, rules, regulations, executive orders, and other guidance as well as ARC’s internal policies and procedures. The ideal candidate will be a professional with multidisciplinary skills and experience with all aspects of the MPO planning process.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in transportation planning, urban or regional planning, public policy, public administration, business administration, or related field.
Ten (10) years of professional transportation planning experience, with five (5) years working at an MPO or similar regional transportation planning agency.
Deep knowledge of principles and best practices of program administration and management, regional planning, and coaching/leading the work of others.
Working knowledge of finance, procurement, and legal practices relevant to a large MPO and how it fulfills its federally mandated responsibilities.
Ability to work and learn independently as well as in a collaborative environment.
Ability to present and communicate complex information and data to a variety of audiences through a wide array of written documents and via in-person and virtual meeting formats.
Excellent customer service skills, including the ability to exercise political acumen, tact, and diplomacy to achieve mutually agreeable outcomes.
Ability to multi-task and manage tasks, while meeting assigned deadlines.
Strong interpersonal, analytical and organization skills.
Proficiency in the Microsoft Office software suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams).
Ability to quickly learn other required standard office software packages such as InDesign and Adobe Professional.
Ability to travel throughout 19-county MPO area and attend meetings with stakeholder agencies as required to fulfill essential duties and responsibilities.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in transportation planning, urban or regional planning, public policy, public administration, business administration, or related field.
Ten (15) years or more professional planning transportation experience, with five (5) years or more working at a multidisciplinary MPO representing a metropolitan area comparable in scale and complexity to the Atlanta region.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with TPD Senior Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director for Planning & Analytics on identifying department work program priorities, budgets, and staffing assignments as part of the annual agencywide budgeting process.
Oversee and direct staff in the development of a federally compliant annual UPWP, working with federal, state, regional, local, and internal partners to include all required information.
Oversee and direct staff in the production of and periodic revisions to a federally compliant TIP, working with federal, state, regional, local, and internal partners to include all required information necessary for efficient implementation.
Oversee and direct staff in proactively identifying opportunities for ARC to leverage technical experience and coordination/facilitation capabilities to help partner agencies expedite delivery of selected high priority projects and programs.
Oversee and direct staff charged with conducting ongoing stakeholder and partner agency involvement in the development of all core MPO deliverables, as well as managing committee meeting logistics and providing assistance as needed on engagement activities supporting other planning initiatives led by ARC.
Lead staff efforts related to defining annual Major Initiatives and Programs (MIPs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), used for reporting department accomplishments to executive management.
Collaborate with the TPD Senior Managing Director in preparation of materials and leading discussions at quarterly budget hearings with ARC executive management.
Ensure all core MPO deliverables reflect current national best practices.
Serve as the ARC Chair of the Interagency Consultation Group, including developing agenda, conducting monthly meetings, and communicating key decisions and guidance from the group to other TPD and ARC staff as necessary.
Assume lead role in preparing the department for the quadrennial MPO certification review conducted by FHWA, FTA, and EPA. This includes serving as the day-to-day point of contact with federal staff leading the review, arranging and facilitating meetings, responding to requests for documents and other materials, coordinating the preparation of responses to questions and comments on draft recommendations and findings, and briefing senior management at key milestones throughout the process.
Represent TPD in the FTA triennial review process by proving information and participating in meetings as needed at the direction of other ARC staff.
Serve as an initial point of contact and the department resource management decisionmaker when external partner agencies request financial and/or advisory assistance on transportation project and program delivery issues.
Remain informed on federal and state policy and legislative initiatives and provide analysis and feedback on laws, rules, regulations, executive orders, and other directives as requested by the TPD Senior Managing Director and executive management.
Manage special projects and assignments related to the overall operation and function of the department, such as participating on internal agencywide working groups updating bylaws, continuity of operations plans, staffing policies, Memoranda of Agreement with partner agencies, and others.
Perform other duties as assigned by TPD Senior Managing Director and executive management to support agency goals and objectives.