Transportation and Infrastructure Climate Lead

City and County of Denver • Denver, CO

3d • $86,634 - $114,790 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Transportation and Infrastructure Climate Lead is part of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure’s Transportation Planning Division and advances the department’s sustainability and resiliency goals. The role serves as DOTI’s climate and resilience subject matter expert, advising executive leadership and partnering with teams across DOTI and Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency (CASR). It leads implementation of DOTI’s Sustainability and Resiliency Policy and helps establish policies, standards, programs, and practices that support citywide climate goals and can be adopted across the department.

The position leads climate and resilience strategies, cross-department coordination, policy and standards development, and complex planning projects. It manages project scope, schedule, and budget; coordinates annual DOTI–CASR partnership funding; supports grant identification and applications; and tracks climate performance through emissions metrics, measures, and reporting tools. The role also conducts technical and geospatial analysis, supports the Denver Moves Everyone database and prioritization model, and develops data tools, maps, web materials, and analytical approaches.

Areas of current and emerging work include transportation policies and standards, resilient landscapes and infrastructure, fleet electrification, mobility hubs, urban heat mitigation, rapid multimodal project delivery, data and technology initiatives, and low-carbon construction materials and embodied-carbon reduction. The position is limited-term, with an end date of February 6, 2031. It is hybrid, with at least three days per week onsite at the Wellington Webb Building in Denver; remote work must be performed within Colorado.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as City or Regional Planning, Urban Resiliency and Sustainability, Engineering, Public Policy and Administration, Communications, Environmental Science, Biology, Chemistry, or Life Sciences; appropriate experience may substitute for education under the stated equivalency provisions.
• At least five years of professional experience at the intersection of climate and resiliency and urban infrastructure planning and delivery, or in related areas such as climate policy, transportation planning, program management, or change management.
• At least five years of full-performance professional-level experience in a specialized functional area, subject to the stated education/experience equivalency.
• At least two years serving as a project manager, with experience leading projects from initiation through completion and managing scope, schedule, and budget.
• Experience with capital programming, grant writing and administration, and public-sector funding cycles.
• Experience working across disciplines with engineers to deliver policy, program, and project solutions.
• Experience developing technical and public-facing presentations and communicating with leadership, City Council, stakeholders, and the general public.
• Proficiency in GIS, including developing desktop and web maps and spatial tools for planning and analysis.
• Skill using Microsoft Excel to organize, manipulate, and synthesize complex datasets for planning and decision-making.
• Experience using Adobe programs to create graphics, maps, public outreach materials, and formatted planning reports.
• Submit a resume and a cover letter describing transportation-focused climate/environmental management experience and interest in the role.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in City or Regional Planning, Urban Resiliency and Sustainability, Environmental Policy, Sustainability Management, Environmental Science, Engineering, Public Policy and Administration, or a related field.
• Public-sector experience and a demonstrated record of leading cross-disciplinary initiatives.
• Experience with multimodal transportation projects, including transit, bicycle, pedestrian, signal, traffic-calming, Vision Zero, or Safe Routes planning and design.

Responsibilities

• Serve as DOTI’s subject matter expert on climate and resilience, advising executive leadership on strategies, policies, and infrastructure standards and ensuring implementation of the DOTI Sustainability and Resiliency Policy.
• Provide technical guidance informed by emerging research, best practices, and innovative approaches, including applying the Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework across DOTI capital projects.
• Drive organizational change and adoption of climate and resilience practices across DOTI by building stakeholder relationships, identifying improvement opportunities, addressing barriers, and developing scalable approaches.
• Lead development of DOTI climate and resilience strategies, including cross-department coordination, policies, standards, programs, and management of the annual DOTI–CASR Project Partnership process and agreements.
• Manage complex planning projects advancing climate, resilience, and mobility goals, including project scope, schedule, and budget across all phases.
• Collaborate with the Capital Programming Team and CASR to identify and secure funding, including grants; align projects with grant opportunities; and develop competitive applications.
• Lead the annual CASR partnership funding process, maintaining scoring and prioritization tools, facilitating coordination meetings, advising executive management on funding recommendations, and tracking commitments and allocations.
• Lead climate performance tracking and reporting with relevant implementation, performance, and asset management teams, including maintaining emissions metrics, performance measures, and reporting tools.
• Perform technical and geospatial analysis, including spreadsheet development, GIS analysis, coding, mapping, and support for the Denver Moves Everyone database and prioritization model.
• Develop website materials, online tools, and web maps.
• Support transportation policy and standards work, including finalizing Mobility Impact Study Specifications and supporting implementation.
• Lead or support initiatives involving resilient landscapes, greenways, parkways, trails and waterways, fleet electrification, mobility hubs, urban heat mitigation, climate-resilient streets, and rapid multimodal project delivery.
• Lead or support data, technology, and performance initiatives involving data fusion, digital twins, transportation demand management campaigns, and data-informed decision-making tools.
• Support development and implementation of policies, tools, and pilot projects for low-carbon construction materials, embodied-carbon tracking, life-cycle assessment, material reuse, and reduced environmental impacts of infrastructure delivery.

Benefits

• Guaranteed lifelong monthly pension after vesting with five years of service.
• 457B retirement plan.
• 140 hours of PTO earned within the first year.
• 12 paid holidays, one personal holiday, one Wellness Day, and one volunteer day per year.
• Competitive medical, dental, and vision plans effective within one month of start date.
• Flexible spending account option for parking, allowing use of pre-tax dollars.
• City-sponsored RTD EcoPass providing free public transportation for City employees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior