Tribal Liaison (TPS4)

State of Washington•Spokane County – Spokane, WA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is seeking a Transportation Planning Specialist 4 to serve as the Tribal Liaison for all tribal concerns. This role acts as the primary point of contact between WSDOT and the federally recognized Tribes within the Eastern, North Central, and South Central regions. The Tribal Liaison ensures compliance with applicable laws, policies, and directives, including the National Historic Preservation Act, Executive Order 21-02, and the Centennial Accord. This position advances WSDOT’s commitments to equity, diversity, inclusion, and environmental stewardship by fostering and maintaining meaningful government-to-government relationships. The role ensures that Tribal sovereignty, interests, and perspectives are fully integrated into transportation planning, project development, construction, and maintenance activities.

Requirements

Demonstrated ability to communicate complex transportation, environmental, regulatory, policy information clearly effectively to technical & non-technical audiences.
Demonstrated ability to facilitate meetings, consultations, workshops, and discussions involving diverse stakeholders and perspectives.
Demonstrated ability to develop professional written materials including reports, briefing documents, consultation records, presentations, correspondence, and recommendations.
Demonstrated ability to represent the agency professionally when working with tribal governments, elected officials, partner agencies, community members & other stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to provide leadership, guidance, and technical direction to interdisciplinary teams & partners in support of complex transportation planning or programs activities.
Demonstrated ability to mentor & support staff regarding consultation practices, community engagement, & equitable transportation planning.
Experience developing policies, procedures, training materials, guidance documents, or best practices.
Demonstrated competency in applying multi modal transportation planning principles, community engagement practices, and intergovernmental coordination strategies to transportation programs or initiatives.
Experience coordinating complex planning efforts involving multiple organizations, jurisdictions, disciplines.
Experience providing planning recommendations and technical guidance to support project development, environmental review, and agency decision-making.
Experience integrating community, tribal, environmental, equity, and mobility considerations into transportation planning processes.
Experience analyzing complex issues involving transportation planning, tribal interests, environmental considerations, & regulatory requirements.
Demonstrated ability to research, evaluate, & synthesize information from multiple sources to develop recommendations and inform decision -making.
Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment & make independent decisions when addressing complex, sensitive, or potentially competing issues.
Experience independently managing multiple complex assignments, priorities, deadlines, and stakeholder commitments.
Demonstrated ability to develop work plans, track progress, coordinate resources, and ensure completion of deliverables.
Demonstrated initiative, accountability, attention to detail, and ability to work independently with general direction.
Demonstrated proficiency in using business application & technology tools to develop reports, presentations, correspondence, spreadsheets, virtual meeting materials, & other planning documents.
Ability to learn & apply agency-specific systems, databases, & project tracking.
Actively demonstrates a commitment to learning and growth.
Takes action to meet the needs of others.
Ability to work during inclement weather, on uneven or steep terrain, and within highway right of way, in all weather conditions typical of the State of Washington.
Ability to travel as required to attend meetings, consultations, field visits, trainings, conferences, and interagency coordination sessions. Travel may include day trips or limited overnight stays, often within the represented regions or adjacent areas, including Idaho and Oregon.

Nice To Haves

Experience working directly with federally recognized Tribes, tribal governments, tribal organizations, or Indigenous communities.
Experience leading or supporting government-to-government including coordinating activities.
Experience developing and maintaining effective partnerships between government agencies and Tribal governments.
Experience applying multimodal transportation planning principles, land use planning concepts, environmental considerations, or community engagement strategies to transportation programs, projects, or planning initiatives.
Experience supporting transportation projects, corridor studies, planning studies, or infrastructure programs involving multiple jurisdictions, organizations, or disciplines.
Experience supporting environmental review processes, including NEPA, SEPA, Section 106 consultation, or related regulatory processes.
Experience coordinating with environmental professionals, project managers, engineers, consultants, and regulatory agencies.
Experience planning and facilitating public meetings, workshops, stakeholder engagement activities, or community outreach events.
Experience developing engagement strategies for communities with diverse needs and perspectives.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary lead for Tribal transportation and transit topics, establishing, cultivating, and maintaining strong, respectful, positive, and effective government-to-government communications and relationships.
Assist with tribal consultations related to the Health Environment for All (HEAL) Act compliance.
Develop, implement, and maintain tribal coordination procedures and protocols for represented regions and facilitate and document tribal consultation in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), Section 106, and Executive Order 21-02.
Provide expert advice and mentoring across all disciplines, engaging with tribal governments or working on projects and maintenance activities with tribal implications needing tribal consultation processes.
Oversee the facilitation and coordination of tribal input into represented regions’ activities, plans, studies, procedures, timetables, and projects.
Support multimodal transportation planning efforts by participating in coordination with tribal governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPO), regional transportation planning organizations (RTPO), local agencies, and WSDOT program staff to advance integrated transportation planning outcomes.
Lead technical planning efforts, working groups, site visits, and data collection activities as assigned.
Support the development of innovative planning approaches by identifying emerging practices and contributing to process improvements within assigned planning efforts.