APA Los Angeles provides this job bank as a free service. Please submit your job posting here. Submissions are subject to review for relevance to the planning community and will be published upon approval.
After you submit your job posting through the above form, consider browsing the APA Los Angeles resume book for potential hires. The resume book allows job-seeking planners to showcase their work histories and professional skills to prospective employers. If you would like to request access to the resume book, please contact [email protected].
Associate/Senior Regional Planner – Transit/Rail
Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) / Los Angeles, CA
Posted on: November 6, 2019
Application Deadline: November 29, 2019
Job Description
Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is seeking an independent, self-starter with excellent communication, project coordination, and presentation skills to fill the position of Regional Transportation Planner at the Associate or Senior level. Under general direction of the Manager of Transit/Rail, this position will be responsible for completing work that fulfills federal requirements related transportation and rail policy, planning, and analysis. This position will significantly contribute to the success of the Agency in accomplishing regional goals for a sustainable future as well as meeting state and federal mandates. This position requires someone who is able to manage multiple large-scale projects, coordinate a large database of information and possess strong analytical skills.
OUR LOCATION
SCAG headquarters is located in the hub of busy downtown Los Angeles, at Figueroa and 7th streets. SCAG has relocated to the 900 Wilshire Building, a new, multi-use hotel and office complex that features state of the art architecture and technology. The downtown area has expanded with LA Live, new restaurants, music, sports, shopping, libraries, museums and theaters. SCAG is in a culturally diverse area near Koreatown, Little Tokyo, Chinatown, Olvera Street and Grand Central Market. Southern California boasts near-perfect weather and close proximity to mountains, beaches and deserts, which encourages physical fitness and year-round activities.
For ease of commuting, the LA office is located across the street from the Metro Red Line 7th St. station and is easily accessible by commuter trains and buses serving surrounding areas. Metro’s light rail and subway connect downtown LA to Hollywood, Universal City, Santa Monica, Pasadena, Azusa, Long Beach and many vibrant and up-and-coming neighborhoods.
WHO WE ARE:
Founded in 1965, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is a Joint Powers Authority under California state law, established as an association of local governments and agencies that voluntarily convene as a forum to address regional issues. Under federal law, The SCAG region encompasses six counties (Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura) and 191 cities in an area covering more than 38,000 square miles. The agency develops long-range regional transportation plans including sustainable communities’ strategy and growth forecast components, regional transportation improvement programs, regional housing needs allocations and a portion of the South Coast Air Quality management plans. Currently, the Regional Council consists of 86 members.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
MISSION
To foster innovative regional solutions that improve the lives of Southern Californians through inclusive collaboration, visionary planning, regional advocacy, information sharing, and promoting best practices.
VISION
Southern California’s Catalyst for a Brighter Future.
SCAG CORE VALUES
- Be Open: Be accessible, candid, collaborative and transparent in the work we do.
- Lead by Example: Commit to integrity and equity in working to meet the diverse needs of all people and communities in our region.
- Make an Impact: In all endeavors, effect positive and sustained outcomes that make our region thrive.
- Be Courageous: Have confidence that taking deliberate, bold and purposeful risks can yield new and valuable benefits.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Perform multimodal, systems-level corridor or subarea transit planning studies, such as the ADA Paratransit Demand Forecast Study, and manage pass-through grant funded planning studies such as the First-Mile Last-Mile Connectivity Study for Naval Base Ventura County.
- Monitor and assess state and federal legislative and regulatory actions impacting transit, including but not limited to federal rulemaking on Metropolitan Transportation Planning and performance measures, and state regulatory actions regarding Innovative Clean Transit.
- In coordination with SCAG ITS/TDM staff, monitor and evaluate impact of emerging technologies on transit and identify opportunities for partnership, research, and collaboration.
- Conduct transit performance monitoring, including research into transit ridership trends and preparation of transit system performance report.
- Coordinate regional transit asset management and safety target setting in accordance with federal performance measurement requirements, and manage the regional transit asset database.
- Ensure regional transit operators are included in the planning process by convening regular meetings of the Regional Transit Technical Advisory Committee (RTTAC) and developing and maintaining metropolitan planning agreements with transit operators.
- Develop the transit technical report and transit element of the Connect SoCal, the regional transportation plan.
- Manage consultant contracts for projects, including the review of deliverables, invoice approval, and budget and schedule oversight.
- Other technical or administrative tasks, including annual budget/OWP development and administration/quarterly progress reports, prepare grant applications as directed, provide staff support to technical committees and workshops (agenda preparation, meeting facilitation, etc.) as directed.
Required Experience / Skills / Education
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in Transportation Planning, Urban Planning, Public Policy, Public Administration, Civil Engineering, or other related field. A Master’s degree can substitute for one year of the required experience.
EXPERIENCE:
Associate Level: Two years of professional urban planning/policy experience that includes analysis of planning data or equivalent.
Senior Level: Four or more years of experience in transportation planning and data science with progressively increasing levels of responsibility.
IDEAL CANDIDATE QUALITIES:
The ideal candidate possesses the following qualities:
- A strong background in transportation planning and an understanding of MPO principles and practices.
- Strong communication and organizational skills and is able to establish and maintain relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.
- Strong writing skills and be able to produce concise staff reports and presentations, and develop and review scopes of work.
- An independent self- starter with a positive attitude and excellent project management and analytical skills.
- An engaging and effective communicator who is comfortable making formal and informal presentations to a wide variety of audiences.
- Politically astute and diplomatic when interacting with both partner agency staff and elected officials.
Knowledge of: Federal and state planning regulations relevant to MPOs as they relate to transportation planning; greenhouse gas reduction; how to incorporate and address management systems in MPO activities; federal and state laws and regulations; emerging issues impacting transportation planning and policy, state and federal rulemaking; SCAG’s RTP/SCS and other initiatives; theories, principles, and practices of urban planning and development as applied to conducting planning and preliminary feasibility studies of projects and strategies; methods and techniques of effective technical report preparation and presentation; recent developments, current literature, and sources of information related to regional planning, urban growth and development, and program administration; advanced statistical concepts, research and methodology; project management principles and concepts; modern office practices, methods, and computer equipment.
Ability to: Participate in a variety of public meetings by making presentations and recommendations on various aspects of the planning program; analyze and compile technical and statistical information and prepare reports and economic impact analysis; respond to public requests and inquiries; communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing; establish, maintain, and foster positive and harmonious working relationships, team spirit, and collaboration with those contacted in the course of work; analyze complex problems and identify logical solutions; interpret regional planning programs to the general public and to member agencies; independently identify and present solutions to perform professional planning work with minimum supervision.
IMPORTANT APPLICANT INFORMATION:
Candidates must fill out the application and supplemental questions completely. Incomplete applications including references to see the resume for qualifications are incomplete and will be disqualified. Candidates are required to provide accurate answers as SCAG will verify the qualifications for each candidate.
SCAG provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, SCAG complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. SCAG expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status.
SCAG RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR REVOKE, WITHOUT NOTICE, ANY OR ALL OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS BULLETIN PRIOR TO THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT, AND TO WAIVE ANY NON SUBSTANTIVE JOB REQUIREMENT AND MAKE SUBJECTIVE DECISIONS INTERPRETING AND ASSESSING THE SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS OF ANY CANDIDATE, INCLUDING THE DETERMINATION THAT NONE OF THE CANDIDATES, EVEN THOSE WHO MEET THE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS, ARE APPROPRIATE FOR THE POSITION.
Application Instructions
To be considered for this position, job applications must be completed and submitted through SCAG’s website at http://www.scag.ca.gov/opportunities/Pages/CareerOpportunities.aspx?opentab=5
