Senior Planning Specialist, Grade

About the Position

The expected salary range upon hire is: $77,629 - $111,189

WHO WE ARE

The?Division of Transit Services?coordinates transit services in Montgomery County. Transit accomplishesthe county's essential mobility mission by connecting people, communities, workplaces, educational institutions, recreational opportunities, and many other essential destinations. The Division plans, schedules, and manages the County's Ride On bus system, which consists of County-owned and operated buses. The Ride On system isdesigned to complement the service provided by the other transit providers in the County and provides almost 30 million trips per year.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The ideal candidate will have excellent oral and written communication skills, possessappropriate computer skills, and be detail-oriented. The candidate must be able to meet project deadlines, coordinate and manage deliverables for multiple projects simultaneously, and work independently on a variety of difficult and complex projects and task-related actions.

What You'll Be Doing

The Senior Planning Specialist will be responsible for the planning and implementation of public transportation in Montgomery County. This position will have oversight and supervision of the bus route planning and scheduling functions. Coordination with key stakeholders in the region to include WMATA, MWCOG, the State of Maryland delegation as well as internal Maryland National Capital Park and Planning (MNCPPC).

Lead the development of transportation plans and technical reports, and work with engineers and analytical staff on the development of model outputs and other supporting technical data.

Additionally, they will provide input, technical guidance, and project management.

Build and maintain client relationships and professional networks around transit throughout the industry.

Lead and support studies and design efforts, drafting reports.

Providing analysis on feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and regulatory conformance of plans and special projects

Providing planning expertise on bus service and corridor improvements

Analyze transit service and recommend service modifications or innovative options for improved mobility.

Meet with internal and external stakeholders to build consensus and obtain project approvals.

Documenting policy and regulatory changes that may be warranted.

Identify planning strategies and assess scenarios.

Working with internal DOT counterparts to provide GIS-based data analysis and developing collateral materials that illustrate data in a user-friendly manner.

Facilitate public meetings and public involvement efforts, document meetings, and present information to clients and their boards regarding the outcomes and recommendations.

Liaison with government agencies, the development community, citizen groups, and the public regarding traffic engineering and safety issues

Manage Title VI efforts.

Perform studies, conducting and documenting field observations; perform studies for existing roadways to improve intersection and/or roadway capacity, increase safety for roadway users, calm traffic, restrict certain vehicle operations, and limit on-street parking; prepare written correspondence and studies related.

Present findings to other government agencies and the public regarding traffic engineering issues and lead paraprofessional staff.

Reviews traffic forecasts for roadway projects, including the development/review of traffic analyses under design.

Oversight of the Scheduling unit to ensure budget efficiency.

Analyze, plan, schedule, and supervise the scheduling process throughout the production period.

Managing tasks and assignments for a variety of planning, technical, or transit services.

Minimum Qualifications

Experience: Thorough (Five (5) years) of experience in a planning specialization appropriate to the assignment of the position such as Transportation Planning, Scheduling, Geographic Information Systems, Urban Planning, or other related fields

Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree in an appropriate planning specialization or related field

Equivalency: An equivalent combination of education or experience may be substituted.

License: Possession of a valid Class "C" (or equivalent) driver’s license from the applicant's state of residence.

Preferred Criteria, Interview Preferences

Experience in monitoring work assignments and tracking the timely completion of assignments.

Experience in the preparation and/or review of transportation planning, technical and/or transit analyses.

Experience in the review and development of a complete Scheduling Run-cut

Experience in the review and interpretation of planning, technical safety-related studies, and/or associated improvements.

Knowledge of and experience in the use of GIS, VIA, and ArcGIS software.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Office of Human Resources (OHR) reviews the minimum qualifications of all applicants, irrespective of whether the candidate has previously been found to have met the minimum requirements for the job or been temporarily promoted to the same position. This evaluation is based solely on the information contained in the application/resume submitted for this specific position.

Montgomery County Government(MCG) is an equal opportunity employer, committed to workforce diversity. Accordingly, as it relates to employment opportunities, the County will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, in accordance with the law. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should email OHR at . Individual determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made in accordance with all applicable laws.

MCG also provides hiring preference to certain categories of veterans and veterans/persons with a disability. For more information and to claim employment preference, refer to the Careers webpage on Hiring Preference.

All applicants will respond to a series of questions related to their education, relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities required to minimally perform the job. The applicant's responses in conjunction with their resume and all other information provided in the employment application process will be evaluated to determine the minimum qualifications and preferred criteria or interview preference status. Based on the results, the highest qualified applicants will be placed on an Eligible List and may be considered for an interview. Employees meeting minimum qualifications who are the same grade will be placed on the Eligible List as a "Lateral Transfer" candidate and may be considered for an interview.

This will establish an Eligible List that may be used to fill both current and future vacancies.

If selected for consideration for this position, you may be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities indicated on your resume.

Montgomery County Ethics Law: Except as provided by law or regulation, the County's "Public Employees" (which does not include employees of the Sheriff's office) are subject to the County's ethics law including the requirements to obtain advanced approval of any outside employment and the prohibitions on certain outside employment. The outside employment requirements of the ethics law can be found at 19A-12 of the County Code. Additional information about outside employment can be obtained from the Ethics Commission website.