Director of Transportation Planning

ABOUT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT:

The Community Development Department (CDD) is the planning agency for the City of Cambridge. Our mission is to foster a livable, sustainable, just, and equitable community. CDD has four divisions -- Community Planning & Design, Economic Opportunity & Development, Transportation Planning, and Zoning & Development. Together, we engage and collaborate with community partners, other government agencies, businesses, and residents to make Cambridge a desirable place to live, work, learn, play, and innovate.

 

ABOUT THE ROLE: 

Reporting to the Assistant City Manager for Community Development, the Director of Transportation Planning oversees operation of all transportation planning functions. The ideal candidate will be data and evidence driven with deep knowledge about multi-modal transportation planning, particularly sustainable transportation modes. They will be focused on equitable community engagement and able to represent the department at public meetings and City Council hearings related to ongoing work on mobility planning.  The Director of Transportation Planning is responsible for the following functions:

 

Division Oversight

• Actively supervise and manage staff in multimodal sustainable planning– walking, bicycling, and public transit use; infrastructure planning to support these modes; and transportation demand management.
• Develop and oversee the division’s annual strategic planning, staffing, workplan, and budget.
• Direct and coordinate the work of project teams and the division’s portfolio of projects and programs. This includes setting targets with timelines and ensuring that all participants are aware of expectations.
• Lead the team to collaborate and achieve consensus on projects that involve multiple disciplines and diverse opinions. Ensure that plans are data-driven, evidence-based, and actionable.

 

Culture & Staff Development

• Create an inclusive, supportive, learning and growth focused team culture for the Transportation Planning Division.
• Develop leadership capabilities in staff including skill development and strong team orientation.
• Support the team in developing innovative solutions to difficult problems.

 

Programmatic Leadership

• Lead transportation planning studies and projects that create and advance the City’s strategic goals related to mobility planning e.g. the Bicycle Network Vision, Pedestrian Plan, Transit Strategic Plan and Net Zero Transportation Plan.
• Manage community and design processes for EV charging infrastructure, multi-use paths and ped-bike bridges and, in collaboration with other departments, redesign of major street corridors.
• Oversee transit planning and infrastructure including MBTA and private shuttle service and the Bluebikes bikeshare system. Manage monitoring and evaluation of the City’s mobility infrastructure projects and Parking and Transportation Demand Management (PTDM) ordinance requirements.
• Oversee identification, writing and management of state and federal grants.
• Advance public education for all ages related to sustainable transportation options, rules and norms for sharing the road in a dense urban environment like Cambridge.
• Lead and participate in community meetings with neighborhood organizations, developers, and public officials; undertake equitable engagement processes with community members and other constituencies to solicit input and feedback.
• As needed, represent the department on committees and at public meetings of various elected and appointed bodies such as the City Council, Planning Board, City committees and regional advisory committees.

 

Collaboration

• Collaborate with other CDD divisions and City departments on mobility planning and implementation. Frequent partners are the Traffic, Parking & Trans