Principal Planner, Safety Programs

Title:
Principal Planner, Safety Programs

Department:
NJTPA

Reports To:
Director, Local Project Development

Position Type:
Staff

Position Summary:
The NJTPA is hiring two principal planners to work on safety programs in the
Local Programs Division. These positions report to the Director of Local
Project Development. The principal planners serve on a team that assists the
NJTPA's county and municipal subregional partners in advancing federally funded
projects from selection through design and ultimately to receive authorization
for construction. Federal funding follows a project delivery process that requires close coordination between the Federal Highway Administration, New Jersey
Department of Transportation (NJDOT), NJTPA and the county and municipal
project sponsors.

The principal planners are
responsible for overseeing budgets, project solicitation, consultant contracts,
and project advancement to ensure compliance with federal and state
requirements, regulations, and guidelines. Programs include, but are not limited to, Local
Safety/ High Risk Rural Roads; Consultant Assistance; Local Safety Engineering
Assistance; Road Safety Audits; Regional and Transportation Alternatives
Set-Aside; Safe Routes to School, as well as other initiatives that arise out
of federal requirements. The
principal planners also serve as a resource for NJTPA Staff, the NJTPA Board of Trustees and subregional staff for capital
programming and project development and monitoring processes.

This is a hybrid position based in Newark,NJ with the option to work remotely part of the time.

Essential Functions:
- Assist with the biennial solicitation and selection of projects for the NJTPA-managed Local Safety Program/High Risk Rural Roads Programs, including participation on the technical review committee, which includes review of applications, field visits, scoring and recommending projects for advancement.
- Assist with the annual solicitations and selection of projects for the Regional and Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program and Safe Routes to School Programs, including participation in the technical review committees, which includes reviewing, screening, prioritizing and ranking proposals; conducting field visits of project locations to compile an inventory of existing physical and operating conditions; providing technical guidance; reviewing and approving scopes of work; maintaining a database tracking the status of projects; preparing correspondence; preparing and reviewing engineering estimates and participating in the subregion's consultant selection process.
- Assist with the biennial consultant selection process for the Local Safety Engineering Assistance Program including the development of the request for proposals and design cost estimates, proposal reviews, consultant interviews, final selection of firms, and development of design authorization documents.
- Oversee consultant contracts under the Local Safety Engineering Assistance Program, which is co- managed by NJTPA and subregional project sponsors., This includes the Preliminary Engineering and Final Design phases of the project development pipeline; participation in meetings with project sponsors and consultants; coordination meetings with NJDOT and other regulatory agencies as needed; review of documents prepared by consultants including engineering and environmental documents to ensure consistency with federal, state and NJTPA policies and procedures; participation in local officials briefings, stakeholder and public meetings; preparation of final design modifications as needed; participation with consultant selection for construction inspection funding, budget tracking, review of all invoicing; assistance with consultant contract closeout.
- Participation in federally funded Road Safety Audits managed by NJDOT, including assisting with location selection, participating in field visits and reviewing final reports.
- Work on the NJTPA's Pedestrian Count Program, including selecting locations, overseeing the consultant contract and maintaining database.
- Oversight of NJTPA's Online Interagency Project Management System database for project tracking.
- Participate in the development of New Jersey's Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP), which occurs every four years, including implementation of action items recommended by the plan.
- Assist with data updates to NJTPA's SHSP data viewer.
- Participate in monthly federal-funded project status and quarterly Highway Safety Improvement Program advancement meetings with NJDOT as well as other recurring interagency coordination meetings.

Additional Functions:
- Perform other duties as assigned.

Prerequisite Qualifications:
- Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a bachelors' degree in Civil Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering Technology/Construction Management, Transportation Planning, Environmental Studies, or related technical field.
- Three to Five years' experience in a Project Management position. A Masters' degree in a related field can substitute for two years' experience.
- Considerable knowledge of the principles, practices and objectives of project management, transportation engineering and transportation planning, as well as an ability to relate this knowledge to the development and analysis of a regional transportation system and its components.
- Strong negotiation skills, excellent organizational skills and the ability to work on multiple projects, consultant contracts, and programs simultaneously.
- Ability to work with county, municipal and consulting engineers, planners, environmental specialists and subject matter experts from various state agencies.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with associates, subregional staff and consulting engineers, planning and elected officials, and the public.
- Familiarity with applicable computer applications including Geographic Information Systems (ArcGIS), Microsoft Project and Microsoft Office.
- Presentation and public speaking skills.
- A valid driver's license to attend meetings at the various county and municipal offices, public meetings, NJDOT/outside agency meetings and field visits (which may not be accessible by other transportation modes).
- At the university's discretion, the education and experience prerequisites may be excepted where the candidate can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the university, an equivalent combination of education and experience specifically preparing the candidate for success in the position.

Bargaining Unit:
PSA

Range/Band:
25

FLSA:
Exempt
Full-Time

Special Instructions to
Applicants:
Please submit a cover letter along with your resume. This is a grant funded position that is not eligible
to applicants who require sponsorship.