Principal Planner

Atlanta Regional Commision

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Listing Summary

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is the regional planning and intergovernmental coordination agency that focuses on issues critical to the region’s success, including growth and development, transportation, water resources, services for older adults and workforce solutions. ARC is dedicated to unifying the region’s collective resources to prepare the metropolitan area for a prosperous future. This is done through professional planning initiatives, the provision of objective information and the involvement of the community in collaborative partnerships.

The Principal Planner will serve as a team member in the Program Implementation and Partner Services section within the Transportation Planning Department. The primary job responsibility will be to support the Regional Transportation Studies Program (RTSP) where they will be responsible for contract administration duties on select study efforts subcontracted to local sponsors. The individual will also assist with generating quarterly TIP project delivery reports for the Atlanta region and maintain the Project Delivery Dashboard. Additional project data analysis will be required for this position, as the individual will fulfill various ad-hoc TIP reporting requests for internal and external stakeholders. Accordingly, this position will require the ability to extract and process TIP data in spreadsheet format as well as utilize this data in reporting platforms, such as Microsoft Power BI. The individual will also serve in a liaison role working with local jurisdictions on general regional transportation planning and provide assistance to jurisdictions/local project sponsors on the implementation of federal aid funded projects following GDOT’s Plan Development Process (PDP). Ongoing interaction with GDOT Program Delivery staff in conjunction with local jurisdiction staff will be essential to the success of this position as well as providing full customer service to the assigned jurisdictions.

This position may occasionally require occasional travel throughout the Atlanta region to attend meetings with partner agencies, local governments and organizations.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Administers the contract for ARC’s Regional Transportation Studies Program, which funds local transportation planning efforts;
• Designs and produces a quarterly TIP project delivery report, which allows policymakers, stakeholders and the public to track the delivery rates of TIP projects which utilize federal funding programmed by ARC;
• Produces ad-hoc TIP data reporting efforts aimed at internal and external stakeholders as assigned;
• Coordinates directly with staff from assigned local municipalities/organizations and Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) staff to assist on issues pertaining to regional transportation planning and to provide assistance to with the implementation of federal-aid funded projects following the GDOT Plan Development Process (PDP);
• Conducts meetings and presents on ARC programs and projects to various stakeholders, such as: local governments, federal and state agencies, ARC Committees, and presenting at conferences;
• Provides advice and consultation to partners and clients in the region; develops and nurtures relationships with partners and member organizations;
• Perform duties as assigned to support TIP implementation;
• Performs other duties as assigned to support agency goals and objectives.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND COMPETENCIES:

• Knowledge of the GDOT Plan Development Process (PDP) and Locally Administered Project (LAP) process;
• Ability to serve as a technical and/or subject-matter expert in assigned area of expertise;
• Ability to work independently and within a team environment;
• Ability to clearly communicate and give presentations to a variety of audiences;
• Skill in developing new and innovative analytical processes;
• Skill and competency with collecting, analyzing and summarizing data in a logical and reasoned fashion;
• Ability to present to a variety of audiences, from small groups of internal technical staff to larger groups of external public and private stakeholders;
• Possess strong problem-solving, and verbal and written communication skills;
• Possess strong interpersonal, analytical and organization skills;
• Proficient with Microsoft Office software suite (Word, Excel, Access, and Project);
• Proficient with ArcGIS software, along with understanding of its basic concepts and ability to utilize this platform to create maps and perform basic geospatial analysis.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in urban or regional planning, economics, architecture, landscape architecture, civil engineering or related field
• Three (3) years of professional planning experience

OR

An equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above, unless otherwise subject to any other requirements set forth in law or regulation.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATION:

• Local government and/or project management experience

ANNUAL SALARY RANGE: $62,120 – $96,997(no SS deductions except for Medicare portion, approx. 1.45% of salary).