FDOT Transportation Programs & Initiatives Lead

Transportation Program & Initiatives Lead

RS&H is seeking a highly organized, strategic, and adaptable Transportation Program & Initiatives Lead to support executive-level operational priorities across a complex transportation infrastructure environment. This is an embedded position that will report to the office 5 days per week.

This position will serve as a trusted right hand to senior leadership, helping translate executive direction into action, coordinate cross-functional priorities, prepare leadership materials, manage follow-up, and drive execution on high-visibility initiatives. The ideal candidate will be someone who can operate with urgency, discretion, and sound judgment; quickly understand complex transportation, infrastructure, and operational topics; and help keep people, priorities, and decisions moving forward. The role requires strong executive presence and excellent communication skills.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as a strategic extension of senior leadership, helping manage priorities, follow-up items, and time-sensitive operational needs.
• Track key commitments, decisions, and action items from executive meetings and ensure follow-through across internal and external stakeholders.
• Prepare briefing materials, meeting notes, talking points, presentations, executive summaries, and status updates.
• Help organize and prioritize complex information related to transportation operations, program delivery, client needs, stakeholder issues, and internal initiatives.
• Coordinate across project teams, operations leaders, technical staff, communications teams, and external partners to move priorities forward.
• Support special projects and strategic initiatives
• Help leadership prepare for meetings, client discussions, industry events, internal reviews, and operational decision-making.
• Partner with technical and non-technical stakeholders to translate conversations into clear next steps and actionable work plans.
• Maintain a high level of confidentiality, professionalism, and judgment when handling sensitive business, client, personnel, or operational information.
• Support communication and coordination related to major transportation programs, public-sector clients, strategic initiatives, and organizational priorities.

To be successful in this role, you must:

• Have experience in transportation, infrastructure, engineering consulting, public-sector transportation, program management, public engagement, strategic communications, policy, legislative affairs, or executive operations.
• Professional Engineer licensure or technical transportation background is a plus, but not required.
• Prior experience supporting senior executives, agency leaders, program executives, or large-scale transportation initiatives.
• Strong understanding of how transportation agencies, infrastructure programs, or engineering/consulting organizations operate.
• Ability to quickly synthesize technical, operational, political, and stakeholder information.
• Experience preparing executive-level communications, briefing materials, presentations, or program updates.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, competing deadlines, and evolving direction.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment with limited structure.
• Strong relationship-building skills and the ability to work with senior leaders, technical professionals, clients, public agencies, and external stakeholders.
• Engineering, planning, communications, public administration, business, or related degree preferred.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, or related field
• 10+ years of experience in transportation, program/project management
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional initiatives or programs