Transportation Planner

Transportation Planner

The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) seeks a transportation planner with strong data analysis, planning, and communication skills to join a team of policy analysts and planners who explore essential connections between transportation and its impact on people. This position leads the Congestion Management Process (CMP), using transportation data to understand how the region's multimodal transportation system is performing, identify where and under what conditions congestion and reliability challenges occur, and help develop strategies to address them.

This is an opportunity to apply data analysis skills and core principles of urban and regional planning to transportation issues that affect communities throughout the Boston region. The successful candidate will bring together stakeholder perspectives with technical analysis to inform strategies for improving the transportation system.

The position will play an important role in advancing the MPO's goals for a safe, equitable, sustainable, and resilient transportation system and will contribute to the MPO's Long-Range Transportation Plan and Transportation Improvement Program.

Responsibilities include:

• Leading the development and implementation of the MPO's Congestion Management Process (CMP), including developing work plans, managing projects and budgets, and coordinating staff activities.
• Analyzing transportation system performance using data on congestion, reliability, travel patterns, transit, roadway conditions, safety, and other relevant measures.
• Developing and refining performance measures, metrics, data sources, and analytical methods to better understand transportation system performance.
• Identifying locations, modes, and factors contributing to multimodal congestion and reliability challenges, and evaluating potential strategies to address them.
• Translating technical analyses and data into key findings, visualizations, reports, dashboards, and presentations for technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Planning and facilitating meetings with the CMP Committee.
• Maintaining and improving online tools and dashboards that communicate transportation system performance to stakeholders, decision-makers, and the public.
• Working with transportation agencies and other partners to collect and analyze data and advance strategies to improve transportation system performance.
• Presenting findings and recommendations to the MPO board, committees, stakeholders, and members of the public.
• Staying current on emerging transportation trends, analytical approaches, data sources, and best practices related to congestion management and system performance.

Qualifications include:

• At least five years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, professional experience in urban or regional planning, transportation planning, civil or transportation engineering, public policy, or another relevant field; or
• A bachelor's degree in a relevant field plus three years of relevant professional experience; or
• A master's degree in a relevant field plus one year of relevant professional experience
• Strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills, including experience working with large datasets
• Proficiency with spreadsheets and databases and experience with analytical or data visualization tools such as GIS, R, Python, SQL, or dashboards
• Strong research, writing, presentation and relationship-building skills, with the ability to communicate technical information clearly to a range of audiences
• Demonstrated ability to manage projects, lead tasks, work independently, and collaborate effectively with colleagues and external partners
• An interest in advancing a safe, equitable, sustainable, and resilient transportation system for the Boston region
• Experience analyzing transportation system performance, congestion, reliability, travel behavior, or multimodal transportation data
• Familiarity with transportation data sources, such as roadway, transit, traffic, travel time, crash, or U.S. Census data

Knowledge of the following is desirable, but not required:

• Knowledge of the Boston region and its transportation system
• Familiarity with metropolitan planning organizations, federal transportation programs, or transportation planning requirements
• Experience presenting data and analysis to public agencies, community groups, elected officials, or other nontechnical audiences

Compensation and benefits include a starting salary range of $70,000–$80,000, contingent upon qualifications and experience, and the agency offers excellent Massachusetts state employee benefits; a flexible, supportive work environment; and a commitment to ongoing professional development.