Want a chance to work on some of the most innovative regional transit policy and funding issues? Your analytical and communication skills is needed at the premiere transit organization in Northern Virginia.

As part of its Transit Fellows program, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) seeks a Policy Fellow, full time for a term of six months, renewable for up to a year. This fellowship provides a professional development opportunity for mid-career t

A PRTC OmniRide bus in Arlington, Virginia operating the Lake Ridge express route. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ransportation specialists as well as college graduates and graduate students. Successful applicants will gain in-depth knowledge of transit policy and funding issues and will serve a key role in tracking and analyzing federal and state policy including legislation, policy and planning. The Policy Fellow will draft issue briefs, prepare presentations, as well as write policy memorandum, newsletter articles, web content and special reports for the Commission and its stakeholders. Specific activities include: supporting briefings of policy makers on key transit issues, analyzing legislation related to transit and the Commission, participating in the planning and execution of NVTC’s annual briefing of the General Assembly and NVTC Commission Meeting in Richmond in February, and staff support of the Executive Director. The responsibilities will include local travel and some evening commitments.

MINIMUM AND PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• College graduates, graduate students or mid-career professionals
• Bachelor’s Degree in policy, government, journalism, transportation planning, public administration, economics, policy or related area
• Demonstrated interest in public transportation or transportation planning and policy development
• Strong writing and analytical skills
• Ability to work in a small office/team oriented environment

Duration of the appointment is six months and is a renewable for six months. Priority will be given to applicants who can begin their fellowship quickly.

WHO SHOULD APPLY:

Fellowships are awarded to professionals with a strong understanding of transportation policy, finance and transportation funding and/or public outreach. Graduate students and mid-career professionals are encouraged to apply.

COMPENSATION:

The Fellow will receive compensation consistent with compensation guidelines of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation and will be eligible for transit benefits.

HOW TO APPLY:

Send cover letter, resume, and a brief writing sample to Colethia Quarles at transitfellows@nvtdc.org. The cover letter should describe the applicant’s objectives in pursuing the fellowship. Please highlight particular skills, knowledge or interests as it relates to a demonstrated interest in the Commission’s work, familiarity with federal or state legislative and policy issues, and experience or knowledge in public outreach. Please note your availability at the top of the cover letter.

Applications can also be mailed to:

Colethia Quarles
​Transit Fellowship Program
​2300 Wilson Blvd., Suite 620
​Arlington, VA 22201

DEADLINE:

Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until a candidate is selected.

ABOUT NVTC:

NVTC has a small staff located in offices in the vibrant Court House area of Arlington. NVTC is a leading expert on performance metrics and transit finance, coordinates regional planning studies and evaluations, partners with other regional entities including the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. NVTC encompasses six cities and counties, a commuter rail service, six bus systems including MetroBus, Metrorail and the Vanpool Alliance.

Image Courtesy: NVTC

The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission seeks a resourceful, transportation professional skilled in bringing teams together across transportation agencies on technology projects and planning efforts. This position will work with NVTC’s jurisdictions which include Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties and the Cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church. Combine your skills in project management and knowledge of policy and planning to support regional efforts to expand capacity, improve connectivity and ensure high quality transit service in Northern Virginia. The Projects and Policy Manager will coordinate a regional working group on the New Electronic Payments Program, other contracts and state and federal grants as well as support regional planning activities.

POSITION DESCRIPTION
The position combines planning, coordination and project management of contracts and state and federal grants for six jurisdictions and the region as a whole. Existing projects include bus rapid transit (BRT), Metrorail station improvements, light rail and other multi-modal facilities. The position will develop funding strategies for ongoing and new initiatives as well as preparing all phases of funding applications. The Projects and Policy Manager will facilitate regional working groups, participate in planning activities of other regional working groups, and support the work of Commission. This position reports to the Director of Programs and Policy.
The ideal candidate will have experience with local or state government, project management, and transit and related fields including communications, research & analysis, regional transportation planning, and federal contracts and grants management. This position requires a college degree and at least five years of relevant experience supported with strong references. Excellent written and oral communication, experience in facilitation/meeting management, and skills in spreadsheets and graphics are mandatory.

DUTIES INCLUDE
 Manage New Electronic Payments Program (NEPP) project including:
o Facilitating regional partners working group o Serving as Project Manager for the regional Technical Assistance contract
o Staffing grant applications and procurements
o Serving as the liaison with WMATA and their contractor for NEPP

 Manage other projects, which may include the following:
o Vanpool Alliance Program
o National Transit Database (NTD)

 Represent NVTC on regional studies & with other regional organizations
 Develop partnerships on collaborative research and technology efforts
 Manage and/or provide oversight for approved NVTC contracts
 Identify new projects and develop applications for state/federal funding
 Draft requests for proposals and invitations for bids for new NVTC projects, direct selection and procurement, and manage contractor performance and payments
 Work with the Executive Director and board members on special projects
 Serve as DBE compliance officer
 Prepare informative materials for commissioners, local staff, and regional partners on new and existing NVTC projects including memoranda, web content, and e-newsletter text
 Participate in ongoing strategic planning efforts and organize outreach efforts on behalf of NVTC and regional projects

SELECTION CRITERIA
Mandatory:
 Bachelor’s Degree in public administration, planning, transportation, economics, business management, civil engineering, or related field, plus five years of professionally progressive experience with project management in transit, planning, or a related field.
 Demonstrated interest in transit or rail project development, policy, or finance.
 Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
 Experience in meeting management and facilitation.
 Skills in graphics and spreadsheets.

Desirable:
 Advanced degree in economics, public sector management/administration, public policy, planning, technology policy and law or related field;
 Additional work experience beyond the minimum five year requirement;
 Experience with FTA grant and contract requirements highly desirable;
 Experience in writing talking points, preparing presentations, meeting agendas, and drafting reports, analyses, and recommendations for board action and comments to legislative and regulatory agencies;
 Experience with local or state government;
 Experience with developing and making presentations to elected officials, business leaders and community groups;
 Experience in designing and/or conducting community outreach efforts; and
 Experience working closely in a small team environment.

How to Apply
The job will remain open until filled. NVTC is an equal opportunity employer. Please provide a complete resume including your salary history and requirements, as well as a letter describing your qualifications and interest in this specific position. Please describe examples of your relevant experience, include links to or attachments of relevant work product:

Email: opportunities@nvtdc.org
Director, Programs and Policy
NVTC
2300 Wilson Boulevard
Suite 620
Arlington, VA 22201

ABOUT NVTC
NVTC has a small staff located in offices in the Court House area of Arlington. NVTC is a leading expert on performance metrics and transit finance, coordinates regional planning studies and evaluations, partners with other regional entities including the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. NVTC encompasses six cities and counties, Virginia Railway Express (a commuter rail service), six bus systems including MetroBus, Metrorail and the Vanpool Alliance.

SALARY and BENEFITS
Outstanding benefits are provided (life, health, dental, disability insurance; pension; pre-tax child care and medical cafeteria plan; free parking or parking cash-out; tax-free transit benefit). The competitive salary depends on experience and qualifications.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Additionally, work hours may vary based on business needs and may include evening and occasional weekend hours as necessary.

Applications will be reviewed on a continuous basis. Interviews will be scheduled with those candidates whose qualifications best fit our needs. The application process will close when the position has been filled or when a sufficient number of qualified applications have been received.

Photo by Aimee Custis Photography

Position Title: Research Analyst

Number of Open Positions: One, full-time.

Hiring Organization: Mobility Lab, a program managed by the Destination Sales & Marketing Group, Limited on behalf of Arlington County Commuter Services.

About the Mobility Lab Program

Mobility Lab is a program of Arlington County, Virginia’s transportation demand management bureau, Arlington County Commuter Services (ACCS). The program has four main functions. One is hosting and co-sponsoring events related to transportation demand management (TDM) and transit-oriented development (TOD). The second is sharing news and information about TDM and TOD via the mobilitylab.org web site. The third is educating policy-makers about TDM.

The Research Analyst will help fulfill Mobility Lab’s fourth function, conducting research. At present, Mobility Lab’s primary research efforts focus on the following four categories:

1. Evaluation and measurement of other ACCS programs.
2. Public-opinion and other market research related to transportation.
3. Fulfilling data and information requests from ACCS programs, as well as groups outside of ACCS and Arlington County government.
4. Special projects.

Prior Mobility Lab research studies may be viewed at http://mobilitylab.org/research/mobility-lab-research-catalog/

Since TDM is an inherently public-facing transportation specialty and the companion elements of the Mobility Lab program are oriented towards outreach and communication, the research program must continuously strike a balance between serving the fast-paced, ever-changing needs for information from colleagues, and maintaining high standards of quality for projects that span many months or years. The program must also provide information to ACCS staff that is, technically sound, easy-to-understand, and actionable.

The research program is highly visible and receives considerable scrutiny from within ACCS.

Why are We Hiring for this Position?

The Mobility Lab Research Director and colleagues have identified a need to integrate program-evaluation-and-measurement research functions further into the day-to-day work of ACCS programs.

As one example, Mobility Lab will work with Arlington Transportation Partners (the business-outreach program of ACCS), to measure the impact of new transportation benefits or outreach on mode shift by analyzing small-scale pre- and post-intervention datasets in partnership with ATP staff as they engage employers regarding offering or expanding TDM benefits to their employees.

The research program will also enhance its integration with other ACCS programs by supporting information gathering for those programs. This will include providing regular written and oral synopses of relevant academic and public research to program staff, with key takeaways that the programs can use to enhance their work. The research program will also provide streams of regularly updated market information, such as demographic and transportation-related Census data, news of business relocations, and new residential construction.

In order to fulfill these new functions, Mobility Lab needs to expand its in-house capacity for collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing data and making informed, evidence-based, data-driven recommendations. The Research Analyst will add knowledge of quantitative-research data collection, statistics, and data management.

Adding in-house capacity will complement existing and future research work managed by Mobility Lab but conducted by consulting firms.

The Research Analyst will report directly to the Research Director. The Research Analyst will also interact with other Mobility Lab and ACCS staff.

Responsibilities

• Draft survey questionnaires for approval by Research Director and other stakeholders.
• Assist with programming and monitoring of internet-based surveys.
• Analyze survey data using descriptive statistics and significance tests, and compare that data with other spatial and non-spatial data.
• Summarize and present analysis findings through written, visual, and oral communication.
• Assist the Research Director and ACCS-program staff with analysis of contact databases, including query and report writing.
• Track and report on outside research relevant to ACCS programs, as well as employer, labor-market, transportation, and demographic data.
• Assist in the creation of a database for the collection of performance metrics for ACCS programs. Lead maintenance and updating of the database for reporting to the Commonwealth of Virginia and other stakeholders.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Strong critical-thinking ability and capacity to build evidence-based arguments.
• Excellent analytic and technical skills that support critical thinking and evidence-based arguments.
• General knowledge of common primary and secondary sources of data, as well as a curiosity for exploring, discovering, and using new sources.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent time management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to be proactive in identifying and offering solutions to problems.
• Proficiency with common statistics packages (such as SPSS, SAS, R, or similar), Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Access.
• One to three years of professional experience in research analysis.
• Proficiency with any geographic information systems (GIS) software is strongly preferred.
• Experience designing and fielding internet-based surveys and analyzing collected data using common statistical tests preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in geography, business, public policy, economics, sociology, psychology, computer science, statistics, or urban planning. Candidates with degrees in economics, business, sociology, psychology, computer science, and statistics, must demonstrate an interest in cities, transportation, and/or marketing. 

Salary and Benefits

Salary will be commensurate with experience, but in the range of $50,000 to $65,000 per year.

Participation in DS&MG’s 401(k) plan, health insurance (including dental and vision), short- and long-term disability, as well as direct payment of transit/vanpool costs up to $130 per month (up to $1,560 per year) OR bike-commuting costs at $20 per month ($240 per year), and payment of annual Capital Bikeshare membership fees ($75 per year). A “compressed” work schedule that allows employees to take every-other Friday as a day off after six months of employment per supervisor approval. Total paid time off for vacation and illness of 128 hours (16 days) per year. An additional 10 paid holidays per year.

Note that this is not a position with Arlington County Government.

To Apply

Please send a letter of introduction, resume, three professional or academic references, and one writing sample that demonstrates your ability to communicate quantitative information. One sample of any work that demonstrates your ability to communicate quantitative information through visuals is also welcome, though not required.

Send materials in PDF format to stephen.crim@mobilitylab.org. Please include the phrase “Mobility Lab Research Analyst” in the Subject line. No phone calls please.