Active Transportation Planner

Active Transportation Planner

Classification Title: Principal Planner, C31

Location: 310 Court Street, Clearwater, FL (This position is eligible for a hybrid work schedule with some remote work.)

Starting pay range: 54,828.80 – 75,000, depending on qualifications as a program planner or a principal planner

Forward Pinellas, the Planning Council and Metropolitan Planning Organization for Pinellas County, Florida is seeking an Active Transportation Planner to join its team. This position is central to the agency’s goal of making walking and bicycling a viable mode of transportation in the county for commuting as well as recreational purposes. Our agency is a progressive and innovative organization whose mission is to work with our partners to guide effective multimodal transportation solutions and respond to the changing needs of a redeveloping Pinellas County.

This position is primarily responsible for the development and implementation of the Forward Pinellas Active Transportation Plan and in planning for and assisting in the implementation of bicycle and pedestrian projects in Pinellas County and the region.  The position also involves public outreach activities and staff support to the Forward Pinellas Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) and related duties.

The ideal candidate should have a strong background in transportation planning with an emphasis on bicycle and pedestrian travel.  This includes street and land design concepts and the regulatory environment affecting bicycle and pedestrian safety and accessibility.  The candidate should also have experience in long range transportation and/or comprehensive planning, environmental justice, complete streets, citizen engagement, and intergovernmental coordination.  They should be a creative problem-solver with strong interpersonal skills.  Effective written and oral communication skills are essential. Experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is preferred.

Essential Job Functions

• Develop active transportation plans and supporting policies.
• Advocating for bicycle and pedestrian considerations in roadway design plans.
• Assisting local governments in planning and implementing bicycle and pedestrian projects.
• Preparing agendas and associated materials for monthly committee meetings.
• Responding to inquiries from citizens regarding active transportation issues.
• Participating in public outreach activities related to Forward Pinellas plans and projects.
• Coordinating with other MPOs in the region and other partner agencies on development of the multi-use trails priority list and in planning work associated with inter-county projects.
• Assisting in the development of Forward Pinellas priority lists concerning bicycle and pedestrian projects.
• Preparing agenda summary and supporting materials for a board item dealing with an active transportation topic.
• Assists superiors in administrative duties related to preparation and presentation of planning data in graphic and/or written form for use by policymakers and the public.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with departments, outside agencies, municipalities, and the general public.
• May write blog posts related to the planning area of assignment.
• May perform data processing and analysis-related duties including the use of Census information and geographic information systems to define challenges and opportunities.
• Performs related work as assigned or required.

What does Pinellas County offer?

• Health (Point of Service and Health Savings Account-Consumer Driven Plan), vision, prescription, dental, life insurance, and a flexible spending account (FSA) option
• Short- and long-term disability insurance
• 9-11 paid County holidays; 2 floating holidays and 2 personal days (pro-rated); annual leave (accrue 15 days in first year; to be used as sick leave, personal business, vacation)
• Florida Retirement System (FRS) Pension or Investment Plan. The FRS is the 4^th largest state retirement system in the country, providing benefits to over 400,000 retirees. Pinellas County contributes to employees’ retirement plan savings, and employees contribute just 3% of their pretax pay towards the plan.
• Deferred compensation employee-funded pre-tax retirement savings: Deferred comp is an easy way to set aside earnings to help you fund your retirement. You can enroll for as little as $10 per pay period, and you can stop, start or change the enrollment at any time.
• Wellness Program – Wellness activities, free fitness centers, and wellness webinars on physical, social, emotional and financial well-being.
• Tuition Reimbursement – Reimburses up to $2,800 in education expenses for eligible employees for job skills improvement or career development.
• Employee Discount Program – Available at no cost to employees and offers discounts on theme park tickets, consumer items, financial services, and more.

Position Specific Requirements

Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s degree with major course work in urban planning, government, law engineering, design, economics, social science, geography, statistics or a related field plus four (4) years professional experience in urban planning management; or Master’s degree with major course work in urban planning, government, law engineering, design, economics, social science, geography, statistics or a related field plus two (2) years of professional experience as described; or an equivalent combination of education, training and/or experience.

• Florida Driver’s License or Florida Commercial Driver’s License and endorsement, if any.
• Assignment to work a variety of work schedules including compulsory work periods in special, emergency, and/or disaster situations.
• Other knowledge, skills, abilities, and credentials required for a specific position. American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification preferred.

• Assignment to work a variety of work schedules including compulsory work periods in special, emergency, and/or disaster situations

Highly Desirable

• Strong communication, analytical and organizational skills.
• Ability to work effectively with citizens of various ages, ethnicities, and socio-economic backgrounds.
• Working knowledge of complete street design concepts.
• Working knowledge of bicycle and pedestrian friendly land use design concepts.
• Knowledge of principles and practices of local and regional planning, methods of collecting and analyzing.
• planning data and preparing planning reports and studies.
• Knowledge of federal transportation funding programs.
• Ability to address civic organizations and committees and present ideas and findings clearly and concisely.
• Familiarity with local government operations, including board procedures, public budgeting and capital improvement programs.
• Ability to work with ESRI GIS and graphic software (e.g., Adobe Illustrator, InDesign).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of objective and principles of transportation planning, funding, and engineering design with an emphasis on bicycle-pedestrian transportation.
• Proficiency in data analysis.
• Ability to compile technical information, and to prepare narrative and graphic reports.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers, committee members, elected officials and the general public.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally in writing.
• Ability to create and lead multidisciplinary project teams that may consist of other project managers, consulting firms, etc.
• Ability to establish and maintain an effective working relationship with staff, superiors, other local government staff, regional partners, community officials, the media, citizens, state and federal officials.
• Ability to analyze facts and exercise sound judgment in decision-making.
• Ability to effectively participate in committee discussions and articulate the Forward Pinellas perspective/position on land use and transportation planning-related issues to various public and private organizations, boards, agencies, and staff.

Physical/Mental Demands

This work requires exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force to move objects.  Additionally, the following physical abilities are required:

• Balancing: Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling while walking, standing or crouching on narrow, slippery, or erratically moving surfaces. The amount of balancing exceeds that needed for ordinary locomotion and maintenance of body equilibrium.
• Crouching: Bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine.
• Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling.
• Handling: Picking, holding, or otherwise working, primarily with the whole hand.
• Kneeling: Bending legs at knee to come to a rest on knee or knees.
• Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of upper extremities and back muscles.
• Pulling: Using upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion.
• Pushing: Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward, downward or outward.
• Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction.
• Hearing ability: Sufficient to hold a conversation with other individuals both in person and over a telephone; and to hear recording on transcription device.
• Speaking ability: Sufficient to communicate effectively with other individuals in person and over a telephone.
• Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.
• Repetitive motion: Substantial movements (motions) of the wrist, hands, and/or fingers.
• Stooping: Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires full motion of the lower extremities and back muscles.
• Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.

Working Conditions

• Work is performed in a safe and secure work environment that may periodically have unpredicted requirements or demands.

This position has supplemental questions. If unable to complete all questions, you may save your answers as a draft during the application process and return at any time prior to the closing date. Please note that the application is complete upon final submission.