Director, Transportation and Public Works
Location: City of Austin, TX Download: Director, Transportation and Public Works - City of Austin, TX - brochure
About Austin, TX
This vibrant and dynamic city tops numerous lists for business, entertainment, and quality of life. One of the country's most popular and culturally dynamic cities, Austin was ranked #1 by the Wallstreet Journal in 2020 as the Hottest Job Market in the USA. Austin was selected as the #13 Best Place to Live in the U.S. and #1 Best Place to Live in Texas by U.S. News & World Report in 2022 and ranked in the top ten on Forbes list of America's Best Employers in 2017. In support of the LGBTQ people who live and work in Austin, in 2020 and the previous seven years, the City of Austin scored 100 points out of 100 on the Municipal Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign.
Austin is a beacon of sustainability, social equity, and economic opportunity: where diversity and creativity are celebrated, where community needs and values are recognized, where leadership comes from its community members, and where the necessities of life are affordable and accessible to all.
Emerging as a player on the international scene, Austin is well known for its diverse events such as the Austin Marathon, Rodeo Austin, Austin Urban Music Festival, Blues on the Green, Austin Pride Festival, Austin Trail of Lights, SXSW, Austin City Limits, and Formula 1, and being home to companies such as Apple, Samsung, Dell, Oracle, IBM, Tesla, Google, and Ascension Seton Health. From the home of state government and institutions of higher education to the "Live Music Capital of the World" and its growth as a film center, Austin has gained worldwide attention as a hub for education, business, health, smart mobility, and sustainability. From its founding in 1835 through the year 2000, Austin's population roughly doubled every 20 years. Austin's population continues to increase, with more than 100 people moving to the Austin area daily.
The city offers a wide range of events, from music concerts, food festivals, and sports competitions to museum displays, exhibits, and family fun. Austin is also home to a wonderful ballet, world-class museums, one-of-a-kind shopping, and beautiful outdoor spaces. You can just as easily spend your morning paddling the lake as you can strolling through a celebrated history museum.
Located at the edge of the Texas Hill Country, a rolling terrain of limestone bluffs, springs, rivers, and lakes, Austin’s climate is ideal for year-round jogging, cycling, hiking on the city's many trails, or swimming at Barton Springs or one of the area's many other swimming holes. There are several excellent golf courses in the area, as well as opportunities for rowing, kayaking, canoeing, camping, rock climbing, disc golf, mountain biking, fishing, and more. Austin has something for everyone.
Austin City Government
The City of Austin is a progressive, full-service municipal organization operating under the Council-Manager form of government. Austin’s mayor is elected from the city at large, and ten council members are elected from single-member districts. Terms of the mayor and council members are four years, and terms are staggered so that a general election is held every two years, with half the council being elected at each election. Term limits for the mayor and council members provide for two consecutive four-year terms. The City Council is responsible for the appointment of the City Manager, who is the Chief Administrative and Executive Officer of the City, City Clerk, City Auditor, Municipal Court Judges, and the Municipal Court Clerk.
To learn more about the dynamic City of Austin, visit austintexas.gov
Transportation and Public Works Department
The Transportation and Public Works Department (TPW) is a department of the City of Austin responsible for various transportation, public works, mobility, and safety functions throughout the community. TPW maintains the City’s trails, roadways, and bridges and works with all modes of transportation and many Austin-area partners and agencies to deploy an all-ages and abilities network.
Mission
The Transportation and Public Works Department is committed to providing and maintaining the safest and most efficient, cost-effective and sustainable roadway, bikeway, walkway and trail system for our community.
Functions
TPW is responsible for street and bridge operations, the safe routes to school program, sidewalks, urban trails, roadway signage and markings, traffic engineering, traffic and pedestrian signals, ground transportation service regulation, on-street parking, parking meters, City-owned parking lots and garages, transportation systems planning, the active transportation network, permitting and coordination of special events in the City’s right of way, permitting and coordination of construction or maintenance in the City’s right of way, traffic calming, the City’s Complete Streets Policy, and more.
Partners
The Transportation and Public Works Department works with several partners in the Central Texas region to design, plan for and construct mobility and safety improvements on our region's transportation systems.
· Texas Department of Transportation – Austin District (TxDOT) - The State of Texas' transportation agency manages state and interstate roadways. TxDOT also operates portions of several arterial roadways that Austin considers "local roads". The City of Austin works with TxDOT during the planning and execution of improvements on TxDOT roads. Additionally, the City partners with TxDOT to manage traffic signals on many TxDOT-owned roadways.
· Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) - The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (Mobility Authority) is an independent government agency created in 2002 to improve the transportation system in Williamson and Travis counties. Their mission is to develop, deliver, operate and maintain high-quality roadways and related transportation solutions. In Central Texas, there are two agencies that operate toll roads, issue their own electronic tags and do their own billing: the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and CTRMA.
· Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Capital Metro) - Capital Metro is responsible for transit service planning, maintenance, and operations in Austin and several surrounding communities. This includes station installation and maintenance, route planning, setting rates of fare, and more for MetroBus, MetroRapid, and MetroRail as well as paratransit and carpool services. The City of Austin partners with Capital Metro to make transit improvements such as installing transit priority lanes and transit queue jumps to help enhance transit efficiency on Austin’s roadways.
· Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) - The Austin Transit Partnership was formed by the City of Austin and Capital Metro after Austin voted in November 2020 to implement Project Connect, which includes expanded transit options throughout the Austin area with new light rail and more services across the city. The Austin Transit Partnership serves as the independent local government corporation tasked with implementing Austin Light Rail.
· Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) - CAMPO is the Metropolitan Planning Organization for Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson Counties. CAMPO coordinates regional transportation planning with counties, cities, and local agencies and plays a role in the allocation of federal funds to local entities.
The Position
Under the direction of the Assistant City Manager, the Transportation and Public Works Director will be responsible for directing, planning and providing leadership for the operations of the Transportation and Public Works Department, oversight of capital improvement projects on behalf of sponsor agencies, and coordination and control of work performed in the City's right of way, as well as planning, directing, coordinating and maintaining economical and efficient transportation services for the City.
Key Priorities and Projects
· Street and Bridge Operations - Composed of professional and technically skilled staff, Street and Bridge Operations manages and maintains public right-of-way infrastructure including streets, bridges, sidewalks, guardrails, trees and vegetation. Our five divisions patch potholes, resurface streets, repair utility cuts, maintain the City’s medians, maintain trees within the right-of-way, and respond after storms.
· Project Connect – The transportation and Public Works Department works collaboratively with the City’s Project Connect Office and other City departments to partner with the Austin Transit Partnership and Capital Metro to implement the Project Connect components. Project Connect is the City’s high-capacity transit system expansion, which includes light rail lines, an expanded bus system, park and rides, and an all-electric fleet. It is a component of the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan.
· Interstate 35 Capital Express - The I-35 expressway through the heart of Austin and Central Texas is being reconstructed to address safety, mobility, and east-west connectivity needs. The Texas Department of Transportation is leading the project to improve I-35 in Travis County from SH 45 North to SH 45 Southeast. The City of Austin works in partnership with TxDOT to achieve this vision. TPW leads the City’s efforts to develop “caps”, also referred to as decks, land bridges, or lids between overpasses along the IH 35 Capital Express project.
· Regional Construction Coordination Plan – The Central Texas community will experience an unprecedented level of construction in the coming decade, including I-35, Project Connect, the City’s Corridor Construction Program, US 183 North, MoPac South, as well as other significant private and public projects. This multi-agency initiative will coordinate construction across agencies to minimize traffic impacts. Agreement among the agencies on the program concept is in place. The Director will lead the effort to define the details and shared funding model. Goal is to have operational by 2025.
· Vision Zero – Vision Zero is the Austin community's goal to reduce people hurt or killed by crashes to zero with street improvements, policy changes and education. Austin Transportation works to achieve that goal through planning and building a safe multi-modal transportation network in collaboration with City and community partners.
Duties, Functions and Responsibilities
Essential duties and functions, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include the following. Other related duties may be assigned.
· Exercises significant authority for capital project delivery and operation and maintenance of the transportation system, including decisions related to the staffing, administration, and financial management of the department.
· Oversees the preparation of the budget and related capital expenditures; the long-range strategic plan and its implementation and the emergency management plans.
· Exercises fiduciary responsibility for and administrative control over the Transportation Fund, Capital Project Management Fund and Child Safety Fund.
· Acts as official departmental representative to other City Departments, City Manager's Office, elected officials, outside agencies, the public and others; explains, justifies, and defends department programs, procedures, and activities; and negotiates and resolves sensitive, significant, and controversial issues. Briefs and advises City management and the Mayor and Council regarding program administration in person and through written reports. Offers testimony before appropriate regulatory and governmental bodies.
· Ensures compliance with governmental rules and regulations.
· Leads, selects, and develops a senior team of professionals to execute the department's operations and business strategy.
Knowledge and Abilities
Must possess required knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience and be able to explain and demonstrate, with or without reasonable accommodations, that the essential functions of the job can be performed.
· Knowledge of federal, state, and local laws and ordinances governing public works and transportation systems.
· Knowledge of fiscal planning and budget preparation.
· Knowledge of supervisory and managerial techniques and principles.
· Knowledge of the principals and practices of public administration.
· Skill in data analysis and problem solving.
· Skill in directing the activities of a large and complex organization.
· Skill in conducting presentations on behalf of a public entity.
· Ability to train others.
· Ability to quickly recognize and analyze irregular events.
· Ability to establish and maintain effective communication and working relationships with city employees and the public.
Education and Experience
Qualified candidates will have a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in Engineering, Business Administration, or Public Administration, or a closely related field, plus ten (10) years of related experience, five (5) years of which were in a managerial capacity. Master’s degree may substitute for two (2) years of the required work experience.
The Ideal Candidate
Transportation and Public Works is a large, complex department. The ideal candidate will have experience working with street and bridge operations, transportation systems, financial mechanisms, capital planning and implementation, professional and field personnel. The ideal candidate will have a broad understanding of the complexities of managing a large municipal transportation and/or public works department.
The ideal candidate should be knowledgeable of local, state and federal transportation operations and regulations, engineering principles and practices relating to transportation infrastructure and construction, and possess financial knowledge to include fiscal planning, budget management and capital improvement projects.
The ideal candidate should be politically savvy and will have the ability to build trust, collaborate, and establish and maintain effective working relationships with the City Manager and staff, Mayor and City Council, other department Heads, media, city employees, community leaders, external stakeholders, and the general public to ensure a common vision is enacted and supported. The ideal candidate should be a champion of transparency and skilled at both internally and externally facing communication.
The ideal candidate should have strong interpersonal skills, be an effective listener, be responsive to input, and provide timely feedback. This individual should demonstrate the capacity and interest to be an effective mentor for staff. Advanced written and verbal communication skills are imperative for this position.
The ideal candidate should have demonstrated experience and a commitment to making facilities more resilient by analyzing, prioritizing, and implementing improvements with an asset management focus.
Salary
The salary is commensurate based on experience and the approved salary range. The benefits package includes medical, dental and vision coverage, life insurance, compensated leave, short-term disability, and retirement benefits. The City is a member of the Proportionate Retirement Program. Optional benefits include supplemental life insurance, a 457 deferred compensation plan, long-term disability plan, and a legal plan. Visit https://www.austintexas.gov/department/active-employee-benefits to learn more about the City's employee benefits.
Reasonable relocation benefits will be provided to the successful candidate.
How to Apply
Applicants should forward a cover letter and resume to:
resumes@affionpublic.com
Reference: AUSTINTPWD
Affion Public
PO Box 794
Hershey, PA 17033
888.321.4922
www.affionpublic.com
*The deadline to receive resumes is September 12, 2023*
The City of Austin is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.
Posted: 08/10/2023