Project Manager – Washington, D.C.

Organization: Reconnecting America

Job Title: Project Manager

Location: Washington, D.C.

Hours and Compensation: Full-time. Salary is competitive and commensurate with training and experience. Reconnecting America provides a comprehensive benefits package.

Application Deadline: February 23, 2013.

Posted On: January 31, 2013

Organization Overview:

Reconnecting America is a national nonprofit organization that helps transform promising ideas into thriving communities, where transportation choices make it easy to get from place to place, where businesses flourish, and where people from all walks of life can afford to live, work and visit. We accomplish these goals by advising civic and community leaders on how to overcome community development challenges to create better communities for all. We also develop research and innovative public policy, while building on-the-ground partnerships and convening the players needed to accelerate decision-making. Reconnecting America engages in an integrated set of activities to support our efforts including technical assistance with a broad set of stakeholders in regions big and small across the country and policy reform at the federal, state and local levels and education activities to build capacity among the range of stakeholders ultimately responsible for building stronger and more equitable communities. Through a strong communications infrastructure we are able to deploy our resources and our point of view to a wide audience. We are focused on engaging a growing network of stakeholders in identifying best practices, deploying leading edge strategies and innovation, and highlighting the leaders in the field, often in unexpected places. Reconnecting America’s home office is in Washington, DC, with additional offices in Oakland, California and Denver, Colorado.

Reconnecting America is the managing partner in the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD), one of our signature programs. Formed in 2004, the CTOD is a partnership between Reconnecting America, the Chicago-based national nonprofit Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) and the economic consulting firm Strategic Economics based in Berkeley, California. The CTOD partnership is focused on maximizing the value of transit investments in diverse communities across the country by working to leverage additional private, public and philanthropic investment that fosters an improved quality of life for all citizens.

Reconnecting America provides a national platform from which an effective Project Manager can help launch leading edge strategies, identify needed policy reform and facilitate groundbreaking partnerships and collaborations in support of the integration of transportation and land use.

Description:

The Project Manager will help manage projects in the Technical Assistance program of Reconnecting America and the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD). The Project Manager will work closely with a range of stakeholders—including public agency staff, policymakers, community-based organizations, philanthropy, developers and others—to help identify appropriate policies, programs, plans and implementation strategies to promote and support the equitable integration of transportation and land use at the regional, city and neighborhood scale. Reconnecting America’s placed-based work in diverse locations across the country is focused on helping to identify best practices, innovative solutions and strategies, and key lessons learned that inform a national effort in support of transit-oriented development (TOD) and other community development-related initiatives. The Project Manager will work closely with both the policy and communications staff to help deliver on those outcomes. The Project Manager will be expected to build relationships with national organizations based in Washington D.C. and to cultivate and strengthen partnerships with stakeholders in regions across the east coast and beyond.

Responsibilities:

• Managing Technical Assistance projects and collaborative efforts in a variety of localities and regions. Working closely with local partners, including community-based non-profit groups, public agency staff, elected officials, non-profit and for-profit developers and philanthropic partners to advance TOD efforts in cities and regions across the country.
• Collaborating on a regular basis with the Technical Assistance team in Denver, CO and Oakland, CA., including participation on team calls.
• Leading research projects with multi-disciplinary teams on subjects related to TOD, transit performance, sustainability, urban form characteristics and other leading edge issues.
• Writing on key issues related to TOD in a variety of formats to effectively communicate complex concepts to a range of stakeholders.
• Offering policy solutions to government agencies (MPO’s, transit agencies, and local governments) based on national expertise and political feasibility.
• Representing the organization through public speaking engagements and networking at conferences and stakeholder meetings.
• Building and maintaining ongoing relationships with partner organizations and federal agencies based in Washington DC.
• Developing proposals in response to RFP’s or RFQ’s from various entities and to foundations and identifying opportunities for new projects.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning, Public Policy, Economics or other related field and a minimum of three years of work experience in a related field with at least one year of project management experience. Of course, candidates with less or more experience who can make a compelling case regarding their suitability for this position will be considered.
• Enthusiastic, energetic self starter with demonstrated networking capabilities.
• Understanding and experience with TOD principles and strategies. Familiarity with land use and transportation policy a plus, as well as expertise in other associated disciplines such as economics, public health, affordable housing and infrastructure financing.
• Excellent interpersonal, project management, oral and written communication, group facilitation, public speaking and collaboration skills. Good communication skills both internally among staff and externally with partners are a must.
• Demonstrated ability to work productively, professionally, collaboratively and respectfully with a wide range of stakeholders in a diversity of settings.
• Strong research and analytical skills; ability to write clearly and convincingly synthesizing complex information and conveying new concepts and ideas in the areas of land use, transportation, housing, community development, social and physical environmental issues, commercial and residential development, as well as a wide variety of related subjects.
• Experience in fundraising, including grantwriting and proposal writing and marketing a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and regularly with colleagues
• Self-directed, resourceful and results oriented.
• Motivated, enthusiastic and committed to the organization’s mission.
• Computer proficiency, knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite. Experience with Geographic Information Systems and adobe Creative Suite a plus, but not required.
• Frequent travel (at least 25-30% of time).

How to Apply:

Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume (combined into one single Word or pdf file) to [email protected] by February 23, 2013. In the subject line, write Project Manager. No phone calls please.