Title:
Senior Director, Communications & External Affairs
Department:
NJTPA
Reports To:
Executive Director, NJTPA
Position Type:
Staff
Position Summary:
Under the direction of the NJTPA Executive Director, the Senior Director, Communications & External Affairs, manages three divisions in carrying out the programs and policies established by the NJTPA Board of Trustees.
The Senior Director is directly responsible for the following functions and staff: Communications, Public/External Affairs, Outreach, and Local Project Development, all of which have extensive interfaces with the public and elected officials.
As a member of the NJTPA Executive Team, the Senior Director works with other Senior Directors to ensure collaboration, coordination, and communication between the various units of the NJTPA.
Working with the Executive Director and other members of the NJTPA’s Executive Team, the Senior Director: ensures adherence to federal requirements of Metropolitan Planning Organizations; coordinates agency participation in federal certification reviews; and plans, organizes, and prioritizes the work of the NJTPA Central Staff in response to all applicable federal requirements, Board of Trustee initiatives, and commitments as outlined in the annual Unified Planning Work Program.
Provides executive-level direction of the activities of the Communications/Public Affairs, Outreach, and Local Project Development divisions.
Essential Functions:
– Directly interacts with the local elected officials and agency representatives on the Board of Trustees.
– Coordinates Central Staff response for the preparation of Board of Trustee initiatives and inquiries requiring follow-up actions.
– Represents the NJTPA as required at various external meetings, forums, and conferences.
– Oversees and directs agency contact with members of the media and serves as agency spokesperson.
– Provides executive-level oversight of preparation and dissemination of all agency publications, including web and social media content, reports, brochures, press materials, etc.
– Oversees development of all NJTPA presentations to ensure proper messaging, branding, etc.
– Oversees agency’s representation at external events including conferences, seminars, and meetings.
– Oversees development and implementation of symposia on relevant planning topics.
– Oversees outreach efforts to ensure broad participation by a full range of interested parties.
– With Board members, their alternates, and subregional staff, including preparation of support materials for all Board, standing committee, and Regional Transportation Advisory Committee meetings.
– Ensures the agency’s adherence to its federally required adopted Public Engagement Plan and oversees updates to the plan as required.
– In addition to elected officials on the Board of Trustees, interacts with Congressional representatives, state legislators, officials of federal and state governmental agencies, and members of advocacy groups.
– Directs all strategic and legislative program initiatives and serves as lead staff contact with federal, state, and local elected officials and their staff.
– Assists in coordination with the NJTPA and its neighboring MPOs (i.e., NYMTC, DVRPC, SJTPO, LVPC, and other MPOs in New York and Connecticut), fulfilling the MAP forum MOU.
– Assists in coordination with national membership organizations (i.e., NARC and AMPO).
Additional Functions:
– Performs other related duties as assigned.
Prerequisite Qualifications:
– Ten (10) years of experience in communications, planning, and/or a related field, approximately five (5) of which must involve supervision of work done in support of the metropolitan planning process, such as public engagement, communications, project/program management, etc., and include supervision of MPO professionals.
– At the university’s discretion, the education and experience prerequisites may be exempted where the candidate can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the university, an equivalent combination of education and experience specifically preparing the candidate for success in the position.
Preferred Qualifications:
– This is a grant-funded position that is not eligible for applicants who require sponsorship.
Bargaining Unit:
Non-Aligned
Range/Band:
5
FLSA:
Exempt
Full-Time
Full job post can be found here.