Career Center

This position is to be located in Washington, DC (preferred), New York City or Philadelphia.

SUMMARY OF DUTIES:

The Northeast Corridor Commission is seeking a highly motivated candidate to join its hard-working and enthusiastic staff. The Commission was established by Congress in the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 to coordinate the agencies that share the region’s core rail network. While the Commission has been administratively hosted by Amtrak since 2011, it is an independent team of transportation professionals.

This position will support the Commission’s capital planning activities including the development of its 15-year CONNECT NEC plan and its 5-year Capital Investment Plan. The recently released CONNECT NEC 2035 (C35) plan provides a blueprint for the initial 15-year phase of the vision established in FRA’s 2017 NEC FUTURE Record of Decision. With passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Commission member agencies are preparing for significant financial resources to support its implementation. C35 defines projects and a coordinated sequencing approach for special projects and capital renewal works that can be implemented or be underway by 2035. The C35 projects are intended to advance the NEC toward a state-of-good repair (SOGR), improve reliability, make the network more resilient against disruptions, and set the stage for future growth.

The Capital Investment Plan (CIP) is the Commission’s five-year plan that integrates NEC agencies’ planned infrastructure investment detail. Year One of the CIP serves as an implementation plan and the baseline for capital program delivery reporting.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Support the development of the next iteration of CONNECT NEC, C37. Activities will include creating and overseeing a highly participatory planning process with the Commission’s member organizations. Technical analyses may include, but would not be limited to, current and future service levels; state of the infrastructure; scope, scale, and sequence of renewal projects; scope, scale, and sequence of improvement projects; impacts to service caused by infrastructure projects (and strategies to mitigate them); workforce needs; economic impacts; and funding/financing strategies.
• Support meetings with the Commission’s Planning Committee, made of NEC Commission members from USDOT, Amtrak and the nine member states, typically representing the most senior levels of their organizations. Support full Commission meetings as appropriate.
• Support working groups and other coordination activities with staff at various levels and in various roles and departments at stakeholder agencies as they gather, develop, refine, and communicate their service and infrastructure plans.
• Support management of consultants to supplement Commission staff resources. Responsible for day-to-day management of consultants to ensure that deliverables are on-time and on-budget.
• Support the development of Commission reports, presentations, and other materials through data analysis and the development of written material.

EXPERIENCE:

• Ability to work in a highly collaborative team environment.
• Consensus-based stakeholder facilitation and coordination skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent quantitative and analytical skills.
• Ability to translate technical analyses into meaningful and appropriate information for different audiences and purposes (staff-level coordination, executive-level action, education for elected officials and the public, etc.).
• Ability to multi-task effectively while remaining flexible in a fast-paced environment.
• Fluency in Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite applications and InDesign.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in public policy, urban and regional planning, transportation engineering, economics, business, or related field.
• Five to ten years transportation, public policy, or public administration experience with an emphasis on passenger rail, public transportation, or general transportation planning and policy

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in public policy, urban and regional planning, transportation engineering, economics, business, or related field.
• Direct experience in passenger rail, freight rail, or transit.
• Knowledge of the rail infrastructure and operations along the Northeast Corridor.
• Direct experience managing consultants in the delivery of professional service related projects.

COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:

• Must have excellent oral and written communication skills.

The Commission is administratively hosted by Amtrak. Please submit your application through Amtrak’s Careers website (Position ID 90303163).