Senior Planner

Join Our Planning Team!

We are seeking a passionate Senior Planner to join our Planning team and help advance our mission by focus on active transportation and community engagement.

About Ecology Action

At Ecology Action, we are passionately driven to empower individuals, businesses, and communities to take actions today that achieve environmental and economic sustainability. Our mission is to help people, businesses, and communities act now for a better tomorrow. We believe that simple changes in behavior can drive large-scale transformations that benefit both people and the planet. This translates into reduced carbon emissions, stronger businesses, healthier communities, and a sustainable future for all.

About the Role

The Senior Planner directly supports the mission and vision of Ecology Action by administering a portfolio of grant-funded planning projects with an emphasis on active transportation and/ or community engagement, including Safe Routes to Schools and active transportation planning for local municipalities. This position manages a small planning team responsible for all aspects of plan creation, including creating project maps, outreach / education (with the goal of identifying barriers to active transportation), synthesizing feedback, making recommendations and final plan development.

What you'll be doing

Planning Program Management

• Assuming ultimate responsibility for outreach and engagement efforts.
• Issuing RFPs for consultants and Community Based Organizations (CBOs), as required.
• Screening, hiring, and managing consultants.
• Organizing and facilitating public forums and community meetings.
• Gathering public comments through a variety of venues, working with diverse community stakeholders.
• Documenting potential barriers and areas of concern for target constituents.
• Develop plan and recommendations including development of prioritization methodology.
• Presenting to public bodies (e.g. City Council, School Districts)
• Representing Ecology Action and Community Programs initiatives to potential partners to build relationships and potential funding sources
• Managing competing priorities, and multiple simultaneous projects involving cross-functional project teams within budgetary and schedule constraints.

Stakeholder Communication

• Acting as the strategic lead for the Planning program. Working in close collaboration with the Vice President, Operations Director, Development team and stakeholders to develop a strategic plan.

Team Management and Development

• Guiding staff members and managing internal team expectations.
• Recruiting, leading, mentoring, and training assigned staff
• Monitoring, evaluating and supporting the performance and professional development of 3 direct reports across multiple sites, providing ongoing performance management, constructive feedback and recognition.
• Promoting a positive and inclusive work culture that encourages collaboration, innovation, and diversity.

Contract and Budget Management

• Partnering with Development team to develop scopes of work and project budgets to ensure workplans fit the skills and capacities of Planning team.
• Partnering with Development Team, Compliance, and Accounting to ensure new contracts and budgets are set up properly. Leading contract kickoff meetings internally and externally.
• Collaborating with the Operations & Budget Analyst to create and manage Planning program budgets and staff plans. Ensuring appropriate expenditure and accurate budget accounting (including timesheet reporting) by direct reports.

Resource and Risk Management

• Collaborating with the Office Manager to develop and maintain a system guiding the tracking, use, storage, and maintenance of all material program resources.
• Collaborating with the Operations Director - as required - to devise risk management policies and protocols.
• Ensuring team members have necessary materials within grant budgets and are in compliance with the completion of required training.

Strategic Planning

• Leading communication with external partners, including funders, project collaborators, subcontractors, stakeholders, community members, and the media. Actively solicit and maintain professionally strategic relationships.
• Working with a variety of internal stakeholders, including Marketing, Business Development, Human Resources, Accounting IT and Volunteer Staff.

What We're Looking For

• A minimum of 5 years' related experience and bachelor's degree in planning, urban studies, transportation planning, transportation engineering or related field.
• A minimum of 2 years supervising staff.
• A minimum of 2 years with project administration, including budget management.
• Event / public meeting planning or community outreach experience.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience may be qualifying.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in planning, urban studies, transportation planning, transportation engineering or a closely related field.
• Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite and/or GIS mapping skills sufficient to create maps with project overlays.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish)
• Experience preparing requests for proposals, coordinating the selection of consultant contracts and managing consultant contracts according to state requirements.
• Experience working with school administrators, teachers, parents and students.

Knowledge and Skills

• Transportation planning theory, methods, and current trends, especially in active transportation and Safe Routes to Schools.
• Policy and design guidelines for bike/pedestrian infrastructure, including the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
• Public outreach and equitable community engagement practices.
• Relevant data sources, including collision and underserved community data, and the ability to analyze and draw conclusions from survey data.
• Local government processes for planning, funding, and implementing bike/pedestrian projects.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Power Point, Outlook)
• Valid driver license, proof of minimum required insurance and reliable transportation.

Work Environment

The physical demands described here represent those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.   

 While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, talk and hear, and use a computer keyboard and monitor.  Ability to bend, lift, and carry objects up to 30 pounds; work effectively in a remote/hybrid environment; work occasional early mornings, evenings, and weekends; and travel as needed.

Are You Ready?

Don't meet every single requirement? If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Join us at Ecology Action and contribute to a sustainable future! 🌿

Salary : $84,286 - $105,358