Job Description
Job Description: The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is the regional planning and intergovernmental coordination agency that focuses on issues critical to the region's success, including growth and development, transportation, water resources, services for older adults and workforce solutions. ARC is dedicated to unifying the region's collective resources to prepare the metropolitan area for a prosperous future. This is done through professional planning initiatives, the provision of objective information and the involvement of the community in collaborative partnerships. ARC functions as the Atlanta region's federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), which means ARC is a hub of coordination and planning for transportation in a 20-county metropolitan area. The Senior Planner will provide professional planning support to initiatives in a variety of transportation planning practice areas, including community engagement, transportation equity, strategic infrastructure investment, climate resiliency, transit-oriented development, micro-mobility and transit, transportation technology and electrification, freight and logistics, and land use and transportation coordination. The Senior Planner will serve as a team member in the Community Engagement section within the Transportation Planning Department. This individual will be responsible for supporting the MPO's core products, specifically the long-range metropolitan transportation plan (MTP), transportation improvement program (TIP), and public participation plan (PPP). This position involves working with internal and external stakeholders on public-facing community engagement activities, such as the ARC website, community events, stakeholder meetings, and collection/analysis/reporting of public input received. The Senior Planner will assist with identifying and using appropriate community engagement tools. Staffing engagement activities in the MPO area requires an ability to travel within the 20-county area. This individual will also be a key member of the agency's equity team, which is focused on scaling new federal equity principles and tools to participation activities at the regional level. The ideal candidate will be a professional with skills and experience in community engagement, planning and/or public involvement. They will be a team-oriented individual with strong interest in transportation planning, diversity, equity and inclusion, and regional/local transportation. Some meetings are outside of the normal hours of business operations. This duty can at times include evening and weekend meetings.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities: - Conducts day-to-day community engagement activities, including using innovative public engagement tools, techniques and practices and assisting with management of tasks associated with public participation, such as event planning and communications activities
- Coordinates required community engagement processes for MTP, TIP and PPPP (as per applicable federal codes, executive orders, requirements, and guidance) to ensure compliance with federal and state laws and regulations.
- Assists with public comment activities for ARC Transportation Planning Department, including collection, review and documentation of public comments received.
- Places public meeting notices in legal organs, as required, and ensure public comment efforts are accessible to a wide variety of audiences.
- Builds and maintains the department's contact database, ensuring that ARC's Community Engagement Network is robust and available for on-going outreach activities.
- Assists with the use of any technology or software platforms used to compile or organize public comments.
- Provides support for website content development, which may include drafting fact sheets, newsletters, and other communication collateral pieces for transportation plans, programs and projects.
- Coordinates with transportation planning team to execute community engagement activities on a variety of projects and staff external events that support the goals of the department.
- Represents ARC as requested at community events and stakeholder meetings, including serving as key staff at community events.
- Assists with document preparation for federally required items, such as the MTP, PPP and draft community engagement narrative for plan-specific participation strategies and plans.
- Gains familiarity with federal laws, regulations, policies and procedures that govern MPO transportation planning processes, accessibility and equity.
- Performs other duties as assigned to support agency goals and objectives.
Minimum Qualifications: - Bachelor's degree in transportation planning, public policy, urban or regional planning, community engagement, economics, architecture, landscape architecture, business or public administration, or related field.
- Two (2) years of professional planning or public involvement experience.
Or
- An equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Master's degree in transportation planning, urban or regional planning, public administration, public policy or administration, community engagement or related field;
- Two (2) years professional planning experience, with emphasis on public involvement;
- Multiple language proficiency.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Competencies: REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND COMPETENCIES
- Ability to work and learn independently as well as in a collaborative environment;
- Ability to participate and assist with management and facilitation of meetings, including in-person and virtual meetings;
- Ability to present to a variety of audiences, from small groups of internal technical staff to larger groups of external stakeholders in the public, private and non-profit sectors;
- Ability to exercise very good professional judgement when working with consultants and diverse groups of stakeholders, for example, elected officials, senior staffers, special interest advocates, and the public;
- Demonstrated communication skills, both written and verbal;
- Knowledge of or ability to learn new and existing community engagement and digital communication tools, techniques and practices;
- Ability to multi-task and manage tasks, while meeting assigned deadlines;
- Strong interpersonal, analytical and organization skills;
- Proficiency in the Microsoft Office software suite (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint and Teams);
- Ability to travel throughout 20-county MPO area and attend outreach meetings on weekends and after hours, if needed.
Additional Information About ARC: The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is the regional planning and intergovernmental coordination agency that focuses on issues critical to the region’s success, including growth and development, transportation, water resources, services for older adults and workforce solutions. ARC is dedicated to unifying the region’s collective resources to prepare the metropolitan area for a prosperous future. This is done through professional planning initiatives, the provision of objective information and the involvement of the community in collaborative partnerships. ARC Strategic Framework Vision — ONE great REGION
Mission Statement The Atlanta Regional Commission fosters thriving communities for all within the Atlanta region through collaborative, data-informed planning and investments. Our Goals * Healthy, safe, livable communities in the Atlanta metro area.
- Strategic investments in people, infrastructure, mobility, and preserving natural resources.
- Regional services delivered with operational excellence and efficiency.
- Diverse stakeholders engage and take a regional approach to solve local issues.
- A competitive economy that is inclusive, innovative, and resilient.
Our Core Values Excellence | A commitment to doing our best and going above and beyond in every facet of our work allowing for innovative practices and actions to be created while ensuring our agency’s and our colleague’s success. Equity | We represent a belief that there are some things which people should have, that there are basic needs that should be fulfilled, that burdens and rewards should not be spread too divergently across the community, and that policy should be directed with impartiality, fairness and justice towards these ends. Integrity | In our conduct, communication, and collaboration with each other and the region’s residents, we will act with consistency, honesty, transparency, fairness and accountability within and across each of our responsibilities and functions.
Application Process: The Atlanta Regional Commission is looking for individuals who enjoy working in a public service environment where the mission is to improve the quality of life for the citizens of the Atlanta region. ARC serves as a forum where leaders come together to discuss and act on issues of regionwide consequence, so it is important that our staff share the public entrepreneurial spirit that defines ARC. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, ARC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, national origin, sex, religion or disability. For questions about recruitment, or to request a reasonable accommodation during the application, interview, or testing process, please contact ARC at 404-463-3100 or Human Resources via email at hr@atlantaregional.org. ARC offers our full-time regular employees a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes health insurance, life insurance, retirement benefits, paid time off and more! For additional information, please visit: . 01 Do you have a Bachelor's degree in urban or regional planning, economics, architecture, landscape architecture or related field?
02 Do you have a Master's degree in urban or regional planning, economics, architecture, landscape architecture or related field?
03 How many years of professional planning experience do you have?
- No Experience
- 1 - 2 years of experience
- 2 - 4 years of experience
- 4 - 6 years of experience
- 6 or more years experience
041. How many years of experience do you have working with local communities?
- No Experience
- one to two years experience
- two to four year experience
- four to six years experience
- six or more years' experience
05 Do you have a Bachelor's degree in urban or regional planning, economics, architecture, landscape architecture or related field?
06 Do you have experience facilitating encouraging participation in community meetings and workshops?
- No Experience
- One to two years' experience
- Two to four years' experience
- four to six years experience
- 6 or more years experience
07 How many years of experience do you have coordinating public involvement or communications projects?
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Full time, Local area, Remote job, Afternoon shift,