Transit Programs Analyst



Transit Programs Analyst

Salary

$96,884.74 - $141,662.98 Annually

Location

San Francisco, CA

Job Type

Regular/Full-Time

Remote Employment

Flexible/Hybrid

Job Number

509

Section

Funding Policy & Programs

Opening Date

06/17/2022

Closing Date

7/17/2022 11:59 PM Pacific

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is an equal-opportunity, non-discriminatory employer. MTC provides all employees and applicants with an equal opportunity in every aspect of the employment experience regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, physical handicap, medical condition or marital status.

DESCRIPTION

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS JULY 17, 2022 AT 11:59 PM
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, PLEASE APPLY IMMEDIATELY 
First round interviews tentatively scheduled for Thursday, July 28, 2022
A resume and cover letter are not required with your application, but highly encouraged

Be ready to rethink your assumptions about the public sector. Flexible hours? Flexible work location? A beautiful, well-located, high amenity building for on-site work? Yes, yes, and yes!  
 
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. For more information about MTC, visit www.mtc.ca.gov.   

The Funding Policy and Programs (FPP) section of MTC oversees policy development and investment decision-making including $1.5 billion annually in federal, state, and regional transportation funds. These investments and policies implement Plan Bay Area 2050, a comprehensive blueprint for the development of transit, highway, local streets and roads, rail, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities that integrates planning for transportation, land use, and housing. Other areas of focus include road safety/Vision Zero, transit operations and fare policies, project delivery, and timely use of funds and asset management. 

This position will be filled at either the Assistant or Associate level depending on qualifications.  The Transit Programs Analyst as a member of the Funding Policy and Programs section staff will be responsible for a wide range of tasks including managing MTC’s transit performance monitoring programs, overseeing the programming of various transit operating fund sources, coordinating with local, regional, state and federal stakeholders, and supporting the delivery of the Blue Ribbon Transit Recovery Task Force’s Transit Transportation Action Plan to promote the recovery of public transit from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Responsibilities may include generating financial analysis products including revenue and expenditure analyses, managing the performance audits of transit operators, managing the programming and allocations of Transportation Development Act, State Transit Assistance, bridge toll, and various other transportation fund sources, working closely with transit operator and county transportation agency staff on financial planning tasks, and making presentations to MTC committees, working groups, and to general public.
 
An ability to think outside the box and implement new ways of monitoring the performance of public transit in a pandemic-impacted world while also promoting a customer focused recovery is critical to this position.  


All employees at MTC are classified as Disaster Services Workers.     

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

The ideal candidate will have the following knowledge, skills and abilities: 

  • Ability to translate technical financial data and information into a language and format understandable to the general public
  • Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing
  • Prepare and make presentations to a wide variety of audiences
  • Prepare, evaluate and monitor program budgets
  • Analyze complex operational and management problems and develop innovative solutions
  • Work effectively with others including with staff from MTC’s Facilities and Contract Services section, Regional Planning Program, Finance section, Technology Services section and the Bay Area’s transit operators and county transportation agencies

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

An appropriate combination of education and experience that has provided the required knowledge, skills and abilities is qualifying. A typical way of obtaining the required qualifications is: 

Education:  A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in an appropriate discipline related to the area of assignment such as transportation planning, project management, public finance, transportation engineering, economics, business or public administration.  A Master's degree is preferred.  (Applicants with a degree issued from an institution outside the United States must have their transcripts evaluated by an academic accrediting service and provide proof of equivalency along with their application.) 

Experience:
For the Assistant level
, one year of increasingly responsible experience in an appropriate field related to the area of assignment such as transportation planning, project management, public finance, transportation engineering, economics, business or public administration.  

For the Associate level, minimum of two years of increasingly responsible experience in an appropriate field related to the area of assignment such as transportation planning, project management, public finance, transportation engineering, economics, business or public administration.  

License/Certificate:  Possession of a valid California Class C driver's license and a safe driving record, or the ability to provide alternate transportation which is approved by the appointing authority. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the supervision and direction of the Principal, Transit Programs and Financial Analysis, the essential duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
 

  • Manage the evaluation of Bay Area transit operator performance as required under the Transportation Development Act (TDA). Management of the transit performance monitoring program includes oversight of a contract(s) with independent performance auditor(s), maintaining strong relationships with transit operator staff, as well coordination with Caltrans staff.
  • Manage, in partnership with other Funding Policy and Programs staff, the allocation of various transit operating fund programs including TDA, State Transit Assistance (STA) and bridge toll programs. These programs, totaling approximately $950 million of revenue per year represent nearly 25% of the funding used to operate public transit services across the Bay Area. 
  • Provide support to develop and maintain a new transit operational and financial data cloud-based portal to allow MTC to better serve transit agency partners as well as to better share information with both internal and external stakeholders. 
  • Prepare analyses of transit operator finances and performance trends as well as "what if" scenarios in order to provide information on financial sustainability and to assist with the development of regional transit policies and procedures.  
  • Review the completed Short Range Transit Plans (SRTPs) to assess the scope and viability of the transit agencies' operating plans and associated capital programs.  Summarize results as part of the region's transit financial capacity assessments, and development of long-range plan capital needs.
  • Support agency-wide efforts to deliver accelerated actions from the Blue Ribbon Transit Recovery Task Force’s Transit Transportation Action Plan, including fare coordination/integration, mapping and wayfinding improvement, transit network priority, network management, and the forthcoming Connected Network Plan. 
  • Complete financial analyses for advocacy purposes of potential changes to state and/or federal law. Analyze the policy implications of various MTC and partner initiatives, particularly with respect to transportation performance, revenues, and policies.  
  • Represent MTC at meetings, review written reports and memoranda prepared by project staff and make presentations before MTC committees, executive staff, and other agencies. Conduct general liaison, problem solving and correspondence handling. 
  • Perform other job-related duties as needed or assigned by the section.
 

THE FOLLOWING ARE AMONG THE BENEFITS OFFERED TO EMPLOYEES OF MTC:

  • Public Employees Retirement System (PERS); employee contributes a portion of gross salary on a pre-tax basis.
    • MTC is subject to California Pension Reform and as of January 1, 2013 will offer two pension plans. The plan employee will receive will be based on the individual's historical pension plan membership. HR will discuss this directly with all final candidates.
  •        
  • Health Benefits Insurance through the Public Employees' Retirement System (premiums are shared between agency and employee).
  •    
  • Agency-paid Dental Insurance (dependent coverage shared by the employee and MTC).
  •    
  • Agency-paid Vision Care Insurance, employees only (dependent coverage is paid in full by employee).
  •    
  • Agency-paid Life, AD&D, Short Term and Long Term Disability Insurance.
  •    
  • Eleven paid holidays per year.
  •    
  • One day per month paid vacation leave; for each year of service, an additional day per year is granted to a maximum of 25 days per year.
  •    
  • One day per month paid sick leave, with no limit to the amount of sick leave that can be accumulated. (May cash out up to 240 hours of accumulated sick leave upon separation from the Agency.)
  •    
  • Personal Business leave; up to three (3) days per year depending upon date of hire.
  •    
  • Monthly Transit/Parking Subsidy.
  •    
  • Alternative employee-paid payroll savings plans (tax-deferred compensation plans).
  •    
  • Two voluntary employee-paid pre-tax dependent care and flexible spending accounts available for employees to participate in.
  •    
  • Voluntary Supplemental life insurance.

01
Please describe a time you have used data to help illustrate a key policy issue. Discuss the target audience(s) and how you approached selecting the information to be used.
02
Public transit agencies have faced an unprecedented set of financial and operational challenges due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Please discuss any ideas you have about how to best monitor the performance of public transit in the current environment and how to ensure that the needs of transit users are met.

Required Question

Agency
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Address
375 Beale Street, Suite 800

San Francisco, California, 94105
Phone
415-778-6700