Welcome to the tenth Jobs, Opportunities and Funding Dispatch. It is November 17, 2018 and I don’t think we really had a fall. Upper 60s and low 70s for Halloween night, and then this snow thing that several of us have had now. I was laughing at Kansas City until Thursday morning when I still had to go out and give a speech. And a good one I thought! Thanks to the Capital Trails Symposium, which was put on by the Capital Trails Coalition, which is administered by my friends at the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, for putting on such a great program and letting me part getting folks excited to be there. Listen to my remarks, which start at the 13:38 remark with my introduction and end at the 24:10 mark. Thanks again to Gordon Chaffin for the image leading this picture and the recording and a very special shout out to Les Henderson to for being my pep squad on that day (and tbh, every day these days).
Now, on to the jobs.
The Still Open and Ready’s
Marin County (CA) Bicycle Coalition
All those jobs in Boston but some are already starting to review resumes and interview candidates. I would suggest continuing to check that pages regularly if you are interested in any of these posted or upcoming City of Boston jobs.
The Loeb Fellowship (until January 4, 2019, so you have some time, but again, this is a fellowship so it can take some time to get an application package together).
The NAACP National Headquarters Design Competition) Just a reminder here to have your final materials in by November 30th.
The League of American Bicyclists
City of West Hollywood That 11/20 close date is almost here and basically before the next email, so get on this one!
City of Bloomington, IN (Closes 12/3)
Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT)
IndyGo (With Jerome Horne and Austin Gibble!)
SLF Consulting (Henry Pan can connect you with a staff member)
And not just one, but a second position at Uber. For the second Nadia Anderson is the actual hiring manager.
Sound Transit (Program Director closes on 11/20)
Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) (Open until filled)
The City of Alexandria (Closes 11/18)
ODOT (Closes 12/3)
The Federal Highway Administration— this is that one that’s only taking the first 150 candidates, so be sure to jump on that fast.
Jarrett Walker & Associates (Original position has closed, but bookmark this page for two other upcoming position openings)
Seattle DOT (Director and Transit & Mobility Division Director; The first is open until filled and the second closes 11/20)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA)
The City of Westminster, CO (Closes 11/19)
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
UNC Charlotte (Closes on 11/25)
WashDOT (One, which closes 11/20 and Two)
Adventure Cycling (Closes 11/27)
What Jessica Roberts slid us in the Bike Equity Network listserv this week:
TxDOT is hiring a bicycle/pedestrian Planner III/IV (officially in the Public Transportation Division). Austin, TX. Source: APBP list serve. Salary listed.
The City of Toronto is hiring a Public Realm Project Manager. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Source: can’t remember. Salary listed. (Closes 11/21)
Foothill Transit is hiring a Policy and Programs Manager. West Covina, CA. Source: Emailed to me. Salary listed.
The City of Toronto is hiring an Executive Director – Transit Expansion Office. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Source: Emailed to me. Salary not listed. (Closes 12/7)
The I-70 Mountain Corridor Coalition is hiring a part-time TDM Program Coordinator. Frisco, CO. Source: TRANSP-TDM list serve. Salary listed. (Closes 11/30)
Evenergi is hiring an eMobility Associate. Sydney, Australia. Source: Emailed to me. Salary not listed.
More Jobs and Opps from My Own Social Media Stalking and Email and DMs
Greater Greater Washington’s main advocacy person, David Whitehead, is moving on to bigger things and to replace him, they are hiring for two positions. Note, I’m only the messenger here as while I’m on the editorial board, I may or may not be on this hiring committee. But it’s worth looking into both positions, especially as a person of color, as I wholeheartedly believe we are in need of POC staff.
Another DC area smart growth and urbanism advocate, the Coalition for Smarter Growth, is looking for a Maryland Policy Manager. Again, this is an all-white office, but they want to change that reputation. They are also encouraging folks to go ahead and apply if they meet at least 75-80% of the criteria. You’ll also be working and managed by Aimee Custis and working with everyone else there in that office. They are a good squad and as many of you know, or should know, Aimee inspired me, along with my buddy Marcus Slade in NC, to crank up this jobs letter and I’ve been thrilled to see so many of you use this to find your way and find your place in the land use and mobility world as a result. Anyway, this position is open until filled.
This is a volunteer service opportunity, but Baltimore region folks, consider being part of the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board Public Advisory Committee. You have until 12/4 to submit an application to do so and you’ll be in the company of some great folks working to make transportation better in the Baltimore region.
Even though those in-house jobs from Thomas Ngo’s firm have closed, he sent along this one from the (Portland Area) Metro for a Safe Routes to School Coordinator.
The folks at the Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies at UCLA reached out to let me know they would be posting this position as a communication manager, which again, if I was a little closer, would be very tempting for me to flex into, but it’s perfect if your both a transportation and communication nerd like myself. Apps are due by November 29th.
The City of Madison, WI is hiring a bike/ped coordinator and you’ll be working with Jessica Wineburg and Baltazar De Anda Santana, both who insist that this next person needs to have a mind towards bike/ped equity. I also like that the actual title of the position lists pedestrian first. Additionally, Grant Foster is willing to answer questions about the position you may have. Finally, when I was there in 2011 for CNU 19, the ability to get around on bike the way you can in Madison was life-changing and I hope they can continue making equity strides.
The lovely staff at Transit Center need a program associate (or senior program associate). I love the work they do, I’ve been honored to visit their office a couple of times and again, if I wasn’t building this platform, I’d be tempted to apply. (h/t Jerome Horne, who as you may remember, can help you with any jobs at his current agency, IndyGo)
I saw one particular NYC EDC job on Justin Garrett Moore’s LinkedIn, but here’s a whole list of open opportunities. Also, he posted a slew of open opportunities at Agency Landscape and Planning.
Vote Solar has a number of positions open, many across the Southeast region and one as an equity director. One of my favorite environmentalists, Katherine Kershaw, shared this on my LinkedIn. She’s just on of a handful of folks from my first job out of college I’ve either reconnected with or been privy to things they’ve been doing.
Buncombe County, NC (Asheville Metro) is seeking a County Manager. You wouldn’t be working with Kimberlee Archie’s agency in-house, but you would be working with the City of Asheville and other adjacent places in and around that part of the North Carolina strain of the Great Smoky Mountains.
A contracted (via First Group) project manager for WMATA-related Arlington, VA things. Can’t remember who posted this one, but it’s here and I think it’s worth a shot. Arlington folks, let me know if you can answer project questions.
Get Some Money to Do Something
Transportation for Massachusetts wants to fund transportation justice projects, both by established nonprofits and from independent and un-incorporated activists and advocates. While their efforts are primarily focused on Mass, there’s room for others outside of Mass to get funding to work on a specific climate justice project. What’s also nice, is that when Jessica Roberts tweeted this to me and several other awesome black/POC women-identified folks, several folks (including me!) offered specific services or to partner.
In addition Safe Routes to School National Partnership is encouraging nonprofits around the country and specifically one nonprofit or local government in Oregon to apply for ten slots (eleven if you include the Oregon specific one) that will provide funding and a suite of technical support and training to help create an action plan and build parks, especially in areas where equitable access to parks has been an issue. S/O to Dr. Adonia Lugo, who created the Bike Equity Network list, for sharing that with us this week on the listserv. All materials are due on December 10th.
The Transportation Review Board (TRB)’s Transit Cooperative Research Program is accepting request for proposals for funded research or projects that could use some technical support.
Finally, several heavy-hitters in urban economic revitalization have released this equity toolkit to help you build your projects.
Work With Me
As I’ve been doing this platform for the better part of a decade, what’s emerged is that I’m really good at digging out stories, from individuals, from organizations, from governments and communities. I think it’s vital that we are clear on who we are, what we are about and how we hope to go about in the world. Plus, you can draw the prettiest maps, but if you’ve not gone to the community and learned what all used to be on that site and, more often than not, what the community’s sketched out for itself, you’re also doomed. Oh and that doesn’t even get into government funding cycles that cancel projects or private developers who don’t seem to have a soul.
So here I am, offering to build the public engagement campaigns, the neighborhood identities, and the individual personal brands that your work, community or venture deserves. Feel free to fill out this checklist I made to help you build your outreach and branding strategy and also check out these six things I do when I present my work. Reply back if you’d like to hire me to help you implement some of things you want to do that you developed from both of those resources. Oh and if you want me to come speak to your group, here’s a sample of some of my other speeches from over the years. And yes, I’m available to be a subcontractor on your federal and state projects that need public engagement. I’m still working on getting myself to where i can be a full MWBE, but I have been able to work around that and team with some great folks, namely in Birmingham, AL.
Other Things To Do
— The flagship Transportation Camp, in Arlington, VA the weekend of the Transportation Review Board Annual Meeting, has opened registration. As much as I love big #transpocamp, having been on planning boards for Midwest and Baltimore and knowing how intimate the older DC camps were, I want to challenge you to pull together a group and get one going in your city, or, sign up for one nearby. DC is still fun, especially as part of the Transportation Super Bowl that TRBAM is, but don’t sleep on the other camps either.
— Adina Howard, a black woman planner posted this in the newly revamped Blacks in Planning and Urban Development Facebook Group and I asked her if I could repost it here—If any jurisdictions are undergoing the Analysis of Impediments or Assessment of Fair Housing and in need of consulting I am offering free 30 minute “pick my brain” sessions. Schedule a time at www.seespotrunllc.com. She’s only doing this until the end of this month, so make sure you don’t miss out
—Barb Chamberlain has issued a challenge for white folks in the space to evaluate their conference invites for panels, keynotes, workshops for opportunities to include folks of color. She has also added a tweet in the thread for my fellow POC and otherwise marginalized folks to tag themselves and their work if you want to be considered for more panels, keynotes, workshops, commissions and the like. Absolutely do this and also let me know when you are participating in these kinds of engagements so I can tell people to attend and congratulate you on your achievements! Also, I heard the Untokening this year was great. Sorry to miss all of you, but you know there’s always room for you on my proverbial podcast couch!
—Send jobs! Tag me on any social media outlets, reply to this email, etc. The goal is getting this email out over the weekends, but occasionally, I’ll get a batch of jobs and throw them up quicker. Or, life happens and jobs come out a little later, but they will be here, in some email or on the job board page of the site.
—Note the closing dates on jobs. As I said before, I try to get this out in a timely manner, as well as clean off old jobs that aren’t open anymore. Please also tell me when your jobs, especially those that have ambiguous close dates, actually close.
— Click on this link if you just want notifications once a week, with a link to content from the prior week. I’m still determining a hard date for that (truly weekly) recap. And do nothing if you don’t mind seeing me in your inbox 3-5 times a week, as I increase the frequency that I share jobs and content from The Black Urbanist platform.
— Review your announcements for areas of potential inequity and to publish at least a salary range. It’s not enough to include an EEOC pledge or invite for certain groups to hire, especially if things like work environment, licenses, and other things don’t actually affect your day to day work product. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to specific folks that you might have in mind, especially from previously marginalized groups with invites or offers to do informational interviews.
Before I Go…
The goal with this list is that these are jobs you are either a point of contact for, either as a future colleague or hiring manager or can mentor applicants to producing a successful application. I may also pick listings and posts on some of your social media accounts that are excellent resources for good leads and add anything of note that I think you (the potential applicant) should shoot for, regardless of if there’s a lead from this list or in your own personal life.
I believe that while being a prepared or preferred candidate may not be a job guarantee, it will start the process of building a bigger group of mentors and friends for all of us throughout the industry and in the communities, we both serve and live.
Plus, I’ve heard from multiple people that my post where I included some questions to ask and traps to avoid when considering this career field has helped them decide on planning school and also have a better balance of their career. Also, for those of you who live in SF-330 hell (and you know who you are), friend of the site and A/E/C marketing coordinators everywhere Matt Handal has released a new SF-330 survival guide. And if you’re discouraged in your job hunt, read this Twitter thread and know you’re not alone in the hustle. Also, the American Institute of Architects has had this great guide out for a minute on how to start your own small firm, that I really like as someone who’s created a firm who wants to continue to grow.
Finally, my colleagues Ashley Dash and Gisla Bush (Congrats on becoming chair of your local planning board Gilsa!) can help coach you through this job and opportunity hunt if you’d like.
Alright, that’s been the tenth job dispatch. Go forth and get your bag!
Please forward this to anyone who needs this. And if you’re new here, come over and let’s get to know each other better.
Also, this platform doesn’t have a paywall, but I still need to eat. Buy me a meal via PayPal or Cash App, or many meals via Patreon.