Principal Planner, Resilience Planning

The New Jersey Institute of Technology is hiring a Principal Planner for Resilience Planning, responsible for planning, policy, and research to support climate resilience in transportation. The role involves assessing risks, identifying adaptation strategies, and coordinating with various stakeholders. This hybrid position allows for part-time remote work, focusing on enhancing the agency's understanding of climate change impacts and improving the resilience of transportation systems.
Title:Principal Planner, Resilience Planning

Department:NJTPA

Reports To:Director, Environmental and Sustainability Planning NJTPA

Position Type:Staff

Position Summary:Under the direction of the Director of Environmental andSustainability Planning, the Principal Planner, Resilience Planning will beresponsible for performing a wide range of planning, policy, research, and dataanalysis activities in support of the agency's climate resilience andadaptation goals as identified in the NJTPA Long Range TransportationPlan.

Resiliency planning at the NJTPA is concerned withidentifying and addressing the climate hazards that impact the transportationsystem. The NJTPA recognizes that climate resilience is linked to climatechange mitigation, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This workincludes assessing risks to the transportation system, identifying adaptationstrategies and developing projects that protect the region from climate-relatedvulnerabilities and build strong, resilient communities.

The incumbent will serve as the agency's subject matter expert on climateresilience and advance the agency and the region's understanding of climatechange and its impacts on the transportation system and communities in theNJTPA region. The ideal candidate will have project management experience,relevant technical knowledge in resiliency planning, be highly organized, andbe able to excel in a collaborative environment. The incumbent will contributeto and coordinate resilience activities within NJTPA as well as with outsideagencies (particularly with the New Jersey Department of Transportation, NJTRANSIT, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and the PortAuthority of New York and New Jersey), and subregional and municipalstakeholders. Such coordination will be essential to this work. The incumbentwill understand risk and vulnerability assessment, as well as climateadaptation and mitigation processes, and will support projects related toadaptive planning.

This is a hybrid position based in Newark, New Jerseywith the option to work remotely part of the time.

Essential Functions:- Lead the agency's climate resilience activities and advancestrategies consistent with the Long-Range Transportation Plan.
- Contribute to the agency's long range planning goals ofaddressing the impacts of climate change on the NJTPA region, such asidentifying transportation assets vulnerable to extreme weather events andstrategies to increase the resilience of the transportation system.
- Monitor and analyze how federal and state laws, regulations, policies, andbest practices related to climate resiliency affect transportation planningprocesses and investments in the region and identify strategies to advance themwithin the metropolitan planning framework.
- Manage and/or participate in a range of studies on various transportation-relatedplanning, serving on technical advisory committees, participating in meetingswith municipal officials, stakeholders, and the public, and provide ongoing technicalassistance to guide the progress and implementation of studies and the contentof their recommendations.
- Support NJTPA subregions and municipalities in identifyingclimate change-related vulnerabilities and implementing strategies to developsustainable transportation systems, including stormwater management andComplete and Green Streets policy implementation.

Additional Functions:- Coordinate with other divisions within the agency andexternally with partner agencies, Transportation Management Associations, stateand local governments, and universities in the region.
- Research, collect and analyze data, and prepare policy papers and otherbriefing documents on resilience and environmental-related topics and otherplanning projects in the NJTPA region and contribute to relevantNJTPA-supported studies and projects.
- Be organized and self-motivated. The candidateshould have good communications abilities, outstanding analytical skills, andthe desire and temperament for a collaborative, dynamic work environment.
- Perform other duties as assigned.

Prerequisite Qualifications:- Graduation from an accredited collegewith a bachelor's degree in planning, public policy, environmental science/studies,environmental engineering or related field.
- Three (3) years of professional planning experience in the areas ofenvironmental, sustainability, local, regional and/or transportation planningrequired.
- At the university's discretion, the education and experience prerequisitesmay be excepted where the candidate can demonstrate to the satisfaction of theuniversity, an equivalent combination of education and experience specificallypreparing the candidate for success in the position.

Preferred Qualifications:- Graduation from an accredited college with amaster's degree in planning, public policy, environmental studies,environmental engineering, or related field.
- Demonstrated program management and organizational skills.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Certification.

Bargaining Unit:PSA

Range/Band:25

FLSA:Exempt
Full-Time