Infrastructure Planning, Senior Manager, Gateway Program

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As we move America’s workforce toward the future, Amtrak connects businesses and communities across the country. We employ more than 20,000 diverse, energetic professionals in a variety of career fields throughout the United States. The safety of our passengers, our employees, the public and our operating environment is our priority, and the success of our railroad is due to our employees.

 

Are you ready to join our team?

Our values of ‘Do the Right Thing, Excel Together and Put Customers First’ are at the heart of what matters most to us, and our Core Capabilities, ‘Building Trust, Accountability, Effective Communication, Customer Focus, and Proactive Safety & Security’ are what every employee needs to know and do to be most impactful at Amtrak. By living the Amtrak values, focusing on our capabilities, and actively embracing and fostering diverse ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives, together we will honor our past and make Amtrak a company of the future.

 

SUMMARY OF DUTIES:
Reporting to the Director of Infrastructure Planning, the Infrastructure Planning Senior Manager will be responsible for managing planning and program development of major railroad infrastructure projects within the Gateway Program, with a focus on projects in New York. This position works collaboratively with the Gateway team and across departments at Amtrak, in coordination with state and agency partners in New York and New Jersey, agencies of USDOT, commuter and freight operators, and other third parties. The person in this position will advance the individual elements of the Gateway Program through planning, design, and environmental review, while integrating projects at various stages of project development with the long-term vision of the program. The position will manage environmental review and permitting for Gateway program elements, coordinate environmental review with design of program elements, and support Gateway service planning and railroad simulation to support the realization of service and capacity goals of the program. The individual in this role should have broad experience in transportation, urban and regional planning, environmental documentation, and project management. They should possess strong writing and verbal presentation skills and should have familiarity with, and preferably, relationships with New York and New Jersey city, state, and regional government agencies, civic organizations, and stakeholders.

 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Review submittals of designs for Gateway projects to ensure consistency with overall program goals and long-term vision.
• Coordinate Amtrak participation and engagement in the NEPA process for individual elements of the Gateway Program, with a focus on Penn Station New York Expansion
• Coordinate Gateway projects with other Amtrak priorities throughout our New York campus.
• Continuously communicate and coordinate with partner agencies in the city, state and federal government, and public and private stakeholders, on matters of environmental review, right-of-way preservation, project benefits, and impacts.
• Assist in the drafting of agreements between agencies and negotiation of business terms to facilitate procurement of cooperative planning and design studies and funding agreements to advance the Gateway Program.
• Utilize project management practices to develop project management plans, scopes, schedules, and budgets, for Amtrak projects in the Gateway Program. Perform these tasks to support the annual capital budgeting process and provide monthly reporting against the baseline throughout the year.
• Represent Amtrak at meetings and conferences with elected and public officials, the community, private citizens, and public and private organizations.

 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s Degree and 9+ years of relevant experience preferred
• Transportation planning knowledge and experience, with a focus on intercity rail and/or rail transit planning and operations.
• Urban development knowledge and experience, with a focus on New York City.
• Experience with the environmental review process required by the National Environmental Policy Act and other federal and state environmental, historic preservation, and other permitting requirements.
• Demonstration of strong written and verbal communication, business acumen, critical thinking and problem solving, decision making, empathy, and professional ethics. Writing sample may be requested.
• Demonstrated experience in successful project management, including managing consultants.
• Experience showing strong interdepartmental leadership with the ability to identify problems and develop and implement solutions.
• Experience working with government agencies and organizations.
• Extensive understanding of business operations and the impact departmental actions have on the corporation and operations.
• Excellent organizational, collaborative, and relationship building skills.
• Must have work authorization in the United States.

 

 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Graduate Degree in Urban and/or Regional Planning, Transportation Engineering, Public Policy, Business, and/or other relevant fields and 11 + years of relevant experience in transportation planning, rail transportation, city and regional planning, environmental planning, and/ or project management.
• Knowledge of theories, principles, and practices of passenger railroad systems and stations planning, operations, governance, funding and financing.
• Local, state, and federal laws, rules, and regulations governing the design, engineering, and construction of passenger railroad capital improvement and maintenance projects.
• Project delivery, engineering, and maintenance roles, responsibilities, and requirements.
• Railroad systems including track, structures, communications, signals, electric traction, and track usage procedures.
• Fire and Life Safety Systems.
• Principles and practices of capital and operating budgets preparation and administration.
• Principles and practices of contract negotiation and administration.
• Principles of supervision, training, and performance evaluation.
• Social, political, and environmental issues influencing capital programs.
• The Amtrak organization, Federal Railroad Administration, the Northeast Corridor and the New York regional rail network.
• Experience with large scale redevelopment and/or infrastructure projects.
• Demonstrated experience of building and gaining consensus across stakeholders with divergent viewpoints around a common vision and path forward to deliver and optimize program and project benefits.

 

 

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• The successful candidate will join a supportive and collaborative team of professionals with a strong commitment to public service.
• The successful candidate should model Amtrak’s core values to do the right thing, put customers first, and excel together.
• Work setting may be in-person, hybrid or remote.
• Amtrak values diversity and encourages minorities, women, LGBTQia+, and disabled people to apply.

 

 

COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:

Must have excellent oral and written communication skills.

 

 

The salary/hourly range is $125,080 – $162,100. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, etc. Depending on an employee’s assigned worksite or location, Amtrak may consider a geo-pay differential to be applied to the employee’s base salary. Amtrak may offer additional incentive and pay programs to recognize and reward our employees, including a short-term incentive bonus based upon factors such as individual and company performance that is commensurate with the level of the position and/or long-term incentive plan compensation. In addition to your salary, Amtrak offers a comprehensive benefit package that includes health, dental, and vision plans; health savings accounts; wellness programs; flexible spending accounts; 401K retirement plan with employer match; life insurance; short and long term disability insurance; paid time off; back-up care; adoption assistance; surrogacy assistance; reimbursement of education expenses; Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility; Railroad Retirement sickness and retirement benefits; and rail pass privileges. Learn more about our benefits offerings here.

Requisition ID:159303
Posting Location(s):New York
Job Family/Function:Research & Strategy
Relocation Offered:No
Travel Requirements:Up to 25%
You power our progress through your performance.
We want your work at Amtrak to be more than a job. We want your career at Amtrak to be a fulfilling experience where you find challenging work, rewarding opportunities, respect among colleagues, and attractive compensation. Amtrak maintains a culture that values high performance and recognizes individual employee contributions.

Amtrak is committed to a safe workplace free of drugs and alcohol. All Amtrak positions requires a pre-employment background check that includes prior employment verification, a criminal history check and a pre-employment drug screen.

Candidates who test positive for marijuana will be disqualified, regardless of any state or local statute, ordinance, regulation, or other law that legalizes or decriminalizes the use or possession of marijuana, whether for medical, recreational, or other use. Amtrak’s pre-employment drug testing program is administered in accordance with DOT regulations and applicable law.

In accordance with DOT regulations (49 CFR § 40.25), Amtrak is required to obtain prior drug and alcohol testing records for applicants/employees intending to perform safety-sensitive duties for covered Department of Transportation positions. If an applicant/employee refuses to provide written consent for Amtrak to obtain these records, the individual will not be permitted to perform safety-sensitive functions.

 

In accordance with federal law governing security checks of covered individuals for providers of public transportation (Title 6 U.S.C. §1143), Amtrak is required to screen applicants for any permanent or interim disqualifying criminal offenses.

Note that any education requirement listed above may be deemed satisfied if you have an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

Amtrak is an EOE/Affirmative Action Minority/Female employer, and we welcome all to apply. We consider candidates regardless of race/color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions), national origin/ethnicity, age, disability (intellectual, mental and physical), veteran status, marital status, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, genetic information, citizenship or any other personal characteristics protected by law.