Chief of Transportation Design Division (Transportation Division Chief)

Fairfax County, located just minutes from the nation’s capital, is a highly desirable place to live, work, and play, offering a dynamic mix of suburban tranquility and metropolitan access. With over 400 square miles of land area and about 1.2 million residents, the county boasts a top-notch school system, safe neighborhoods, thousands of acres of parkland, and bustling town centers. An extensive transportation infrastructure connects residents, employers, and visitors via a well-designed and maintained network of highways, roads, streets, sidewalks, and trails.

Since 1977, the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) has been at the forefront of transforming the local transportation network. We are committed to enhancing mobility, safety, and the quality of life for residents, businesses, and visitors. Our mission is to plan, coordinate, fund, implement, and sustain a cutting-edge multimodal transportation system that meets the dynamic needs of Fairfax County.

FCDOT is seeking an energetic and innovative leader with significant technical experience in multimodal transportation design and project execution to serve as the Chief of the Transportation Design Division. Reporting to the department director, this position will provide a challenging and rewarding experience for an individual interested and invested in achieving the county’s ambitious transportation goals.

Responsibilities include:

• Managing and coordinating all phases of large-scale and complex project development from planning through preliminary design, right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation, final design and construction;
• Serving as the design manager for major transportation projects, including the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project;
• Overseeing and managing a complex transportation project portfolio, monitoring progress to ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and consistent with the Board of Supervisors’ vision and County priorities;
• Establishing policies and procedures to comply with local, federal, and Virgina Department of Transportation (VDOT) design standards, guidelines, and procedures, including the VDOT Locally Administered Project (LAP) Manual and the Enhancement Program Procedure Manual;
• Overseeing the development of project budgets and cash flow requirements and managing project budgets utilizing a combination of funding sources, including federal, state and regional grants;
• Assisting with developing funding strategies and federal, state, and regional grant applications to secure resources for transportation improvement projects;
• Establishing policies and procedures to ensure compliance with federal, state, and regional grant program and administrative requirements;
• Overseeing all contracting activities related to professional engineering design services, including solicitation, contract execution, management, quality assurance, and contract issue resolution;
• Overseeing the preparation of technical reports, status reports, meeting summaries, letters, official items for the Board of Supervisors’ consideration, and other documents, as required;
• Leading and/or attending project progress meetings, design review meetings, public information meetings and others as necessary during all stages of project development to identify and resolve design and construction issues;
• Developing and maintaining positive, productive working relationships with elected officials and/or their offices, county leadership, other county departments, local, regional, state and federal transportation agencies, citizens, the business community, and other stakeholders;
• Representing FCDOT, either as assigned or in the absence of the director, at meetings with elected officials and/or their offices, county leadership, other county departments, local, regional, state and federal transportation agencies, citizens, the business community, and other stakeholders;
• Ensuring strong interdepartmental and interagency collaboration by managing transportation projects in alignment with other county departments and external partners, particularly with VDOT;
• Serving on FCDOT’s senior management team, providing policy and technical guidance for the department to meet the Board of Supervisors’ vision and County priorities;
• Leading and guiding over 25 transportation engineering professionals, establishing the strategic direction for the division, and monitoring and evaluating division progress towards goals and objectives;
• Performing administrative duties associated with managing the activities of the division, such as hiring, conducting employee performance evaluations, coaching and mentoring employees, and identifying staff training development needs;
• Other duties, as assigned.

For more information on the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, please click here .

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Any combination of education, experience, and training equivalent to the following: (Click on the aforementioned link to learn how Fairfax County interprets equivalencies for “Any combination, experience, and training equivalent to”)

Graduation from a four-year college or university with a degree in civil engineering, urban/transportation planning, financial management, or a related field; plus five years of progressively responsible relevant transportation experience, including two years of experience in an administrative/supervisory capacity. A Master's degree in civil engineering, urban/transportation planning, or a related field may be substituted for one year of the required transportation experience.

CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED:

• Valid Professional Engineer - PE or Registered Architect - RA License
• Valid driver's license

An individual who possesses a valid Professional Engineer in another state will be granted a temporary exemption to this requirement pending the Board for Professional Engineers decision regarding that individual's application for reciprocity.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
The appointee to this position will be required to complete a criminal background check, credit check, and driving record check to the satisfaction of the employer.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Graduate degree in civil engineering (transportation preferred), ten years or more of progressively responsible experience in the design, review, approval, and management of multiple complex multimodal transportation improvement projects with individual construction value of more than $10 million;
• Thorough knowledge of principles of civil engineering, especially those relating to engineering design of transportation improvements;
• Knowledge of and extensive experience with local, federal and VDOT design standards, guidelines, and procedures, including the VDOT Locally Administered Project Manual and the Enhancement Program Procedure Manual;
• Experience working in or with local government;
• Knowledge of and experience in federal, state or regional grants and compliance with all applicable regulations;
• Five years or more of professional experience managing an organization of 20 or more staff members;
• One or more certificates/licenses in Professional Engineering and Project Management;
• Strong organizational, time management, and project management skills, including ability to coordinate multiple projects, prioritize, and meet established deadlines;
• Strong written communication skills, including ability to prepare presentations, technical memoranda, non-technical memoranda, letters, and other correspondence;
• Strong oral communication skills, as well as experience presenting to and providing subject matter expertise for and engaging with elected officials, staff, and the community;
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships in diverse team environments;
• Desire to advance a collaborative and supportive culture.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Work is generally sedentary in nature. Ability to perform field investigations of transportation design projects Ability to stand, stoop, bend, stretch, walk, climb, sit, kneel, crouch, reach, crawl, lift and handle materials with manual dexterity. Ability to lift up to 25 lbs. Ability to input, access, and retrieve information from a computer. Visual acuity to review detailed drawings, plans and documents. Ability to walk, negotiate or traverse property sites that may be undergoing construction or having terrain that is not level. Work requires performing tasks in adverse weather conditions. Ability to travel to various locations throughout Fairfax County to provide coverage, attend meetings and trainings. Ability to operate a motor vehicle. Ability to field review transportation design project. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel interview and may include exercise.

The population of Fairfax County is very diverse where 38.7% of residents speak a language other than English at home ( Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and others ) and we encourage candidates bilingual in English and a foreign language to apply to this opportunity.

Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce.

Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. Contact 703-324-4900 for assistance. TTY 703-222-7314. DHREmployment@fairfaxcounty.gov EEO/AA/TTY.