Strategic Equity Advisor, Sound Transit 3 (Strategic Advisor 2- General Governme

Vision: Seattle is a thriving and equitable community powered by dependable transportation.

Mission: To deliver a transportation system that provides safe and affordable access to places and opportunities. At the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), we are recognized across the country for our efforts in combining different modes of transportation to make travel easier and more convenient. As our city grows quickly, we're always thinking about how to make transportation more accessible, safe, affordable, and reliable for people who live in, work in, and visit Seattle. We're passionate about creating an equitable, sustainable, and vibrant city for everyone.

We have important jobs to do at SDOT. We look after the city's transportation network, add more bicycle and pedestrian paths, take care of over 240 bridges, and help people get better access to the regional transit system. We're a team of nearly 1,200 hardworking people, ready to serve Seattle's public transportation needs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no matter the weather.

Position Overview:

Are you a leader committed to race and social justice? Passionate about public transit? Excited at the opportunity to leverage equitable outcomes from public infrastructure investments?

SDOT's Sound Transit program is seeking a leader centered in their commitment to racial equity to serve as the City’s Strategic Equity Advisor, Sound Transit 3 (under the City's classification title of Strategic Advisor 2- General Government). This new role will help advance SDOT’s mission by centering racial equity in our interdepartmental ST3 City Team’s partnership with communities and other agencies to support the planning, permitting, and delivery of new light rail transit to Seattle communities.

ST3 investments, including the West Seattle Link Extension (WSLE) and Ballard Link Extension (BLE) projects, will bring transformational access and opportunity to Seattle community members, but also have the potential to impact and cause harm as these large multi-year infrastructure projects are constructed through existing neighborhoods. SDOT and the interdepartmental ST3 City Team are committed to advancing equitable outcomes that share project benefits, avoid disparate impacts, and demonstrate accountability and transparency to community.

The ST3 Equity Coordinator will work with ST3 project managers to understand how equity has been incorporated to project delivery and identify opportunities for incorporating equity best practices and outcomes into the planning, permitting and delivery of SDOT’s ST3 portfolio. This position provides coordination, guidance, and leadership to Sound Transit Program project teams as they work to transform planning practice in service of equitable outcomes for Seattle communities. The ST3 Equity Coordinator will create and implement a project-wide accountability framework that centers the City’s Race and Social Justice (RSJ) Ordinance; coordinate project partners engaging in the joint-agency Racial Equity Toolkit for the WSLE and BLE projects; and work with staff to integrate tactics of the Transportation Equity Framework (TEF) into project tasks and goals.

• Review Sound Transit (ST) program and interdepartmental ST3 City Team’s approach to equity and support workgroup leads to develop consistent best practices, evaluation, and improvement opportunities.
• Build on the joint-agency WSLE/BLE Racial Equity Toolkit (RET) to advance equitable project outcomes for communities and deepen and expand equity practice in the Sound Transit Program and interdepartmental ST3 City Team.
• Coordinate and oversee the ST3 City Team’s participation and contribution to the RET, including facilitating content development and materials review by staff teams, and coordinating with engagement and communications teams to ensure the RET is informed by equitable community engagement.
• Advise, guide, and support workgroup managers to implement TEF tactics and ensure accountability to the TEF. Support workgroup managers and advisors to refine performance tracking metrics and methods for measuring equity outcomes (i.e. mapping, inclusion of equity work/Transportation Equity Framework (TEF) work in subprogram workplans, retrospective equity assessments, qualitative measures).
• Coordinate and facilitate strategic opportunities for Sound Transit Program Managers to align with the department’s equity goals and values (e.g. connections to Title VI, NEPA Environmental Justice, the Seattle Transportation Plan, Climate Change Response Framework, ETC).
• Advise and engage with project leadership to recommend resource or staffing adjustments to support equitable practices and outcomes across the project.
• Facilitate discussions with project staff to support equity leadership, community building and collective decision-making related to racial equity outcomes and measures.
• Identify measurable objectives for improving equity outcomes in Sound Transit Program, the interdepartmental ST3 City Team workgroups and develop equity progress monitoring methods.
• Identify the specific ST workgroups that would benefit from support and assistance in problem-solving in implementing measurable equity prioritization practices.
• Partner with ST managers to support them on overall equity practice.
• Explore and support equity coaching and mentorship opportunities for ST Program staff and provide a collaboration space where staff can grow their equity practice.
• Coordinate with ST Program Managers to identify and outline for each workgroup which transportation equity tactics can be implemented; allocate accountability to these tactics across the program.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Three (3) or more years of project management or other relevant experience, with preference for experience centering racial equity in implementation of capital projects or similar bodies of work.
• Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, Ethnic Studies, Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies, Social Justice Studies, Geography, Social Work, Public Health, Urban or Transportation Planning, or related field.

OR: a combination of education and/or training and/or experience which provides an equivalent background required to perform the work of the position.

Successful candidates will possess many of these additional qualifications or be able to demonstrate comparable experience and expertise:

• Facilitation and conflict resolution specifically in spaces focused on race, racism, racialized harm, liberation, intersectionality, racial equity, and trauma-informed care.
• Leadership of a racial equity change team, particularly in a municipal or government setting.
• Experience in non-traditional meeting facilitation.
• Working in a multi-cultural workplace with a diverse customer base.
• Engaging and leading courageous conversation about race and racism, to elevate intersectionality, and to identify strategies to advance equitable processes and outcomes.

Knowledge of:

• Public and non-profit sector racial equity accountability best practices.
• Restorative and/or Transformative justice.

Substantial skills in:

• Team facilitation, relationship building, and interpersonal conflict resolution.
• Anti-racist practice advocacy to elected leadership, project leadership, and staff.
• Modeling race and gender equity in relationships with co-workers, colleagues, community, and others.
• Effectively communicating via reports, briefing memos, and public speaking.
• Project management, including the ability to produce, track and manage multiple deliverables with overlapping deadlines.

Please attach both a cover letter and resume to your application.

Failure to do so will result in your application not being considered.

Offers of employment are contingent on verification of information provided by the applicant as part of the application process, including potential background check.

Please note this job advertisement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

The full salary range for this position is $52.50 - $78.78 per hour.

The City of Seattle offers a comprehensive benefits package including vacation, holiday, and sick leave as well as medical, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for employees and their dependents. More information about employee benefits is available on the City's website at: https://www.seattle.gov/human-resources/benefits/employees-and-covered-family-members/most-employees-plans

Who May Apply:

This position is open to all candidates that meet the minimum qualifications. The City of Seattle values diverse perspectives and life experiences. Applicants will be considered regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, disability, religious or political affiliation, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The Department encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, veterans and those with diverse life experiences.

Accommodations for people with disabilities are provided on request.

The City is a Drug Free Workplace.

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