DESCRIPTION
This is a Principal level position under direction of an Assistant Director. This position will support MTC's development, maintenance, and application of an activity-based travel model as well as some support of MTC's land use model. The models will be used with other analytical tools to support transportation planning activities.

Individuals at the Principal level are expected to have the ability to:
Be a strong team leader with strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational and interpersonal skills; supervise reporting staff; monitor, evaluate, direct and participate in the training of staff.

Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, distilling detailed project and function concepts into compelling, relevant and understandable presentations.

Make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying skills and knowledge, and calculating risks.

Meet unit and section goals, and assist in the Section's meeting organizational goals and performance expectations.

Set objectives and goals; scope out length and difficulty of projects; break down work into the process steps; develop schedules and task/people assignments; anticipate and adjust for problems and roadblocks; measure performance against goals and evaluate results.

Manage complex unit and project budgeting and expense monitoring.

Participate in and execute complicated procurements and vendor selection processes, and manage vendor and consultant relationships.

Build effective relationships, make timely decisions, interpret and communicate management directives, understand technology requirements, and understand best practice organizational business operations to get results and achieve goals.

Apply a combination of broad supervisory and project/program manager skills and technical knowledge of all job aspects.

Work directly with Section Directors, senior managers, staff and outside business partners, consultants, and contractors.

Work safely and follow regulatory and MTC policy and processes; represent Agency business decisions and actions accurately.


SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Other than those skills and abilities expected of all Principal staff members (listed above). The ideal candidate will have:
Expertise in manipulating and analyzing large datasets
An advanced, demonstrated understanding of urban economics as they relate to travel models
An understanding of transportation planning, preferably in the California context
Strong econometric skills, including intimate knowledge of statistics
A proficiency with Python, R, and Citilabs' Cube software
A proficiency with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software

The individual in this position will have the ability to:
Cogently and compellingly communicate highly technical information to lay audiences
Creatively solve problems
Take personal initiative
Work efficiently within a team
Inspire and lead a team of professionals
Quickly respond to changes in priorities

The ideal candidate will have at least a basic understanding of the historical and contemporary range of travel modeling systems, empirical research on travel modeling practice, and potential model improvements to address current theoretical and practical shortcomings.


MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Completion of a Master's degree from an accredited college or university, in a discipline such as urban planning, mathematics, computer science, statistics, or engineering. (Applicants with a degree issued from an institution outside the United States must have their transcripts evaluated by an academic accrediting service and provide proof of equivalency along with the application.)

Experience: A minimum of five (5) years of recent, progressive and verifiable professional experience is required, with at least two (2) years of experience working directly with a practical, travel model and one (1) year of experience working in a position requiring the public presentation of technical information.

Preference will be given to applicants with the additional experience listed below:
At least one year working with or for regional or local government
At least one year overseeing an analytical team

Knowledge of: An advanced understanding of urban economics as they relate to travel behavior is required.


ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Under direction of the Assistant Director, the Senior/Principal Analyst, Travel Models, will be responsible for all aspects of MTC's travel modeling efforts. This includes development, maintenance, and application activities.

Specific Assignments and Responsibilities include:
Establishing and maintaining overall project timeline, model versioning, and work assignments
Managing MTC staff engaged in model development, maintenance, and application activities
Procuring and managing consultants engaged in model development, maintenance, and application activities
Writing grant applications to obtain additional project funding
Acquiring, cleaning, and analyzing all manner of datasets related to travel behavior and transportation
Improving, maintaining, and applying travel models
Charting out the multi-year upgrade trajectory for the travel model and ensuring its ongoing compatibility with other analytical tools
Explaining model theory and application approach to lay audiences
Writing papers and presenting at professional conferences to disseminate knowledge related to the travel models and maintain MTC's reputation for high quality analytics
Building and maintaining model interfaces for internal and external users
Contributing to land use modeling activities