Program Associate at NACTO-Global Designing Cities Initiative

Firm: NACTO - Global Designing Cities Initiative
Location:
New York

Payment: Paid
Start Date: Mar 1, 2018
Category: Urban Design
Contact: Global Designing Cities Initiative
global@nacto.org

Posted: Dec 18, 2017

JOB OPENING
Program Associate, NACTO’s Global Designing Cities Initiative
The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) is seeking a Program Associate for its Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI), a multi-year initiative that aims to inspire a shift toward safe, sustainable, and healthy cities by reclaiming and transforming streets.
The Program Associate will primarily support the Streets for Kids Program (SfK), a new initiative that will develop a supplemental publication to the Global Street Design Guide, facilitate workshops for practitioners in international cities, and implement kid-friendly street design projects. In this role, the Associate will help to coordinate and engage a global network of experts, conduct research on policy and design approaches, and develop written and visual content for the SfK publication.
The Associate will also support a range of crosscutting communications, research, and design projects, including drafting web content, developing presentations, and designing reports and graphics. Some assistance coordinating meetings and travel and other administrative tasks will also be required.
Applicants should demonstrate past experience in the fields of city planning, urban design, architecture, or transportation planning. Background knowledge in land use, public health, sustainable mobility, childhood development, and/or environmental sustainability a plus. For this position, NACTO-GDCI is looking for an individual with strong written, visual, and verbal communication skills, and a demonstrated proficiency with the Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator).
The GDCI Program Associate must be highly self-directed and comfortable working with and taking direction from colleagues who are frequently traveling. The ideal candidate will be highly collaborative by nature, well organized, and comfortable juggling multiple competing deadlines with ease. Finally, the ideal candidate will be flexible and willing to pitch-in to take on tasks whenever help is needed.
Based in New York City, the primary activities for the GDCI Program Associate include:
Job Responsibilities
• Communications: Write and edit content for the Streets for Kids publication. Draft blog posts, op-eds and other web content; support social media outreach; support writing and editing of funder proposals and reports.
• Graphic design: Generate visual content for the Streets for Kids publication. Support GDCI staff in visualizing reports, presentations, fact sheets, banners, and other documents and materials using Adobe Creative Suite.
• Network coordination: Work with the Streets for Kids program team to coordinate and engage a global network of urban design, transportation, and childhood development experts.
• Design research: Conduct research on best practice in urban design, public space, sustainable mobility, kid-focused recreation facilities, and other projects for inclusion in GDCI publications and/or presentations.
• Case studies and practitioner briefs: Conduct research on relevant urban planning and design topics and draft into coherent and digestible case studies or practitioner briefs.
• Other tasks: Other communications, research, and administrative tasks as assigned.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
• Strong written, visual, and verbal communications skills, including ability to generate original content and edit the writing of colleagues
• Familiarity with the content from the Global Street Design Guide and other NACTO guides.
• Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator) with a strong graphic sensibility. AutoCAD and/or 3D modelling is a plus.
• Ability to conduct research and distill into well-written case studies or briefs
• Strong desire to work as part of a highly collaborative team
• Able to participate in calls or meetings outside of standard working hours
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally 2-3 times/year

Minimum Qualifications Required: Master’s Degree in Urban Planning, Urban Design, Public Policy, Public Health, or a related field and at least two years of professional experience preferably with a communications focus; or a Bachelor’s Degree and an equivalent amount of experience.
Additional Desired Qualifications: Experience working at the national, regional, or city level on urban design and/or transportation projects with government agencies, non-profits, or private sector; knowledge of international languages; experience working in an international policy context.
Benefits: Employee benefits include paid vacation, health care package, transportation benefits, and retirement plan.
Salary Range: Salary range competitive for the non-profit sector.

About NACTO GDCI
The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit association that represents large cities on transportation issues of local, regional and national significance. NACTO views the transportation departments of major cities as effective and necessary partners in regional and national transportation efforts, promoting their interests in federal decision-making. We facilitate the exchange of transportation ideas, insights and best practices among large cities, while fostering a cooperative approach to key issues facing cities and metropolitan areas. As a coalition of city transportation departments, NACTO is committed to raising the state of the practice for street design and transportation by building a common vision, sharing data, peer-to-peer exchange in workshops and conferences, and regular communication among member cities. We believe that by working together, cities can save time and money, while more effectively achieving their policy goals and objectives.
The Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI), is a program of NACTO, a New York-based, 501c3, non-profit organization. Launched in 2014 with generous support from the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety, GDCI’s mission is to inspire a shift toward safe, sustainable, and healthy cities through transforming streets. GDCI focuses on empowering local officials, practitioners, and communities around the world to become change-makers, equipping them with the knowledge, tools, and tactics needed to improve urban mobility and fundamentally change the role of streets in cities. GDCI’s work is informed by the strategies and international best practice captured in the Global Street Design Guide.

NACTO is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment opportunities at NACTO are based upon one’s qualifications and capabilities to perform the essential functions of a particular job. All employment opportunities are provided without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Application Requirements

o Deadline for Applications: Applications accepted on rolling basis—don’t delay! Final deadline is January 15th 2018
o Email Applications to: global@nacto.org
o Email Subject Line: Program Associate Position | Your Firstname_Lastname
o Files:
o Include a short cover letter, resume, and at least three work samples representing your range of skills. Please be sure to note any software knowledge and languages spoken fluently.
o Applications submitted without work samples will not be reviewed or considered.
o Send compiled materials in one PDF file with a maximum size of 20MB
o Professional References: Please provide the names and titles of three references. (Note these will not be contacted without permission.)
o Please note: Due to a large volume of applications we receive, we aren’t able to give status updates individually. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted within 2 weeks of the final deadline.

Thank you for your interest and we look forward to hearing from you!


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