About Us

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC), a nonprofit organization with more than 160,000 members and supporters, is the nation's largest trails organization dedicated to connecting people and communities by creating a nationwide network of public trails, many from former rail lines and connecting corridors. Founded in 1986, RTC’s national office is located in Washington, D.C. Our Western Region office has two full-time staff and is located in downtown Oakland. As a small office, your work will have an outsized impact. You will also interact with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy staff in the national office as well as coalition partners and GIS specialists, bike/ped planners, and trail managers around the Bay Area.

Job Description

This GIS analyst position is a great opportunity to apply your GIS skills at the intersection of active transportation, recreation, sustainability and public health. We are recruiting for a part-time temporary position that will manage the mapping and evaluation of the Bay Area Trails Collaborative’s (BATC) proposed regional trail network. RTC’s Western Regional Office leads BATC, a group of trail planners, managers, and advocates collectively working to establish a 2,700-mile network of interconnected multiuse trails throughout the Bay Area. This position pays $25-$30/hour, depending on experience, with an anticipated project schedule of 20-25 hours/week for 4-6 weeks. Ideally, the selected candidate will begin work by March 1. Job responsibilities include:

• Merging GIS Data: Over the past year, the RTC Western Regional Office has collected a large amount of existing and proposed multiuse trail data from dozens of organizations and agencies throughout the Bay Area. This task will involve performing field calculations and potentially building Python, SQL, and/or Arcade expressions to ensure that each of the GIS layers’ attribute tables are consistent with one another and subsequently merging the data that has been collected to produce a single, consolidated layer of Bay Area multiuse trail data.

• Quality Control of GIS Data: Once the GIS data has been merged into a single layer, it will be the task of the GIS analyst to work with the agencies and organizations that provided the data to confirm that all the data collected is complete and accurate. This will involve creating a GIS editing application that internal partners can use to identify inaccuracies in the data and crowdsource the data to their colleagues to ensure its veracity. Once internal partners have completed this quality assessment, the GIS analyst will be responsible for making changes to the data and associated map based on this feedback.

• Filtering GIS Data: Once the data has been verified by internal partners, the GIS Analyst will be responsible for filtering out trails in the network that do not meet a set of pre-established trail criteria. These criteria include trail type, trail width, trail grade, trail uses, trail surface materials, and connections to the rest of the BATC trail network.

• Regional Meeting Coordination: Once the data has been verified and filtered, it will be ready for a final review by GIS specialists, bike/ped planners, and trail managers from each Bay Area county. This task will involve managing the creation of county-specific trail maps of the verified and filtered data, and supporting the coordination of countywide meetings with our partners throughout the region.

Qualifications

Qualified candidates should have 2-3 years of professional experience with Esri ArcGIS products. We are looking for enthusiastic individuals who have:

• Advanced-level experience with Esri ArcGIS and/or related software tools;

• Familiarity with Python, SQL, and/or Arcade languages;

• Experience creating, working with, maintaining, and evaluating complex transportation or other network datasets;

• A demonstrated interest in trails, active transportation, urban planning, geography, outdoor recreation, public health, environmental sustainability, or a related field;

• Strong organizing and interpersonal skills;

• Strong written and verbal communication skills and attention to detail.

Work Environment

Normal office setting with low to moderate noise level

How to Apply

Please use one form of transmitting your résumé. No phone calls please, unless contacted for an in-person interview. Recruiters, please do not contact our offices.
Send a cover letter and résumé indicating a “BATC GIS Analyst” preference, including how you learned of this announcement, to the following contact:

Human Resources Manager
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
The Duke Ellington Building
2121 Ward Court, NW, 5th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20037
Email: careers@railstotrails.org
Fax: 202.223.9257

Commitment to Diversity

RTC is an equal opportunity employer and seeks qualified candidates regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or national origin. Women and diverse applicants are encouraged to apply. EOE