More Information: Mobile GR Director | Position | Affion Public
Location: City of Grand Rapids, MI
About Grand Rapids, MI
Home to one of the fastest growing economies in the U.S., Grand Rapids is the second-largest city in Michigan, and the largest city in West Michigan. It is on the Grand River about 30 miles east of Lake Michigan and three hours from Chicago. The City’s population is 198,829 and covers an area of 45 square miles. The combined statistical area of Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland has a population of 1.3 million. The Gerald R. Ford International Airport transports two million passengers worldwide each year via six carriers. Grand Rapids is also connected to Chicago and Detroit by Amtrak.
The strong economy and low cost of living make this an ideal place to focus a career and raise a family. No matter where you live in the region, you’re just a quick drive from gorgeous white sand beaches, premier hiking and biking opportunities, and the thriving cultural and arts scene in downtown Grand Rapids. Blue waters, pristine beaches, craft breweries, delicious eateries, miles of trails, top-notch museums, charming shops, and professional sports will keep you busy throughout the four seasons.
Grand Rapids provides a full range of services to a multicultural group of residents, students, and visitors. The Grand Rapids metropolitan area hosts fifteen institutions of higher learning. Grand Rapids has 67 parks with year-round sports and recreation activities and is just 35 minutes from West Michigan beaches in the summer and 20 minutes from area ski facilities in the winter.
Recognitions
- #2 – 10 Most Beautiful & Affordable Cities to Live in the U.S., Travel + Leisure
- #10 – Top 10 Cities for Young Female Professionals, Pheabs
- #14 – Best Places to Live for Quality of Life, U.S. News & World Report
- #2 – Best Cities in Michigan to Live and Visit, Touropia
- #5 – Best Neighborhoods to Buy a House in America – Eastgate, Grand Rapids, Niche
- #3 – Best Business Climate (Mid-Sized), Business Facilities
- #1 – Best Manufacturing Hubs (Large) – Grand Rapids–Kentwood, Business Facilities
City Government
The City of Grand Rapids operates under the Commission-Manager form of government with an elected City Commission and appointed City Manager as the Chief Executive Officer. The Commission consists of an at-large Mayor and six Commissioners representing the city’s three wards in staggered four-year terms.
Vision
Grand Rapids will be nationally recognized as an equitable, welcoming, innovative and collaborative city with a robust economy, safe and healthy community, and the opportunity for a high quality of life for all.
Mission Statement
To elevate quality of life through excellent City services.
The Mobile GR Department
Mobile GR is a City of Grand Rapids department that works to provide safe, reliable, affordable, and diverse transportation options to support the City’s economic and quality of life goals. Mobile GR operates city-owned parking systems and maintains many aspects of transportation and safety infrastructure within the City of Grand Rapids and Kent County. The Department partners with The Rapid, the transit provider for the region and the operator of the City’s intra-city circulator bus route (the DASH), to ensure that the City achieves mobility and transit access objectives.
Social justice, economic development, and transportation depend on one another’s success. We work together to improve the community’s quality of life by getting more people to use active transportation. Mobile GR helps expand people’s mobility choices by making it easier to take transit, walk, bike, carpool, or drive alone.
The Position
The Mobile GR Director plans, organizes, and directs a comprehensive suite of transportation-related functions for the City of Grand Rapids. This includes providing executive oversight of the City’s portfolio of on- and off-street parking lots and ramps as an enterprise function, as well as overseeing the traffic signals, sign shop, and traffic engineering operations, and directing the transportation demand management (TDM) programs, policies, and facilities. These responsibilities encompass car share, bike share, parking cash-out, commuter choice programs, transit pass, circulator bus, and other TDM solutions.
The Mobile GR Director has responsibility for planning, developing, implementing, and operating overall city policies with respect to TDM and parking activities, and for providing appropriate staff and policy support for the work of the Mobile GR Commission. The Mobile GR Director reports to a Deputy City Manager and is reviewed by means of conferences, reports submitted and accountability for outcomes achieved.
Duties, Functions, and Responsibilities
- Establishes departmental policies and procedures; manages departmental operations for efficiency and compliance with city policies and makes changes as deemed necessary to improve operations; resolves difficult or unusual operational, personnel, or administrative problems.
- Develops and directs the design, implementation, marketing, and operation of TDM and parking programs; negotiates TDM and parking projects with private developers to support economic development.
- Assists the Mobile GR Commission in developing recommendations for the City Commission as described in city code, including practices, goals and objectives of TDM, expansion of the parking system, special service programs for individual user groups, TDM and parking fees and rates, and methods of funding TDM and public parking.
- Provides general direction to department managers and supervisors for the guidance of administrative, operating, enforcement, customer service, mode shift goals, and maintenance activities of the TDM programs and parking and meter facilities; assists subordinates in the development of divisional objectives and priorities and holds staff accountable for goal achievement.
- Prepares and presents the annual departmental budget; determines resource needs and financing requests; oversees departmental budgetary administration.
- Develops and implements the annual and five-year capital improvement programs for Mobile GR; establishes priorities and oversees design and budgeting of capital projects.
- In collaboration with other city departments, conducts long-range cost and feasibility studies and reviews the planning of TDM and parking service improvements, including identifying potential new sites and needs, new TDM programs, and oversees coordination and implementation of planned improvements; identifies changing service and capital requirements and develops programs and operational alternatives to accommodate them.
- In collaboration with other city departments, conducts long-range cost and feasibility studies and reviews of traffic flow and conditions and develops plans for one-way streets, arterial ways, and no-turning intersections, and oversees coordination and implementation of planned improvements; identifies changing service and capital requirements and develops program and operational alternatives to accommodate them.
- Confers with state and local government agencies and officials on solutions related to TDM and parking services; confers with business and civic leaders, addresses concerns and competing interests, and gives presentations before groups and clubs on the benefits of mobility management for the community and departmental activities and plans; relates departmental activities to the media.
- Provides technical engineering direction and supervision related to traffic signs and signals placement, and traffic engineering activities; consults with engineering and operations staff and personnel to develop standard specifications and maintenance programs. Supervises construction, installation, and maintenance activities of street lighting, traffic signals and traffic engineering activities.
- Provides technical support to the City’s Design Team, guiding future public and private development. Oversees the development review process for the Mobile GR Department.
- Reviews departmental activities with administrative superior; participates in development of overall city policies and procedures affecting department functions and responsibilities.
- Supervises surveys relating to detour routing, bus routes and stops, channelization of traffic, pavement marking, and other related matters.
- Ensures that effective customer service is a priority in the department.
- Supervises preparation, administration, and maintenance of departmental operating budget and cost control records; needs and approves purchases.
- Supervises preparation of master plans, strategic plans, and studies in areas of responsibility.
Knowledge and Skills
- Knowledge of TDM and parking plans, programs, policies, practices, finances and operations in a municipal multi-modal system.
- Knowledge of the laws and ordinances related to TDM and automobile parking.
- Knowledge of the equipment, software, materials, methods, and practices essential to the operation of TDM programs, parking ramps, lots, and meter installations.
- Knowledge of safety standards and precautions pertaining to street lighting, traffic signals and traffic sign operation and maintenance functions.
- Skill in facilitating partnerships with external organizations, community groups and partner governmental agencies.
- Skill in fostering a strong customer-centric approach toward provision of services at all levels of the organization.
Education and Experience
Qualified candidates will have a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, Engineering, Economics, or a closely related field. In addition to the educational requirements, a minimum of ten (10) years of increasingly responsible public or private TDM experience and parking facility and operations management experience is desirable, including five years of administrative, operational, financial, and supervisory responsibility. An equivalent combination of training, education, and experience that provides the required skills, knowledge and abilities may be considered. A Master’s degree in Public Administration or Business Administration is preferred. Registration as a Professional Engineer is highly desirable.
The Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate should possess a record of accomplishment in mobility to include parking, transportation network engineering and operations management, and transportation demand management (TDM) using a variety of solutions. Experience in fiscal planning, budget preparation, and capital improvement projects is required to be successful in this position.
The ideal candidate should be a creative, customer service focused leader, with proven experience in building and maintaining a broad and diverse spectrum of partnerships with City, State and Federal Officials, Commissions, private developers, city departments, and the community; advanced written and oral communication skills are imperative.
Salary
The City of Grand Rapids is offering a competitive salary commensurate with experience and a comprehensive benefits package. Relocation assistance will also be available for the successful out-of-area candidate.
How to Apply
Applicants should forward a cover letter and resume to:
resumes@affionpublic.com
Reference: MOBILEGR
Affion Public
PO Box 794
Hershey, PA 17033
888.321.4922
www.affionpublic.com
*The deadline to receive resumes is March 08, 2024*
The City of Grand Rapids does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy or gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other nonmerit factor.
