Planning Director – Statewide and Regional Planning

Accountabilities: Develop and execute a national strategy for statewide and regional planning, including priority markets, service offerings, client engagement approaches, pursuit strategies, delivery models, and growth objectives. Build and expand executive-level relationships with state DOTs, MPOs, transit agencies, regional authorities, and other public-sector transportation organizations. Serve as a trusted advisor on transportation planning, policy, funding, capital investment, performance, technology, and implementation challenges. Identify, qualify, position, and lead major statewide and regional planning opportunities, including capture strategies, teaming decisions, proposals, interviews, pricing, and contracting. Develop strategic account plans and strengthen relationships with established and prospective clients in priority markets. Coordinate multidisciplinary professionals across planning, engineering, economics, grants, resilience, sustainability, digital technology, energy, and program management. Establish and lead a professional network supporting business development, project delivery, innovation, knowledge sharing, and market development. Assess capability gaps and recommend strategic hiring, partnerships, investments, and internal development initiatives. Mentor and develop planning professionals while fostering collaboration, accountability, technical excellence, innovation, and career growth. Provide senior technical and strategic oversight for complex statewide, regional, multimodal, long-range, and capital planning engagements. Guide innovative approaches incorporating data analytics, scenario planning, technology, performance measures, policy analysis, and implementation strategies. Support commercially sound project planning, financial performance, risk management, quality delivery, and adherence to client commitments. Develop differentiated service offerings and strengthen industry visibility through conferences, professional associations, research, publications, policy discussions, and thought leadership. Identify and share lessons learned, best practices, technical innovations, and reusable approaches to strengthen future pursuits and project delivery. Requirements Bachelor’s degree in urban planning, transportation planning, civil engineering, public policy, public administration, geography, economics, or a related field. At least 15 years of progressively responsible experience in transportation planning, consulting, public-sector planning, or a related discipline. Extensive experience leading statewide, regional, metropolitan, multimodal, or long-range transportation planning programs. Demonstrated experience working with state DOTs, MPOs, transit agencies, regional transportation authorities, or comparable public-sector clients. Proven ability to develop and expand executive-level client relationships and successfully shape and secure significant transportation planning or advisory engagements. Experience directing capture strategies, proposals, interviews, teaming arrangements, scopes of work, staffing plans, and fee development. Strong knowledge of long-range transportation planning, modal and multimodal planning, capital investment planning, performance-based planning, strategic planning, and implementation strategies. Experience leading multidisciplinary teams across offices, regions, technical disciplines, or business units. Demonstrated ability to translate complex transportation, policy, funding, technical, and organizational challenges into practical solutions. Experience managing financial and commercial aspects of consulting engagements, including budgets, risk, profitability, and performance. Excellent written, verbal, presentation, facilitation, negotiation, and executive communication skills. Ability to travel as needed for client engagements, pursuits, projects, industry events, and internal collaboration. A master’s degree in a relevant discipline is preferred. AICP certification or another relevant professional certification is preferred; PE licensure is advantageous where applicable. Experience developing a national or multiregional transportation planning practice, service line, or center of excellence is preferred. Experience with strategic business planning, market development, revenue forecasting, and practice-performance monitoring is beneficial. Familiarity with federal transportation planning requirements, funding programs, performance-management frameworks, and public-sector decision-making processes is preferred. Benefits Annual compensation range of $179,925.15–$205,628.74 , with final compensation influenced by factors such as geography, education, experience, and certifications. Health insurance, including an option with a Health Savings Account. Dental and vision insurance. Flexible Spending Accounts for healthcare, dependent care, and applicable transit and parking expenses. Disability insurance and life insurance, including Accidental Death & Dismemberment coverage. 401(k) retirement plan and retirement counseling. Employee Assistance Program. Paid time off and paid holidays. Back-up dependent care and parental leave. Continuing education opportunities. Support for professional licensure and professional society memberships. Opportunity to lead a nationally focused transportation planning practice and work on complex public-sector initiatives. Exposure to multidisciplinary teams spanning transportation, engineering, economics, technology, sustainability, resilience, and program management.