Regional Customer Experience Field Lead - Independent Contractor

Accountabilities: As the Regional Customer Experience Field Lead, you will oversee day-to-day field operations, support survey teams, and ensure projects run smoothly from deployment through completion. Your responsibilities will include: Train and onboard field surveyors on survey procedures, safety requirements, technology, and project expectations. Coordinate daily field activities, including staff assignments, routes, schedules, deployment locations, and coverage. Provide onsite leadership, coaching, and real-time direction to surveyors. Monitor survey progress, data quality, response rates, and compliance with established methodologies. Manage tablets, equipment, identification badges, and other field materials. Identify and resolve operational challenges involving staffing, technology, scheduling, and transit disruptions. Report daily progress, field observations, potential risks, and operational issues to project leadership. Work directly alongside surveyors whenever additional field support is required. Build positive working relationships with transit agency representatives, customers, and community members. Act as the primary onsite representative, demonstrating sound judgment, professionalism, and appropriate escalation of issues. Requirements Candidates from transit, operations, market research, hospitality, customer experience, field management, community engagement, or other people-focused backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Previous transit or research experience is beneficial but not essential. The ideal candidate will bring: Experience leading, supervising, training, or coordinating teams; a formal management title is not required. Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to guide a small team and address performance or attendance concerns when necessary. Confidence and professionalism in client-facing situations. Excellent organizational skills and the ability to independently manage schedules, staff assignments, equipment, and project targets. Strong problem-solving abilities, sound judgment, and the ability to handle unexpected field challenges while recognizing when escalation is needed. Comfort using tablets, mobile devices, survey platforms, and basic data or response-tracking tools. A hands-on leadership approach and willingness to support fieldwork directly. Adaptability when responding to changes in staffing, transit operations, response rates, and other field conditions. Reliability, accountability, and the ability to work independently while traveling. A genuine interest in customer experience and positive community impact. Willingness and ability to travel frequently, generally for periods of 4–7 days at a time, with occasional national travel. Availability to work schedules determined by transit operations and project requirements, including early mornings, evenings, and weekends. Physical ability to undertake significant walking and standing, including extended periods aboard buses and trains and at transit centers or other customer-facing locations. Benefits Independent contractor engagement on a project-based basis, with W-9 classification. Remote administrative flexibility combined with onsite field responsibilities. Opportunity to lead customer research projects across an assigned region, with occasional national travel. Varied working hours depending on project schedules and operational requirements. Hands-on experience in customer research, public transportation, and field team leadership. Opportunity to contribute to better customer experiences and meaningful improvements in transit services.