The Northeast Corridor Commission is seeking a highly motivated candidate to join its hard-working and enthusiastic staff. The Commission was established by Congress in the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 to coordinate the agencies that share the region’s core rail network. This position is intended to support a variety of Commission initiatives, giving the successful candidate broad exposure to many technical areas. The position will support implementation of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) Cost Allocation Policy that governs the allocation of over $1.3 billion in annual operating and capital costs and promotes coordination among the nine passenger railroads that operate on the NEC rail line. Specific responsibilities will include collecting, managing, and analyzing operating cost, train operations, and capital project data from transportation agencies located across the Northeast from Massachusetts to Virginia (and other data sources). The position will also support service and infrastructure planning activities related to the Commission’s Strategic Development Plan, a 15-year program to implement phase 1 of the Federal Railroad Administration’s selected alternative in the NEC FUTURE Tier 1 Record of Decision.

This role requires skills and experience in data processing and analytics, and communicating complicated technical information to lay audiences. Experience working in transportation, particularly public transportation, is beneficial.

This position is intended to be located in Washington, DC.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Support the annual development of the NEC Cost Allocation Model, the Capital Investment Plan, and Annual Report, as well as the development of quarterly train performance and capital program delivery reports. Support the development of the Strategic Development Plan.
• Support the collection of operating cost, capital project, service plan, and train performance data from transportation agencies, including preparing templates, coordinating with external contacts at member agencies, and normalizing data for use by NEC Commission staff.
• Support the execution of key analytical tasks, quality assurance and quality control checks, and the preparation of reports. Report preparation includes development of text, graphics, and maps that communicate technical information to a general audience.
• Support the development of responses to ongoing questions from external stakeholders, including organizing the collection of all formal questions related to cost models, plans, and reports; performing ad hoc analyses; and facilitating the resolution of any identified issues among stakeholders.
• Support planning for and executing meetings of the Commission, its committees, and its working groups.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in transportation planning, public policy/administration, business, or a related field.
• Two to four years of relevant experience in transportation, public policy, or public administration with an emphasis on passenger rail, public transportation, or general transportation planning and analysis. Master’s degree may substitute for work experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in transportation planning, public policy/administration, business, or a related field.

COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:

• Must have excellent written and oral communication skills.

The Commission is administratively hosted by Amtrak. Please file an application at the Amtrak Jobs site (Position ID 90274713).