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Planning Manager
Toole Design Group / Los Angeles, California
Posted on: August 16, 2022
Application Deadline: Open until filled
Job Description
Toole Design Group in Los Angeles, CA is looking to hire an experienced and talented full-time Planning Manager. Do you have a strong background in urban/regional planning with a successful track record of project management on multimodal transportation plans and projects? Do you enjoy supervising a team in accomplishing cutting-edge transportation projects that center social and environmental equity? Do you love mentoring other planners and bringing out the best in them? If so, please consider joining our Los Angeles team.
This Planning Manager position earns a competitive salary and great benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability, a health savings account (HSA), and a flexible spending account (FSA). We practice what we preach and ensure that our employees also have access to transportation by providing them with financial incentives to bike, walk, or use transit for a better quality of life.
About Toole Design
Toole Design is the leading engineering, planning, and landscape architecture firm specializing in multimodal transportation. Since our start in 2003 as a single office in Maryland, we have expanded throughout the United States and Canada. Our talented team of planners, landscape architects and engineers are committed to delivering quality work that meets the needs of all people, regardless of age, ability, race, or gender. We have been named a “best firm to work for” and have one of the lowest staff turnover rates in the industry.
Every project our employees deliver directly and positively affects our communities. We are industry-leading experts, and we work hard to encourage a collaborative and team-oriented environment.
A Day in the Life of a Planning Manager
As a Planning Manager, you will lead a team of planners as they deliver multimodal transportation plans and projects of all scales for cities, counties, and state DOTs. You will manage and mentor staff at all levels – coordinating workloads, supporting team morale and professional development, and ensuring high-caliber work products. You will tap into your technical expertise in multimodal planning to troubleshoot and coach team members on client management and project management challenges. As a project manager yourself, you will also lead and support multimodal transportation projects both in the LA region and across North America. You will partner with staff from a variety of disciplines; integrating input from a broad range of stakeholders to create award-winning plans and programs that build momentum toward positive change in communities.
Our projects are at all different scales, from national pedestrian and bicycle planning, research, and design guidance for the Federal Highway Administration to plans and studies for states, MPOs, cities, and counties. We work on multimodal corridor studies, Vision Zero projects, transit plans and studies, Safe Routes to School plans and programs, active transportation plans, new mobility and curbside management, trails and greenways, Complete Streets, and more. We push ourselves and our clients to proactively think about equity every step of the way. You’ll be recruiting staff in consultation with Directors and senior leadership and helping establish and maintain company culture that creates a desirable and inclusive place to work. You’ll also lead and support proposals, business development initiatives, and strategy/negotiations while keeping abreast of new methods, developments, and opportunities that emerge in the industry.
Work Schedule for a Planning Manager:
This position typically works a flexible full-time schedule. We also provide employees with the flexibility and necessary equipment to work from home 2-3 days per week. The Los Angeles office of Toole Design is conveniently located downtown, within walking distance from the Metro Red Line, Metro Bike Share, and dozens of bus lines. The office is easily accessed on foot, by bicycle, and via transit.
About our Los Angeles office:
Our team is a dynamic mix of planners and engineers who strive to support each other and our communities. This is an opportunity to perform work you love alongside a fun group of people in the heart of the most dynamic transportation region in the nation. Southern California is poised to change significantly over the next decade, with transportation improvements at the forefront of its evolution. Whether it’s preparing safety studies and design guidance, assisting local agencies preparing for the 2028 Olympics, or working on mobility-as-a-service technology, Toole Design is poised to help shape this future. You’ll be joining a rapidly growing team in an exciting market and location.
Our staff enjoy bicycling or riding the bus to work and will happily join you on a post-work summit in Elysian Park to take in the Greater Los Angeles environs. You will experience a company culture that is rooted in family, fun, and creative thinking. Strong values, flexibility, and exceptional quality work are just a few of the characteristics we hold in high regard!
Ready to Join our Los Angeles Team?
We understand your time is valuable, so we have a quick and easy application process. If you feel that you would be right for this Planning Manager position, please fill out our application by clicking on the link on this page.
At Toole Design, diversity is a necessity, not a nice-to-have. We have a collaborative culture where people of all backgrounds come together to share ideas and build better, more inclusive communities. We encourage those who identify as women, people of color, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, individuals with disabilities, and people at all the intersections in between these and other underrepresented groups to apply. Even if you don’t think your current skill set checks every box below, but this role seems to align with your strengths, we want to hear from you.
We’re proud that about half of our managers are women and we are committed to achieving racial diversity in our leadership as well. Toole Design is a woman-owned business and an equal opportunity employer (EO/AA/VEV/Disabled employer).
For more information about Toole Design, visit our website, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, or like us on Facebook.
Required Experience / Skills / Education
Qualifications of a Planning Manager:
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in urban planning, landscape architecture, urban design, or a related field is a plus, but not required.
- 10+ years of experience (some consulting experience is strongly preferred)
- Experience or interest in supervising a team including involvement in hiring, personnel matters, performance reviews, and staff mentorship
- At least 5 years of project management experience, including success managing larger ($500K or more), complex transportation projects; overseeing parallel tracks of work by staff teams, consultants and subconsultants; maintaining high levels of client satisfaction on challenging projects; and managing schedules and budgets
- Experience delivering transportation master plans, corridor studies, safety studies, or other types of multimodal transportation projects
You’ll be great here if:
- You have strong leadership skills and enjoy supervising multi-disciplinary teams
- You enjoy and excel at mentoring and coaching staff toward a common goal
- You are passionate about sustainable transportation and equity-focused planning techniques
- You enjoy producing high-quality work products and seeing your projects get built
- You have strong communication skills, whether written, verbal, or graphical
- You can build relationships, bring enthusiasm to exciting projects, and are detail oriented with strong problem-solving skills
- You have the motivation to identify and pursue business development opportunities for a growing team
Application Instructions
Please visit our website to apply: