Hiring Organization Information
Position Information
About Transportation Choices Coalition
Transportation Choices Coalition (TCC) is Washington State’s leading non-profit organization that brings people together to advocate for safe, sustainable, and equitable transportation across Washington. Based in Seattle, our vision is to create thriving, transit-oriented communities where people of every race, class, ability, and zip code can get where they need to go.
Our programs are focused on educating and building support for more transit, and developing cutting-edge policies to make it easier and more affordable for people to get around by rail, bus, mobility device, bike, and foot. In the last decade, we have also won over $50 billion in transit, bike, and pedestrian investments.
TCC strives to be a great place to do great work. We prioritize a collaborative, team-oriented culture where everyone has a high level of ownership and performance in their roles, where we collectively embrace and practice anti-racism work, and where we care for ourselves, each other, and our community. We are a flexible workplace and place a high priority on the health and well-being of our staff.
For more information about TCC, visit www.transportationchoices.org
About the Role
Transportation Choices Coalition’s (TCC’s) Policy Director is a key leader of the organization, working with the entire staff, coalition members, and external partners to develop, enact, and implement policies that shape Washington’s transportation system. As a member of the Leadership Team, the Policy Director supports the Executive Director with organizational decision-making, leadership on racial equity, and creating a supportive environment for staff. The ideal candidate will bring expertise in equitable transportation and systems change coupled with experience leading teams and managing complex and time-sensitive projects.
Equitable transportation and systems change. The Policy Director is responsible for identifying opportunities for new policies and programs, along with developing TCC priorities at the local, county, regional, state, and, when relevant, Federal levels.
Leading teams and managing projects. The Policy Director manages a team of 2-3 direct reports and provides policy guidance to all team members, provides mentorship and assistance to their direct reports, and ensures any given project has clear expectations and the work is completed correctly and on time.
Supporting TCC’s leadership. The Policy Director works closely with the Advocacy Director, Deputy Director, and Executive Director as a member of the leadership team to tackle challenging organizational issues, implement initiatives that further racial equity, and ensure TCC’s policy work is coordinated across our Operations, Development, and Engagement staff.
In any given week, they might be reviewing proposed state legislation, leading a coalition call, representing TCC in an agency stakeholder group, writing a policy memo, educating a funder about our policy work, facilitating a conversation about how racial equity intersects with our mission, supporting staff in developing a project plan, or building out a Gantt chart.
Flexible schedule with some evening and weekend work required.
Key Responsibilities
Team leadership and project management
- Manage, coordinate, and support policy team
- Project management for most policy projects
Develop policy positions
- Identify areas for research and development of innovative concepts for TCC to promote and advance.
- Identify opportunities to analyze and provide feedback on public policy papers, plans, issue-based campaigns, and legislation. Ensure robust racial equity analysis of policy positions and new policies.
Partner coordination
- Work alongside the Advocacy Director and Policy Analyst to cultivate and nurture relationships with coalition partners (including other advocacy groups and other stakeholders) to shape our individual and shared policy platforms
- Lead policy coalitions
Agency and elected coordination
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with elected officials, decision-makers, and transportation agency staff and executives.
- Represent TCC at agency-sponsored stakeholder tables, boards, and commissions.
Internal, planning, and cross-functional support
- Assist policy team and full TCC team with understanding existing policy priorities in order to support coordination with advocacy, communications, events, and development efforts.
Racial Equity Action Plan
- Participate in staff development and trainings.
- Co-chair the Racial Equity Action Plan committee
Primary Qualifications
- 3+ years in policy analysis, transportation planning, urban planning, or policy research experience or related experience.
- 2+ years experience managing people and projects.
- 2+ years of experience leading teams.
- Familiarity with government processes and documents.
- Excellent writing, editing, and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent close reading and critical thinking skills.
- A strong commitment to racial equity and anti-racism, and continuous learning, especially in a leadership context.
- The ability to prioritize, manage, and coordinate multiple tasks, sometimes in a fast-paced, evolving, and political environment.
- A self-starter who is comfortable working in a team environment, with external stakeholders including partner organizations.
Secondary Qualifications
- Lived experience using transit as a primary mode of transportation.
The Successful Candidate Will
- Understand Washington’s political & transportation landscape. You know the policy opportunities and challenges to expanding transit and building safe routes to transit in Washington State.
- Be relationship-oriented and embrace collaboration. You recognize the deep importance that relationships with colleagues and allies play in our work, and you build rapport and trust with others.
- Center racial equity. We acknowledge historical inequities and commit to shifting power, resources, and decision-making to communities of color and those most impacted by issues related to transportation. As the head of TCC’s policy work and an organizational leader, you are keenly aware of how policies can and have been used to oppress marginalized communities, and how systems of power and oppression can show up in the workplace.
- Be thoughtful and follow through on commitments. Communicate clearly, honestly, and openly. You ask for what you need and be willing to give and receive feedback at all levels.
- Have an eye for details. Being able to carefully comb through complicated and dense documents for information that may have intended or unintended consequences is a critical component of this job.