New Jersey Project Director

Rails to Trails Conservancy is the nation’s largest trails organization—with a grassroots community more than 1 million strong—dedicated to building a nation connected by trails, reimagining public spaces to create safe ways for everyone to walk, bike and be active outdoors. Founded in 1986, RTC’s national office is located in Washington, D.C., with regional offices in California, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.railstotrails.org and connect with @railstotrails on social media.

Job Summary

The New Jersey Project Director is a member of RTC’s Trail Development team responsible for implementing RTC’s vision to create equitable trail networks that connect people to where they live, work and play in that region. 

This position plays a leading role in standing up the 5-year North Jersey Trail Network Initiative (NJTN). They will work closely with a position focused on NJTN at the New Jersey Bike Walk Coalition, a nonprofit organization and registered 501(c)(3) public charity. NJTN’s first-year goal is to develop a regional six-county trail vision that prioritizes segments to bring them to a funding-ready project status. Ultimately, the NJTN seeks to develop an accessible and equitable regional trail network by connecting existing trail corridors in North Jersey to transform the region with a strong active transportation network of safe, off-road trails and greenways. 

Working with government agencies, community development corporations, and community members, NJTN aims to drive equitable trail development in North Jersey with an emphasis on supporting New Jersey’s overburdened communities . This work will necessitate engaging local governments and the community in planning and incorporating local history, culture and context into trail plans and decision-making processes.

This position will supervise 1 – 2 employees and provide support and technical leadership for RTC’s other Mid-Atlantic area trail projects, particularly those that are focused on equitable development. 

This is an excellent opportunity for a candidate who is a creative problem solver and strategic thinker and enjoys collaborating with a variety of stakeholders, communities, and cultures at all levels. The ideal candidate will bring experience working in trail development and/or equitable development sectors such as community development, affordable housing, transit-oriented development, or economic development.  

Job Location: This position is located in North Jersey, within the project’s six-county footprint (Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Passaic, Union, and Morris counties). The selected candidate is eligible for a remote work schedule, within the six-county project footprint, in accordance with RTC’s policies.

Job Duties

Lead and advance, in partnership with RTC and NJBWC staff, the North Jersey trail network, and other projects within RTC’s Mid-Atlantic region. Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Coordinating with project partners and stakeholders to define and advance priority trail projects. Myriad strategies will be deployed, including providing direct technical assistance, to overcome trail development challenges such as building public and political support, right-of-way acquisition, community engagement, securing public funding, and advancing projects through the public planning process.
• Working with RTC’s GIS Specialist to define trail network maps and conduct GIS analyses to advance trail development goals.
• Identifying, recruiting and cultivating a diverse array of partners and stakeholders from various sectors able to advance trail networks and priority projects.
• Developing and co-chairing the working group(s) necessary to advance the NJTN project, including diverse partners and stakeholders .
• Advancing trail projects through preparation of trail plans or feasibility studies.
• Educating, advocating and developing strategies that support and catalyze equitable development as part of the trail development process. Equitable trail development strategies include but are not limited to: developing affordable housing near trails, small business development, enhanced public transportation and recreation access, and community-driven initiatives to prevent displacement while growing community wealth.
• Support workshops and community meetings to ensure broad engagement from the diversity of communities in the project area.
• Supporting partners in pursuing state and federal funding opportunities to accelerate trail network development, especially in overburdened communities. 
• Working closely with RTC’s policy team and NJWBC on the policy change and advocacy needed to increase and sustain funding for trails in New Jersey.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• This position supervises the Project Manager for the Circuit Trails and will report to RTC’s Mid-Atlantic Director.

Basic Qualifications and Personal Attributes

The successful candidate will be a strategic thinker with the ability to manage multiple tasks and a widely varied workload, and will possess the following skills:

• A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience managing complex, multidisciplinary projects in any of the following: equitable development, community development/organizing, transit-oriented development, political advocacy, active transportation, or economic development
• Bachelor’s degree in urban/transportation/community planning, public administration, economic development, public health, environmental science/policy; real estate or a related field. Expertise and extensive experience in inclusive and equitable development and community engagement
• Political savvy and demonstrated ability to engage and cultivate a wide variety of stakeholders both internally and externally (government, advocacy, business, elected officials), and experience building diverse coalitions to achieve support and buy-in
• Supervisory experience in motivating, leading, setting objectives and managing performance of full-time staff
• Advanced project management skills and experience, including the ability to set and achieve short- and long-term planning goals in line with program priorities and to creatively leverage internal and external resources
• Experience working with or for local government(s)
• Outstanding oral and written communication, and strong interpersonal skills
• Ability to design, execute and facilitate forums, workshops and other content-rich convenings with diverse stakeholders
• Consensus-building skills, with the ability to read an audience and be decisive
• Experience developing and managing foundation grants, including proposal development, management of deliverables and budget reporting
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and tactfully with a wide range of people and personalities to establish collaborative partnerships
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office 
• Experience managing programmatic budgets in Microsoft Excel
• 25% travel required, including non-traditional work hours (i.e., evenings/weekends)
• Must possess a valid driver’s license

Preferred:

• Master’s degree in urban/transportation/community planning, public administration, economic development, public health, environmental science/policy, real estate, or a related field
• Experience using ESRI products (ArcMap, ArcGIS Online) for GIS mapping

Work Environment

This position offers a dynamic work environment that includes both remote work and field-based activities. The ideal candidate should be comfortable with balancing time between a home office setup and on-the-ground work in diverse environments.