Planning Associate I Jobs

About Alta

Alta Planning + Design is an active transportation company dedicated to creating active, healthy communities through planning, landscape architecture, engineering, and education/encouragement programs. Alta was founded in 1996 when cities and communities were calling for safer streets for people walking and bicycling as the non-motorized transportation movement developed into a profession in the United States. We pioneered the field of active transportation, evolving our planning and design work into a visionary global practice that empowers people to live active, healthy lives and getting them to where they need to go.

Our core values and work bring about positive change by creating places that are geared toward moving people rather than cars, connecting community members to daily needs and human experience, and empowering every person to live an active healthy life. As a global leader in mobility innovation for over 24 years with 175 people on staff, we are dedicated to connecting people to places by working across disciplines and scale to address social justice, safety, and environmental resilience.

Position Priorities

An understanding and knowledge of Alta, its culture and services, the ability to collaborate across discipline boundaries and deliver solutions that meet client expectations in a cost-effective manner are required in order to successfully meet the requirements of this position.

The essential priorities of this exempt, salaried position are to:

• Manage potentially large groups of staff.
• Nurture and grow client and industry partner relationships and secure work in support of Alta’s growth goals.
• Appropriately manage large, complex projects in a budget-conscious and time-sensitive manner.
• Enhance Alta’s reputation as a trusted advisor and expert by educating clients and other relevant parties and supporting solutions that will meet their business objectives.

Responsibilities + Tasks

Additional responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to:

• Supports proposal understanding writing, scoping, and budgeting.
• May serve as Project Manager on small projects with active Principal in Charge involvement.
• Implements and adheres to the QA/QC processes, as defined by the technical service areas applicable to the project.
• Acts as Assistant Project Manager with active Project Manager involvement.
• Delegates work to other team members and/or coordinates a task or larger deliverable among a group.
• Applies new planning tools and techniques based on best practices.
• Independently applies diversified knowledge of planning practices on tasks with significant complexity and/or scope.
• Participates and lead public outreach activities.
• Works on a major project or multiple projects of moderate scope with complex features.
• May lead internal trainings on specialized service area topics, mentors more junior staff in service area processes.

Requirements

This position requires a combination of skills, experience and education including, but not limited to:

• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication and analytic skills.
• Experience in the field of active, non-motorized transportation.
• Ability to guide staff members and manage internal team expectations.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, and multiple simultaneous projects involving cross-functional project teams within budgetary and schedule constraints.
• Demonstrated understanding of the planning process and a general understanding of project management principles, methods and techniques.
• Exhibits strong initiative and ability to capitalize on opportunities to enhance Alta’s position in the marketplace.
• Bachelor’s degree in Planning or a related field of study.
• Excellent professional ethics, leadership skills, accountability, and decision-making capabilities.
• Proficiency in an enterprise-wide resource planning and project management tool.
• Strong initiative and the ability to work independently with little or no supervision.
• Proficient in MS Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Arc GIS, or similar products and Google Workspace Apps.
• Six (6) or more of experience in a consulting environment or public entity; three (3) or more years as a Project Manager; three (3) or more years managing staff.
• Ability and willingness to travel.
• Good presentation skills.

Preferred Skills + Certifications

There are a number of additional skills, experience, and education that would be beneficial to this position including, but not limited to:

• Expertise and experience in the field of New Mobility
• Experience managing large projects for both private and public clients.
• Active participation in industry-relevant professional associations and committees.
• Experience writing and/or presenting white papers and/or providing expert level presentations at conferences and other events promoting the field of sustainable infrastructure and active, non-motorized transportation.
• Master’s Degree in Urban Planning or similar field
• Experience using Deltek Vision.
• AICP Certification.
• Experience using Spatial Analyst, Network Analyst.

What We Offer

Compensation

The pay range for this job in Boca Raton, FL is $74,700 – $95,450 annually. Placement within the range is based upon experience, skill-sets, and qualifications.

Alta offers comprehensive benefits to all full-time employees.

Medical: PPO or HSA medical plans, Alta pays 75% of the cost.

Dental/Vision: PPO, Alta pays 90% of the cost.

Life Insurance: Alta pays 100% of the premium for life and AD&D, equal to your base compensation.

401k: Alta provides a safe harbor match up to 4%.

PTO: 21 days accrued annually to start.

Holidays: 11 total company paid holidays

Additional benefits: Wellness reimbursement up to $800 annually, Bike maintenance reimbursement up to $150 annually, transit reimbursement up to $750 annually, 5-year travel award, and professional development opportunities.

To apply: please upload a resume and cover letter to be considered for this position. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Due to the high volume of applicants we will not be able to respond to email or phone inquiries.

Alta is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Alta Planning + Design, Inc. is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants. It is our policy that decisions involving people are made on the basis of job-related criteria, independent of an individual’s gender, race, color, national origin, age, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, physical or mental disability for which reasonable accommodation is available, and any other status protected by law. This includes decisions involving hiring, job placement, transfer, promotion, compensation, benefits, training, and company-sponsored programs. Alta Planning + Design maintains formal employment policies, available online and by request.

Affirmative Action Plan

Alta Planning + Design, Inc. is a federal contractor subject to affirmative action regulations requiring written Affirmative Action Plans (AAP’s) for minorities and women, and for covered veterans and individuals with disabilities. We worked intensively with a local firm that specializes in Affirmative Action Plans to develop a program for our company that will not only satisfy our federal obligations but will be a living document. This means the plan is integrated into our recruiting and evaluation procedures and is revisited often in order to ensure we’re doing everything we can to embrace and promote diversity within our company.

Alta requires all employees to complete their COVID-19 vaccination series or have an approved exception to the requirement due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Proof of vaccination or an approved exemption for new employees will be verified prior to the first day of employment. Failure to provide proof of vaccination or receipt of an approved exemption will lead to withdrawal of the job offer.

The “Apply For This Position” button will direct you to Pinpoint, our external applicant tracking system hosted with our Trilon partners. To learn more about Alta’s partnership with Trilon click here.