Urban And Regional Planner - Transportation Planner

Come join the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Southeast Region team! We are seeking an Urban and Regional Planner. This position is headquartered in Waukesha at 141 NW Barstow Street.

WisDOT is a great place to work! In addition to meaningful and rewarding work, we offer a competitive benefits package featuring:

• Substantial leave time including at least 3.5 weeks of vacation to start, 9 paid holidays, and 130 hours of sick time that roll over each year.
• A free and confidential employee assistance program that offers employees and their immediate family dependents a variety of tools, resources, and professional consultation services to support their health, goals, and overall well-being
• An exceptional pension plan with employer match and lifetime retirement payment, plus an optional tax advantaged 457 retirement savings plan
• Excellent and affordable health, vision, and dental benefits (health plan options start at just $35/month for single plans and $87/month for family plans after two months of employment)
• A casual office atmosphere, flexible work schedules, and telework options depending on the position’s requirements
• Well Wisconsin Wellness Program

In addition to our generous employee benefits, we strive for inclusivity and celebrate different religious holidays and cultural observances and provide flexibility for utilizing paid time off for such celebrations. For more information on WisDOT you can visit our website by clicking here.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is an organization dedicated to creating transportation solutions through innovation and exceptional service. We are committed to fostering an environment rooted in Integrity, Diversity, Excellence, and Accountability. Click here to learn more about how we apply these values in our work.

Every day, WisDOT’s Division of Transportation System Development plays the leading role in the upkeep and improvement of nearly 12,000 miles of state highways and bridges used by millions of people. You’ll find that behind every barrel is a dedicated team from a wide array of backgrounds including engineering, planning, environmental services, public outreach, real estate, finance and many more. It can be a challenging job, but we think you’ll find it’s an awfully rewarding one, too.

We’re looking for detail-oriented critical thinkers to help deliver a quality program to build, improve and maintain transportation infrastructure throughout the state. We encourage anyone at any point in any career to take a look at WisDOT opportunities and give some thought to how your skills and resume line up. Having a good attitude, a willingness to learn and a passion for creating lasting, impactful work will go a long way here. It’s a big system with lots of opportunity and responsibilities.

Are you up for it? At WisDOT, you can Build the Future – NOW.

This position is responsible for growing WisDOT’s participation in economic development projects, which is an emerging field within WisDOT’s SE Region office. This position must develop and maintain professional and cooperative working relationships with the WisDOT Division of Transportation Investment Management, DTSD Bureaus and Regions, and local and state economic development officials.

This position is also responsible for coordinating freight transportation planning activities. Work tasks include data analysis and integrating freight as a component of transportation planning in and around Southeastern Wisconsin. These tasks support a multi-functional team through data collection, research, tool development, policy development and implementation, and identification of best practices. The incumbent may assist in coordinating with public officials, program managers, project managers, Metropolitan Planning Organizations/Regional Planning Commissions (MPOs/RPCs), private developers, consulting engineers, business owners, freight operators, and members of the public.

This position assists the Region’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator in evaluating project plans for state and local highway improvement projects. Areas of focus include multimodal elements including bicycle accommodations, pedestrian accommodations (including ADA compliant curb ramps), and infrastructure used by transit users. Work tasks include project problem solving, data gathering, and communication across numerous projects and project teams. This position primarily contributes to scoping stage project deliverables and establishing documentation defining multimodal needs and State jurisdiction.

This position is in schedule-range 07-04 with an annual salary of $47,840-$61,360, plus excellent benefits. A twelve month probationary period is required. Pay for current state employees will be set in accordance with the Wisconsin State Compensation Plan.

WisDOT does not sponsor work visas. Any appointment made will be contingent on the applicant being able to prove valid status to work in the United States.

Prior to any appointments for position(s) filled from this announcement, candidates may be subject to a comprehensive criminal background check which may include FBI fingerprinting.

Certain positions within this Department may allow remote/work from home flexibility for a portion of their work schedule, depending on the needs of the position and the work unit. This topic and any remote work flexibility that may be available will be discussed in more detail in the interview process. For permanent positions that allow remote work flexibility, Wisconsin residency is not required. However, it is not anticipated that working outside of Wisconsin (or bordering cities) will be allowed because positions may at times need to report to office locations in Wisconsin on short notice.

All state employees must report their COVID vaccination status, whether vaccinated or not and provide supporting documentation if vaccinated. Newly hired employees will be required to submit this information within their first two weeks of employment. The State of Wisconsin continues to follow necessary health and safety protocols for COVID. Please visit Division of Personnel Management Coronavirus - COVID-19 (wi.gov) for the most up-to-date information. Guidance may be subject to change.

Qualified applicants will have experience with all the following:

• Experience working on planning projects and studies
• Experience analyzing data. Activities may include creating written reports or summaries using directly sourced data inputs, writing an investigation, etc.
• Experience collaborating with a diverse group of stakeholders including internal and external parties.
• Experience with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access or similar product, to document work activities or create work products.
• Bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning, Urban Studies, Engineering, Architecture, Geography, or similar or at least 2 years of experience working in Urban and Regional Planning or Urban Studies.

In addition to having all the above, well qualified applicants will have experience with one or more of the following:

• Experience working with socio-economic data and analysis techniques such as GIS, applied statistics, database models or transportation modeling.
• Experience in urban planning, community development, or transportation projects that included diverse stakeholders, complex externalities such as natural resource protection constraints, multiple developers, multiple governments, or multiple funding sources.
• Education-based experience reading and interpreting plan documents or drawings.
• Experience integrating land use and/or socio-economic factors with transportation needs/projects.

Apply online! To apply, click “Apply for Job” to start the application process. Then, you will access your existing account or to create a new account if you don’t have an account. Once you are logged in, click “Apply for Job.” Follow the steps outlined in the application process and submit your application.

Your application materials are very important parts of your application and are used during our evaluation process to determine your qualifications as they relate to the job. For instructions on how to develop and what should be included in these materials, click here. For more information on the basics of the selection process and how the State of WI ensures fair and equitable treatment of all applicants, click here. The vast majority of applicants are able to outline their background and experience in their resume in 1-3 pages. Any resumes submitted with more than 10 pages will not be considered after page 10. If this job posting requires a letter of qualifications, the same limit applies.

Permanent classified state employees who are eligible for consideration (transfer or voluntary demotion) should complete the application process as described above by the stated deadline.

Submitted materials will be evaluated by a panel of job experts and the most qualified applicants will be invited to participate in the next step of the selection process. Questions can be directed to Liz Nicolai at [email protected] or 262-548-5912.

The deadline to apply is Tuesday, April 25th at 11:59pm.