Senior Associate / Director

THE ORGANIZATION

Kearns & West, Inc. is a stakeholder engagement, communications, and collaborative solutions firm. Our staff is passionate about engaging communities in the planning and decision-making process for transportation, community and environmental planning projects.

Kearns & West’s specialists take a diverse range of issues, opinions, goals and interests, and organize them into clear, productive processes that lead to successful conclusions. The Kearns & West
approach involves assessment, outreach, process and meeting design, facilitation, dispute resolution, and development of communications tailored to each project’s unique process. Collectively, these tools and techniques build productive stakeholder relationships, integrated approaches, and strategic partnerships with the goal of developing long-term, sustainable solutions.

Kearns & West is involved in several high-profile transportation projects including outreach for high-speed rail in Northern California and Link21, various transportation program implementation projects, mobility plans, sustainability projects, and alternative fuel engagement efforts.

THE POSITION

Kearns & West seeks to hire a Senior Associate or Director with responsibilities in planning/logistics, outreach, stakeholder engagement, project task management, equity-focused facilitation and communications, and business development in support of our transportation work.

The Senior Associate/Director will carry out communications, outreach and public engagement on transportation and may also support efforts on other infrastructure issues such as climate adaptation and energy. The Senior Associate/Director will work with stakeholders representing local communities, as well as representatives from transportation providers, state and federal agencies, tribes, advocacy organizations, business industries and local interests. Most of the initial work is based in Northern California and centered in the San Francisco Bay Area, but could include work throughout California and across the United States.

Given our fast-growing portfolio of transportation projects, a candidate’s interest and experience in passenger rail, public transit, active transportation, equitable transportation planning, and/or transportation demand management is highly desirable. Candidates come from a variety of backgrounds, but past work with local, state and/or federal government agencies on planning, collaborative problem-solving, communications, community development, public policy, and/or dispute resolution projects is preferred.

Key responsibilities include the following:

• Interaction with diverse stakeholders, including clients, community members, and others on a range of sensitive topics
• Facilitation of stakeholder discussions, group meetings, and events
• Graphic communication (e.g., presentations, videos, brochures, websites)
• Coordinating and participating in community outreach events
• Planning and executing stakeholder and public meetings or other forums (including logistics)
• Research and writing of survey summaries, meeting summaries, public comments, and outreach plans for many types of audiences (including underrepresented communities, multilingual communities, business groups, elected officials, etc.)
• Implementing engagement plans, including maintaining detailed calendars, schedules, and task lists
• Development of strategic plans and processes
• Development of project proposals including budgets, business development, contract administration, and invoice and expense report preparation.

QUALIFICATIONS

We’re looking for someone who is:

• Comfortably working virtually for the time being
• Organized and prepared to contribute to our team organization
• Adaptable and flexible
• Self-motivated and comfortable working independently, yet successful at balancing working as part of a team
• An effective and reliable communicator
• Comfortable facilitating discussions and making presentations
• Comfortable taking direction and empowered to take the initiative
• Able to reliably set priorities, manage multiple tasks, and meet project deadlines on multiple projects for multiple clients
• Comfortable working in a firm of about 90 professionals with offices across the US
• Able to travel, as needed

EDUCATION, CERTIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

MINIMUM EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent. Possession of a master’s degree, other advanced degree, or educational equivalent is a plus, and may be considered in lieu of work experience.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE: Successful Senior Associate or Director candidates will have 4-12 years of work experience, with a background in transportation and infrastructure issues, environment, land-use, conflict management and resolution, public stakeholder engagement and strategic communications, local and regional government, public policy, and/or community relations.

REQUIRED SKILLS: Strong writing, presentation, and teamwork skills. Fluency in MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel). Proficiency with online meeting and collaboration tools

DESIRED SKILLS: Experience with database management, Adobe Creative Suite software, and social media tools. Graphic design. Fluency in Spanish.

COMPENSATION

Compensation will be dependent upon the qualifications and experience of the selected candidate. Kearns & West provides a competitive package of benefits.

HOW TO APPLY

Please apply with a cover letter and resume to personnel@kearnswest.com with subject line as “Job_56”.