Salary $60,840.00 - $94,099.20 Annually

Location Ames - 50010 - Story County, IA

Job Type Full-time

Agency 645 Iowa Department of Transportation

Job Number 20-00301

Closing 8/21/2019 11:59 PM Central

Point of Contact Debra Arp at (515) 239-1681

Job Description

This position serves as the State Recreational Trail (SRT) and Federal Recreational Trail (FRT) program manager in the Grant Program Administration section of the Office of Systems Planning and is responsible for the daily administration of the programs, working through annual application cycles, monitoring program funds, communicating with various stakeholders, and managing the concurrent development of fifty plus state and federal-aid projects with local project sponsors.
 
The $2.5 million State Recreational Trails (amount subject to appropriation) and $1.3 million Federal Recreational Trails programs are dedicated to the establishment and maintenance of motorized and non-motorized recreational trails in the state of Iowa through the award of grant funds to mostly local government project sponsors. 

This position is the designated contact person for these programs and is responsible for explaining the laws, rules, policies, regulations, and procedures of both programs to prospective applicants and local governments, planning agencies, elected officials, media and the general public through the writing of program guidance, website content, brochures or other written material as well as oral presentations.  Existing program laws, rules, policies, regulations, and procedures are continuously reviewed by this position leading to the identification of areas for improvement and the development of proposed program modifications.  This position also reviews new and pending legislation, rules, policies, regulations, and procedures that will affect the State Recreational Trail and Federal Recreational Trails programs and prepare summary impacts. 
 
Both programs have annual grant application cycles requiring the program manager to review applications for completeness and program eligibility, consult with other Iowa DOT offices and state agencies on project impacts and adherence to design standards, score applications, coordinate advisory committee reviews, prepare award recommendations, and notify program applicants of grant cycle outcomes.  This position monitors federal funding obligations and state project expenditures to ensure program funds are expended within state and federal required time periods and works with project sponsors to adjust project timelines as needed.
 
This position is the primary contact for over fifty state and federal projects awarded by these programs as well as other state and federal trail projects, as assigned.  This involves working with local project sponsors and designers and monitoring project development to ensure that projects comply with the terms of the project funding agreement and follow appropriate procedures.  Projects are reviewed for continued program eligibility, design concerns, and satisfactory performance throughout development of the project, during construction, and at the time of project close-out.  The program manager identifies any areas of non-compliance and coordinates the resolution of any issues with local project sponsors, designers, other Iowa DOT offices, contractors and, as applicable, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).  Project development activities also include preparing project agreements, securing environmental clearances, authorizing funding obligations with the FHWA (as applicable), reviewing project plans and specifications with assistance, assisting with a local letting or Iowa DOT letting, providing assistance regarding the interpretation of specifications, monitoring construction progress, comparing construction material and service invoices against lists of reimbursable items, reviewing the final project, and completing a final audit.  The program manager also helps to resolve any contract disputes.
 
The program manager will interact with project sponsors, designers, contractors, planning agencies, user groups, advisory committees, the FHWA, and other Iowa DOT offices through oral and written communication and will use databases and web applications including, but not limited to, Microsoft Access, Transportation Program Management System (TPMS), Project Scheduling System (PSS), Financial Management Information System (FMIS), Doc Express, and Appia. 
 
Some travel will be required to meet with the public and local, state and federal agency staff for pre-construction meetings, final audit reviews as well as on other occasions as needed such as for pre-award project evaluations and to resolve construction disputes.  Shift: Days, Monday thru Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm w/flex time available.
 
 Shift: Days, Monday thru Friday,

Minimum Qualification Requirements

Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:

1) Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in any field, and experience equal to four years of full-time professional-level work in program administration, program development, program research/evaluation, or management.

2) A total of eight years of education and/or full-time experience (as described in number one), where thirty semester hours of accredited college or university course work in any field equals one year of full-time experience.

3) All of the following (a, b, and c):

1. Two years of full-time professional-level work experience in program administration, program development, program research/evaluation, or management; and
2. A total of four years of education and full-time experience (as described in part a), where thirty semester hours of accredited college or university course work in any field equals one year of full-time experience; and
3. A total of two years of graduate-level education and full-time experience (as described in part a), where twenty-four semester hours of accredited graduate college or university course work in a public-service-related area (e.g., public or business administration, social work, public health, law, education, engineering) equals one year of full-time experience. Graduation from the Iowa Certified Public Manager Program is also equivalent to one year of full-time experience or education.

4) Current, continuous experience in the state executive branch that includes twelve months of full-time work as an Executive Officer 1 or comparable specific management-level position.

For additional information, please click on this link to view the job description (Download PDF reader).