Location
Tacoma, WA | United States
Job description
Transportation Planning Intern
Salary
$16.28 - $19.78 Hourly
Location
Tacoma, WA
Job Type
Non-Classified
Job Number
S0020-24C
Department
Public Works
Opening Date
02/23/2024
Closing Date
3/18/2024 5:00 PM Pacific
Description
Benefits
Questions
Position Description
The City of Tacoma's Public Works Department is seeking to hire an intern to provide support to the City of Tacoma's Safe Routes to School Program and Transportation Division. Under staff supervision, the position will be responsible for assisting with the planning and implementation of major school-based and community events that teach youth how to walk and roll safely, creating new program offerings, and gathering community input on the City’s Transportation Master Plan.
The City of Tacoma is taking bold steps to improve active transportation safety and access – and plan for a future that strongly supports safe, active, and accessibility mobility for all. The Transportation Division includes the transportation planning and permitting team, which is home to the active transportation, Vision Zero, long range transportation planning, and Safe Routes to School programs. The Safe Routes to School program identify safety improvements for construction, works closely with schools and the district, and provides students and their adults with fun-filled educational events. This internship will offer a unique professional opportunity to engage with the community, especially schools, youth, and non-profits, to ground our efforts in equity and center voices most affected by the safety and access disparities we see today.
The Safe Routes to School - Transportation intern will be given responsibility and must be self-motivated and well-organized. Interns must have the ability to thoughtfully engage with diverse communities and demonstrate excellent follow-through and a commitment to collaboration.
Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:
Event planning and support – coordinating of a wide array of logistics ranging from coordinating with community partners, ordering and preparing for supplies for events, day-of-event implementation, volunteer coordination, and set-up and take down.
Youth education – teaching students about how to walk, bicycle, and actively roll safely, including the meanings of traffic signs and signals, how to fit and wear a helmet, and how to fit a bicycle.
Community engagement –gathering community input at a wide variety of events and spaces – including local schools, libraries, active transportation events, bike rides, etc., asking thoughtful questions, providing information to community members, and sharing your enthusiasm for active transportation.
Program logistics & evaluation– including inventorying and tracking supplies, conducting field visits and spatial assessments, collecting and documenting data for evaluation, delivering materials to schools or community partners, and helping shape processes for program offerings.
Marketing & communications support – including creating social media posts, outreach materials, and web content.
Assisting in research and analysis – including research into best practices, finding examples from peer agencies, and compiling data.
The City is looking for a candidate who is available for approximately 30 hours per week for a period of 6 months. Extensions beyond 6 months may be possible, if desired and pending approval. The City may be willing to increase the number of hours up to 40 for a portion of the contract.
This position will require the intern to be available at specific times during business hours, plus select evenings and weekends for community events and meetings. The schedule may be reoccurring and will be established in collaboration with the intern and with the understanding that working hours may shift based on when community events are held.
City of Tacoma Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
Tacoma's diversity is its greatest asset. Tacoma embraces its multi-cultural and multi-ethnic character. Communities of color and immigrant communities are fundamental to Tacoma's entrepreneurial spirit, workforce, and long-term success. In Tacoma, equity and empowerment are top priorities, meaning that all Tacoma residents must have equitable opportunities to reach their full potential and share in the benefits of community progress. One of our goals is for the City of Tacoma workforce to reflect the community it serves. We actively work to eliminate racial and other disparities and welcome candidates with diverse backgrounds and/or multicultural skill sets and experiences. Our goal is for Tacoma to be an inclusive and equitable place to live, work, and play.
Our Ideal Candidate is a person with:
Understanding of/willingness to learn about the intersections between equity and transportation and a commitment to grounding work in anti-racism and justice.
Ability to effectively collaborate with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures and of all ages and abilities.
Experience with event planning and support; ability to plan, organize, and implement programs and events with keen attention to detail.
Experience working with K-12 schools and helping educate PreK – grade 8 youth.
Personal and/or professional knowledge and/or experience related to active transportation in Tacoma.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with City employees, community-based organizations, representatives of private businesses, and the community.
Ability to effectively communicate verbally and in writing, using language that is appropriate to both the complexity of the topic and the knowledge and understanding of the audience.
Experience using empathetic listening skills, and asking thoughtful, open-ended questions to encourage conversation and behavior change.
Skill in operating a personal computer and utilizing basic programs, including Outlook, Microsoft Excel, social media, Canva, and the City’s website.
Ability to track data and translate that into write clear, complete, and logical reports.
Effective and creative problem-solving skills.
Self-motivation and ability to work with minimal supervision.
Fluency in English plus Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Khmer, or Ukrainian.
Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:
This position requires being able to work both outdoors and in an office environment. Outdoor conditions will provide a variety of weather conditions. In office environments will include working on computers and communicating via email, chats, and phone. The intern may be asked to lift or move equipment or boxes not exceeding 50lbs. Depending on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic, work may be partially or primarily remote.
City of Tacoma Recruitment Information:
One of the primary goals of the City of Tacoma Equity and Empowerment Initiative is that the City of Tacoma workforce reflects the community it serves. We actively work to eliminate racial and other disparities and we welcome candidates with diverse and/or multicultural skill sets and personal experiences. Our goal is for Tacoma to be an inclusive and equitable place to live, work and play.
Qualifications
MINIMUM EDUCATION*
High School Diploma or GED
AND
MINIMUM EXPERIENCE*
1 year of post-high school training
*Equivalency: 1 year of experience = 1 year of education
DESIRED QUALIFICATION
Ability & willingness to travel throughout Tacoma, at times, with supplies and equipment for outreach and events. An ORCA transit pass will be provided. City fleet vehicles will be available for use only with a valid Washington State Driver’s License.
Knowledge & Skills
COMPETENCIES:
In addition to the Ideal Candidate characteristics listed under the position description, the City of Tacoma’s Transportation Division values the following skills:
Accountability: Accept personal responsibility for the quality and timeliness of work. Can be relied upon to achieve excellent results with little need for oversight.
Analysis: Use data and information in a clear and rational thought process to assess and understand issues, evaluate options, form accurate conclusions, and make decisions.
Communications Effectiveness: Convey clear, timely, persuasive messages that positively influence the thoughts and actions of others.
Development and Continual Learning: Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to learning and self-improvement.
Observation and Inspection: Critically observe and inspect structures, products, and environmental conditions to collect information and detect problematic situations.
Research: Effectively identify, collect, organize, and document data and information in ways that make the information most useful for subsequent assessment, analysis, and investigation.
Safety: Understand and follow applicable laws, regulations, and other standards to establish and/or maintain a safe work environment.
Selection Process & Supplemental Information
To be considered for this exciting and rewarding career opportunity:
Interested individuals must complete the online application and attach a detailed resume that includes past educational and work experience and a brief cover letter stating why they want to participate in the internship.
Our City:
With a population over 200,000, Tacoma is the second largest city in the Puget Sound region, gracing the shores of Commencement Bay. We are a diverse, progressive, international city that serves as a gateway to the Pacific Rim and the rest of the world. Named one of the most livable areas in the country by Livability.com, Tacoma and the surrounding area is a playground for outdoor and maritime enthusiasts. Our businesses are vibrant, our parks are beautiful, our schools are exceptional.
When you work for the City of Tacoma, you'll enjoy a healthy work/life balance, and the potential for flexible schedules with some job classifications. We welcome you to take a look at our website and discover how the City of Tacoma can make your next career move part of our combined destiny:
The City of Tacoma believes that each employee makes a significant contribution to our success. This job description is designed to outline primary duties, qualifications and job scope. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position.
This is a competitive selection process. Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications will be referred to Hiring Managers, who will review application materials, including Supplemental Questions, and select for interviews those candidates believed to potentially best suit the business needs for these positions.
Per City of Tacoma Personnel Management Policy #170, the City of Tacoma is a drug-free work environment. Appointment is subject to successful completion of a background check.
Communication from the City of Tacoma:
We primarily communicate via email during the application process. Emails from cityoftacoma.org and/or governmentjobs.com must be placed on your safe domain list to ensure that you receive notifications in a timely manner. As a precaution, you may also want to check your junk email folders.
The online application system requires you to enter a substantial amount of information. Be prepared to spend at least one hour or more entering your information. In order for your application materials to be considered, all information must be submitted by the closing date and time listed on this job announcement.
For assistance with the NEOGOV application process, or questions regarding this job announcement, call the Human Resources office at (253) 591.5400 before 4:00 pm of the closing date of the job announcement. The NEOGOV computer system automatically times-out at 5:00 pm and any application that has not been completed before then, will not be uploaded and accepted for this recruitment.
Agency
City of TacomaAddress
Human Resources Department 747 Market Street Tacoma, Washington, 98402-3764Phone
253-591-5400Website
The City of Tacoma provides excellent medical, dental and vision plans for the whole family; paid holidays and paid leave; participation in the Tacoma Public Employees' Retirement System (alternate plan for Police/Fire); continuing education and advancement opportunities and a growing variety of City-sponsored health and wellness opportunities and incentives.
Medical Coverage: For eligible employees and their families, including domestic partners and dependent children age 26 or younger.
Dental Coverage: For eligible employees and their families, including domestic partners and dependent children age 26 or younger.
Vision Coverage: For eligible employees and their eligible dependents.
Paid Leave: City employees are entitled to received paid holidays, sick/vacation leave or personal time off (PTO), depending upon union affiliation and appointment type.
Insurance Plans: Employees are covered by a long-term disability plan. Short-term and expanded long-term disability insurance plans are also available to employees. The State Industrial Insurance Act also covers employees.
Deferred Compensation: Income can be set aside on a pretax basis and invested for supplementation of normal retirement income.
Retirement: All employees of the City, except members of the Police and Fire services, Tacoma Rail and certain project employees, are included in the Tacoma Employees' Retirement System. Information on the Tacoma Employees' Retirement System can be found at or by calling (253) 502-8200.
Other Employment Information
Direct Deposit: Employees are paid on a bi-weekly schedule by direct deposit.
Salary Increases: Based on satisfactory job performance, the City provides for a regular progression of salary increases for most classifications according to the salary schedule.
Union Affiliation: Many job classifications are covered by union security provisions which require union membership, dues, or payment of equivalent service fees.
Note: The provisions of this job announcement do not constitute an expressed or implied contract. Any provision contained herein may be modified and/or revoked without notice.
01
The Supplemental Questionnaire is part of the examination process; accordingly, it should be completed carefully. It must be submitted with your application. Responses to supplemental questions must be original content created by the applicant using their own words. The use of online tools or resources to create responses, such as Artificial Intelligence (ChatGPT, etc), Google, Bing, etc., or plagiarism in any form, is considered cheating and falsification of the application. Do not indicate "see resume" or copy unrelated content from your resume when answering these questions. Answer all information requested in each question. Failure to do so may result in rejection of your application. I certify that the information provided is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge. I understand that any falsification may cancel any terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.
Yes
No
02
Do you have a high school diploma or GED?
Yes
No
03
How many years of post-high school training do you have?
one to two years
two or more years
none /non-applicable
04
Questions #5-7 are the experience and training test that will be used to establish the eligibility list. These questions will be scored by subject matter experts who will not have access to any of your application materials, and will provide scores based solely upon your answers to the questions. Your answers must stand on their own merit. DO NOT RESPOND WITH "SEE RESUME" in lieu of answering this question, as raters will not have access to your resume or application and this will result in a score of 0 points and you will fail the test. Your score on the experience and training test will ONLY reflect your response to the questions asked. Please indicate "Yes" that you have read and understand the instructions for questions #5-7.
Yes
No
05
The City of Tacoma is a diverse community, and our organization values diversity, equity and working to undo systemic racism. In 250 words or less, please describe your (personal, professional, or academic) experience with working effectively with diverse groups of youth.
06
In 250 words or less, if you could change three things to make it safer and easier for Kindergarten – 12th grade youth to get around using active transportation in Tacoma, what would they be?
07
Describe how this Internship opportunity could match your career goals.
08
Please tell us how you learned about this job opening.
Job Interest Card notification
Internet search
Professional organization
Community organization
Military organization
Union job posting
City of Tacoma employee
Online job board posting
Word of mouth
Other
09
Please provide specific information regarding how you learned about this job opening. Thank you, your feedback will be used to evaluate our success reaching the public and refine our methods for future job postings.
10
Did you remember to upload a cover letter and resume?
Yes
No
Required Question
Agency
City of Tacoma
Address
Human Resources Department 747 Market Street Tacoma, Washington, 98402-3764
Phone
253-591-5400
Website
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