Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension LLC is seeking a full-time Senior Transportation Planning Manager to support the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) under its Transit Business, Organization, and Program Development IDIQ. This role serves as a senior-level strategic advisor, planner, analyst, and project leader supporting multiple MTA divisions through on-call Task Orders. The Senior Transportation Planning Manager will lead service development initiatives, organizational efficiency studies, KPI and performance measurement efforts, real estate and mobility analyses, integrated planning systems work, and compliance-driven program improvements.

This position is ideal for a seasoned transportation planning professional who excels in a dynamic, multi-task environment and wants a high-impact, long-term role with full-time hours across continuously issued task orders.Key Responsibilities

1. Service Development & Mobility Planning

• Lead route planning, service design, and scheduling optimization for bus, paratransit, mobility, and fixed-route services.
• Conduct origin-destination studies, ridership forecasts, and service equity analyses (Title VI).
• Oversee data-driven decision-making including load factors, on-time performance, run times, recovery times, and productivity metrics.

2. Organizational Development & Operational Efficiency

• Lead staffing studies, organizational assessments, HR strategic planning, and process improvement initiatives.
• Develop recommendations that improve operational efficiency, streamline workflows, and strengthen program governance.

3. KPI, Performance Tracking & Data Governance

• Lead the design, implementation, and monitoring of KPIs for service quality, resource utilization, performance management, and program accountability.
• Support the build-out of Integrated Planning & Management Information Systems.

4. Mobility Management & Scheduling Support

• Oversee collection of travel demand data, ADA paratransit scheduling, and performance analyses.
• Provide technical assistance on scheduling software, AVL/APC analytics, and telematics data.

5. Real Estate & Benefits Analysis Support

• Conduct land use, station area planning, cost-benefit analysis, and transit-oriented development studies.
• Support analytical products for capital planning, property disposition, and transit project benefits analysis.

6. Federal Compliance Program Support

• Support reviews, documentation, and process improvements for Title VI, ADA, Drug & Alcohol compliance, Public Involvement planning, and procurement.

7. Program and Project Management

• Prepare technical proposals for Task Orders (TOs) including scope, LOE, and budget narratives.
• Manage cross-functional planning work, track deliverables, prepare reports, and interface with MTA leadership.
• Lead stakeholder engagement: agency staff, community groups, operators, field supervisors, and external consultants.

8. Technical Writing, Reporting & Communication

• Produce technical reports, GIS maps, planning documents, briefings, dashboards, memos, and public meeting materials.
• Present findings to senior decision makers.

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Daily Activities

Oversee junior analysts, planners, and cross-functional teams.

Conduct route analysis and evaluate service reliability and performance trends.

Lead planning studies for new or modified services.

Coordinate data inputs from APC, AVL, GTFS, Rider Surveys, and scheduling platforms.

Develop KPIs, dashboards, and performance scorecards.

Conduct planning meetings with division chiefs, planners, and schedulers.

Draft task order proposals and support workload forecasting.

Prepare deliverables for multiple simultaneous TOs.