TRANSPORTATION POLICY MANAGER

Mayor

Exempt | Location: Civic Center

Annual Salary

$75,600 - $110,500

contact information

Mayor's Office HR Team
213-978-0600
Mayor.Jobs@lacity.org

job description

The Mayor’s Office of Infrastructure (MOI) advances a unified and holistic approach to infrastructure delivery, climate resilience, and disaster recovery across the City of Los Angeles. In addition to overseeing mobility and transportation infrastructure policy, MOI manages the City’s Palisades Fire Recovery efforts, coordinating interdepartmental rebuilding, infrastructure restoration, and long-term resilience planning. The Office supports clean, safe, vibrant community design that enhances the quality of life, adapts to climate change, and makes it easier and safer for all Angelenos to walk, bike, and use transit.

SUMMARY:

The MOI Transportation Team oversees the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), manages the City’s delegation to the Metro Board of Directors, and serves as Board deputy for the Mayor and one of the Mayor’s appointees to the Board of Directors. For FY27 (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027), the Mayor will serve as Chair of the Metro Board of Directors.

The Transportation Policy Manager assists in developing and implementing the Mayor’s transportation policy agenda at the City and County levels, with significant responsibility related to Metro Board governance. The Policy Manager reports to the Senior Director of Transportation, supports the Deputy Mayor of Infrastructure, and supervises the team’s Policy Analyst(s). The position requires strong policy judgment, political awareness, and executive-level coordination.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Transportation Policy & Department Oversight

Oversee assigned departments (including LADOT and Metro) with respect to policy, budget review, performance, and communications, ensuring alignment with the Mayor’s priorities.
Develop, present, and implement transportation policy recommendations, including drafting and advancing Metro Board motions, to promote mobility justice, equity, climate resilience, traffic safety, and sustainable transportation system improvements.
Advance policies, operations, and capital projects at Metro and LADOT, including initiatives related to public transportation, active transportation, voter-approved transportation funding measures (Measure R, Measure M, and Proposition A), the NextGen Bus Plan, Mobility 2035, interdepartmental public right-of-way coordination, and Vision Zero safety strategies.
Analyze complex transportation-related policy, contracts, funding structures, and performance data to guide executive decision-making.
Serve as liaison to local, county, regional, and state transportation partners.
Represent the Mayor in meetings, hearings, and public forums.
Coordinate policy-related messaging, talking points, and constituent communications with the Mayor’s Communications team.
Regularly brief the Senior Director of Transportation and the Deputy Mayor.
Supervise and manage Policy Analyst(s), including work plan development and performance oversight.
Exceptional ability to manage multiple complex workstreams simultaneously while adapting to shifting priorities in a dynamic, high-visibility governance environment.

FY27 METRO BOARD CHAIR RESPONSIBILITIES

During FY27, the Policy Manager will provide principal staff support in coordinating the Mayor’s responsibilities as Metro Board Chair and will function as the lead board deputy to one of the Mayor’s appointees to the Metro Board. This role requires substantial governance management, agenda oversight, public leadership support, and intergovernmental coordination.

Board Governance & Agenda Management

Metro Board business follows a structured four-week monthly cycle. The Policy Manager will:

Lead review and finalization of Metro public meeting agendas.
Review and analyze approximately 40+ draft staff reports monthly prior to distribution to Board offices.
Identify fiscal, legal, operational, equity, and political considerations.
Coordinate proactively with Metro executive staff to resolve issues prior to public release.
Support monthly Board Staff Briefings and coordinate with the Board Clerk regarding quorum, attendance, and procedural matters.
Prepare briefing materials, strategic guidance, and recommendations.
Coordinate with the Board Clerk and Chief Ethics Officer to manage conflicts of interest and ensure compliance.
Prepare the Order of Business and support legislative floor management during Board meetings.
Track post-meeting follow-up actions and implementation.

As Chair, the Mayor serves as the public face of Metro. The Policy Manager will:

Draft quotes for Metro press releases and prepare remarks and talking points for press conferences, Board meetings, and public events.
Staff public events and coordinate speaker order and program flow.
Facilitate meetings for and on behalf of the Chair with elected officials, stakeholders, and community leaders.
Coordinate with Metro Communications and Government Relations staff to align messaging and strategy.
Support state and federal advocacy efforts, including drafting position letters and monitoring legislative priorities.
Participate in recurring coordination meetings covering Board items, communications strategy, and legislative matters.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

BS in public policy, urban planning, transportation planning, civil engineering, public administration, or related discipline with 4+ years of relevant experience (or equivalent).
Knowledge of key transportation issues in Los Angeles and California.
Experience analyzing policy, contracts, funding structures, and complex data.
Comfort working in a dynamic political environment with shifting priorities.
Demonstrated supervisory experience.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Proficiency in Google Office Suite and Microsoft Office applications.
Ability to prioritize competing deadlines and adapt quickly within a fast-paced, dynamic political and operational environment.
Strong organizational and communication skills.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

MA/MS in public policy, urban planning, transportation management, public administration, or environmental planning.
Ability to analyze complex data, transportation trends, and policy impacts to guide decision-making. This includes understanding and working with transportation models and statistics.

Knowledge of federal, state, and local transportation funding mechanisms.
Experience in legislative or intergovernmental advocacy.
Proficiency with GIS applications.
Professional certification (AICP, CPM, PMP, PE) preferred.

How to apply

Applicants should send a cover letter and resume to Mayor.Jobs@lacity.org with “Infrastructure Transportation Policy Manager” in the subject line by Friday, May 1, 2026.

Please note that applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. We encourage interested candidates to submit their applications promptly.

This is an exempt, at-will position. The individual appointed to this position will not accrue any civil service tenure, contractual employment rights, or due process rights. The incumbent may be removed, without any finding of cause, by the hiring authority. The City of Los Angeles is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to its programs, services and activities. Please call (213) 744-9300 if you need assistance.

exempt employment

If employment is said to be exempt, it is meant that the employment is exempted from the civil service provisions of the City Charter. In order to receive a regular civil service appointment, employees must have successfully participated in a civil service examination, received a high enough score on the examination to be placed on and receive an appointment from an eligible list, and they must serve a probationary period. Exempt employees do not compete in a civil service examination, they are not placed on an eligible list and receive an appointment from that list, nor do they serve a probationary period. As a result, exempt employees do not have what is referred to as a “property interest” in their job. Exempt employees serve at the will of the appointing authority and can be terminated at any time without cause. Employees with a property interest in their job, i.e. civil service employees, cannot be deprived of their employment(discharged or suspended) without due process.

General Information About Exempt Employment

Exempt employees serve at the will of the appointing authority, and as such, they may be discharged, suspended or otherwise disciplined without cause. Exempt employees have no property interest in their employment, and any procedural benefit or other prerogative extended to them by their appointing authority is not intended to create and does not create any such property interest. No officer or employee of the City may make to any other officer or employee any representation of a property interest in employment which does not correspond to Charter provisions unless the City Council, by ordinance, permits such representation. No unauthorized representation can serve as the basis of an employee's reliance on, or expectation of, a property interest.

Employees Seeking To Become Civil Service Employees

There is no protective leave for an exempt employee appointed to a civil service position. Upon receiving a civil service appointment and passing probation, the former exempt employee will be subject to the Civil Service provisions described in Article X of the City Charter. Upon appointment, the civil service employee will begin to accrue displacement and layoff seniority on the first day of his/her civil service appointment and may file for promotional examinations for which s/he qualifies. A full or half-time exempt employee appointed to a full or half-time civil service position continues to: contribute to the Retirement System; accrue vacation time; accrue sick time; receive anniversary date salary increases; and, receive health and dental benefits identical to those received in the civil service position.

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