Position Description

The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County is seeking a Director of the Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure (NDOT) to lead our multimodal network and serve as key member of Metro Nashville’s leadership team as a direct report to the Mayor. Following a period of intense regional growth, Nashville is now hyper focused on strengthening, modernizing, and investing in our infrastructure. The Director will guide NDOT’s strategic priorities while prioritizing Nashville’s adopted key transportation values: safety, connectivity, choice, prosperity, wellbeing, stewardship, equity, and regionalism.

We are seeking an experienced senior executive to set the strategic vision for, and lead NDOT, which has managed Metro Nashville’s transportation network since its establishment in 2021. In particular, Nashville is in midst of implementing Choose How You Move (CHYM), a multi-agency historic investment in our transportation and transit infrastructure, and we are looking for a dynamic leader to help shape the future of our community and invest in our team. As a key implementation partner for CHYM, you will be responsible for leading the NDOT team through the delivery phase of a generational investment in transportation infrastructure. To meet this challenge, we are seeking a professional with extensive capital project delivery experience who can help supercharge our efforts for Nashvillians while guiding essential department strategy and functions across operations, engineering, development services, regulatory and compliance, community engagement, communications, and overall administration. Success will be measured by sidewalk miles built, signals installed, Vision Zero safety projects completed, potholes filled, and permitting turnaround times, among other key milestones. We are in a new era of delivery for NDOT, and the next Director will be responsible for leading this organization through significant evolution and collaboration. This will require a strong and collaborative organizational leader who can communicate effectively and help build and strengthen the institution for growth to come. Success in this role will require strong partnerships with the Mayor’s Office, fellow Metro Nashville department leadership and intergovernmental partners, including Metro Council, and our state and federal partners.

NDOT delivers a range of services, and nearly 400 employees work around the clock to ensure a multimodal system that offers choice and better connects neighborhoods, residents, businesses and visitors to the place that they need and want to go to safely. NDOT employees are responsible for over 2,200 miles of public roadways and rights-of-way, over 6,000 streets, over 300 bridges, 835 traffic signals and over 1,200 miles of bike/sidewalk lanes and much more. In this role, you will have the opportunity to lead a team of hard-working, dedicated people who take pride in their jobs and in their city. You will be expected to lead, mentor and develop a high performing team, while fostering innovation and collaboration across Metro Nashville.

Full position profile available online.

Typical Duties

• Leads all the various services within the department, including:

1. A departmental strategy aligned with mayoral priorities and adopted key transportation values;
2. Delivery of transportation-related projects efficiently, on time, within budget, and to standard;
3. Planning that affirms adopted community and transportation values and collaboratively proposes multimodal transportation solutions across all modes;
4. Design that implements national best practices and standards (e.g., NACTO) and collaboratively solves multimodal transportation issues aligned with our community values; and,
5. The operations and maintenance of streets, sidewalks, bikeways, on-street parking and associated assets, as well as regulation and enforcement activities in the right-of-way.

• Communicates the mission, vision, and strategic goals of the Nashville Department of Transportation to staff, Metro, constituents, and all partners and stakeholders.
• Administers the department budget, including securing the funding of projects from a myriad of local, state, and federal sources, in coordination with the Finance Department.
• Manages, mentors, and develops staff, including professional engineers and field operators. Works to build capacity and strengthen internal resources to further insource capital delivery and other operational and delivery capabilities.
• Drives forward the pursuit of key policies, including Complete Streets and Vision Zero, including engagement of relevant Metro Nashville commissions and committees while ensuring successful understanding of stakeholder roles and professional relationship-building.
• Leads and engages staff in on-going strategic studies and plan development, such as traffic analysis, multimodal improvements, design review and system analysis.
• Leads emergency preparedness and response efforts across NDOT, supporting EOC activations as appropriate.
• Embodies best practices for public engagement, including leading and attending meetings with public officials and citizens.
• Builds and maintains strong community relationships, including with elected officials, organizational partners, and members of the public. Serves as a trusted representative of Metro Nashville and represents NDOT well publicly.
• Develops and implements departmental policies, procedures, rules, regulations, and work methods.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Public Administration, Urban Planning, Engineering, or related field. At least ten (10) years of industrial, municipal, or transportation experience with a particular focus on delivery of capital projects at the local level.

Note: Per Metro Ordinance No. SO94-1078. All employees of the Metropolitan Government shall be residents of the State of Tennessee or become residents of the state within six (6) months of employment as a prerequisite to employment with the Metropolitan Government. 

Preferred Experience, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Advanced degree in a related field.
• Previous experience in senior transportation leadership and capital project delivery in a large metropolitan city, with a population of at least 700,000 people and sustained growth.
• Demonstrated understanding of federal, state, and local interactions needed to successfully deliver large complex projects, including experience working with federal and state entities.
• Recognized national presence in multimodal sector, including expertise in city transportation best practices.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and hold teams accountable while fostering professional growth, collaboration, and a strong team culture that values interdepartmental partnership.
• Demonstrated executive level judgement, including in areas of financial stewardship, crisis management, and risk mitigation.
• Demonstrated commitment to transparency and accountability, and skilled communicator.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply. Metro Nashville is committed to selecting the most qualified candidate for each of our roles.

Metro Nashville Government respects the religious beliefs and practices of all employees and will make, on request, an accommodation for such observances when a reasonable accommodation is available that does not create an undue hardship on business operations.

Requests for ADA or other protected accommodations for the recruitment process should be directed to Human Resources at 615-862-6640.