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Vice President, Public Outreach - Transportation

Public Relations

Southern California , Hybrid, Full-Time

Salary range

DOE

About Our Client
Our client is a rapidly growing communications firm focused on providing leadership and growth opportunities. They hire people who work hard, enjoy learning, and love working with the public. With strong retention rates and a track record of promoting from within (their current president started as an Account Executive!), they offer genuine long-term career growth.

They specialize in high-impact, visible public projects including major developments, affordable housing initiatives, transportation projects, and community-shaping endeavors. You'll work with high-level public officials and community leaders while expanding your professional network.

About the Role
Our client is seeking a full-time Vice President and Transportation Business Line Lead to join their Southern California team. As a senior leader, this role is instrumental in guiding client strategy, advancing business development efforts, and shaping the firm's transportation vision. This position requires a strategic thinker with deep expertise in public outreach, infrastructure communications, and strong relationships across the transportation industry. The role leads high-profile client initiatives, develops communication strategies, and serves as a trusted advisor to executives and policymakers. Internally, this leader will support business growth, mentor team members, and forge strategic partnerships to position the firm for major opportunities.

Location & Schedule
Roles hired in San Diego operate on a hybrid schedule, with 3 days onsite in the San Diego headquarters. Roles outside of San Diego are primarily remote with varying expectations of visits to satellite offices and clients. Travel is required up to 20-30% of the time. Additional travel may arise to accommodate project demands and conference participation. This role will include early mornings, evenings, and weekends as required.

Key Responsibilities

  • Forecast staffing needs for all transportation business line projects and contracts, regularly reporting fluctuations to senior leadership
  • Manage all budgeting and invoicing for transportation business line clients as well as forecast costs for proposed strategies
  • Present strong project management skills, overseeing all aspects of projects at a detailed level and leading client interactions independently
  • Build and maintain meaningful relationships with targeted, high-level external audiences, contributing to overall business development efforts
  • Serve as a positive role model who actively coaches junior staff by providing constructive feedback and coaching discussions
  • Coach supervisorial staff (Managers and Directors) towards maximizing performance and ensure they have resources needed to provide the best possible product to clients
  • Maintain understanding of current transportation industry-related public outreach, public affairs, and communications best practices
  • Work closely with Executive Committee members to develop and drive strategic direction to meet organizational communications goals
  • Develop and manage teams towards execution of strategic communication programs including community relations, public outreach, public affairs, social media, and media relations
  • Oversee mix of small to large-scale communication-related projects, managing deliverables, budgets, timelines and teams
  • Experience managing transportation industry communications across all phases of infrastructure projects – planning, design, environmental review, construction, and operations
  • Deep understanding of key policy issues in transportation industry and ability to translate highly technical information into accessible language
  • Experience managing complex, multilingual public outreach campaigns and understanding of how to reach traditionally underserved populations
  • Develop and manage all transportation business line proposals, leading all stages of the process
  • Actively search for business opportunities by attending networking events, participating in professional associations, and meeting with government contacts

What Our Client Offers

  • Competitive salary with exceptional opportunities for advancement and long-term career growth
  • Comprehensive benefits including medical care, flexible spending accounts, paid time off and profit sharing
  • Opportunity to work on exciting, visible public projects that make a real difference
  • Access to high-level networking opportunities with public officials and influential leaders
  • Company-wide events and cross-office collaboration opportunities
  • Mentorship and learning opportunities from experienced professionals across multiple offices
  • Chance to be part of a rapidly growing company with exciting new projects constantly coming in
  • Leadership development and advancement opportunities

Requirements

  • 15+ years of relevant experience in transportation public outreach/public affairs or a related field
  • 10+ years of agency experience OR 5+ years of agency experience and 10+ years of in-house experience with a local or state transportation agency
  • Bachelor's degree in a related field
  • Proven ability to manage large projects as well as small teams on one or more sizable accounts
  • Continued management of an account for a minimum of 3 years
  • Experience managing both retainer and hourly billable projects
  • Experience supporting transportation infrastructure projects
  • Experience as a direct supervisor of more than three staff, including participating in regular review cycles
  • Management of two or more significant client accounts
  • Generation of three or more quality business leads per year
  • Regular service on at least one high profile community or industry-specific board or commission