Assistant Director of Mobility

Department: Charlotte Area Transit System Department

Salary: $114,294.00 - $164,298.19 Commensurate with Experience

Thank you for your interest in joining the team that keeps Charlotte moving, at a very exciting time for our organization. At the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), we’re committed to delivering safe, reliable, and innovative transit services for our growing community, and we value employees who bring professionalism, passion, and a commitment to public service.

 

This position is currently employed by CATS, a department of the City of Charlotte. With the passage of the PAVE Act and last year’s sales tax referendum, CATS is preparing to transition from a City department to the newly created Metropolitan Public Transit Authority (MPTA). The MPTA was established to strengthen regional transit governance, improve accountability, and support long‑term investment in mobility. It’s an important and exciting step forward for transit in our region.

 

Employees hired into this role will remain City employees through December 31, 2026, and will transition to MPTA employment on January 1, 2027. Benefits and compensation will follow City provisions through 2026 and shift to MPTA provisions in 2027, with clear information shared in advance. Your core duties, reporting structure, and daily responsibilities will remain consistent, with no break in service. If anything delays the transition, your City employment, including compensation and benefits, will remain in place until the move to the MPTA occurs.

 

The creation of the MPTA positions us for a more modern, sustainable, and efficient transit system, one that can better support the Charlotte region for decades to come. We’re excited about what’s ahead and appreciate your interest in being part of it.

SUMMARY

The Assistant Director of Mobility provides operational leadership and coordination for CATS’ non-fixed route mobility services, including paratransit and microtransit programs. Reporting to the Director of Mobility Services, this role is responsible for translating division strategy, service standards, regulatory requirements, and performance expectations into effective day-to-day execution across multiple mobility service functions.

The Assistant Director leads through managers responsible for paratransit transportation operations; paratransit dispatch, eligibility, and reservations; and microtransit service delivery. The position monitors service performance, coordinates resources and priorities across programs, addresses significant operational issues, and drives implementation of service improvements intended to strengthen safety, reliability, accessibility, customer experience, and operational efficiency.

Working within the strategic, fiscal, regulatory, and service direction established by the Director of Mobility Services, the Assistant Director helps ensure consistent management practices and coordinated execution across the Mobility Services portfolio. The role works closely with Operations, Safety, Customer Experience, Planning, Technology, Maintenance, Finance, Procurement, Contracts, and external service partners to resolve issues, implement organizational priorities, and support reliable and responsive mobility service delivery.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

The following duties are standard for this position. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the classification if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment for this classification.

Mobility Services Operational Leadership

• Provide operational leadership for paratransit and microtransit service delivery in alignment with priorities, standards, policies, and resource parameters established by the Director of Mobility Services.

• Translate division goals and service expectations into operating priorities, management practices, and measurable performance expectations for subordinate managers.

• Coordinate execution across mobility programs to promote consistent, safe, reliable, accessible, and customer-focused service delivery.

• Maintain awareness of significant operating conditions, service risks, staffing issues, customer impacts, and emerging priorities across the Mobility Services portfolio.

• Provide recommendations to the Director regarding operational needs, resource requirements, service risks, and improvement opportunities.

Leadership of Managers and Organizational Execution

• Direct, coach, and support managers responsible for paratransit field operations, dispatch, eligibility, reservations, and microtransit.

• Establish clear expectations for operational accountability, management follow-through, customer service, workforce performance, and cross-functional coordination.

• Review staffing, supervisory coverage, workload, and operational readiness across assigned functions and address issues requiring coordination across management areas.

• Support manager development, succession planning, workforce capability, and consistent application of organizational leadership expectations.

• Promote effective communication and coordination among managers whose functions contribute to shared mobility service outcomes.

Service Performance and Continuous Improvement

• Monitor key performance indicators and operational results across paratransit and microtransit, including service reliability, trip fulfillment, on-time performance, customer responsiveness, call center performance, productivity, service quality, and other established measures.

• Review performance trends, operational reports, customer feedback, and manager observations to identify service gaps, recurring problems, and opportunities for improvement.

• Lead implementation of operational improvement initiatives involving workflows, service coordination, management practices, technology, staffing, customer interaction, or vendor-supported service delivery.

• Establish follow-up expectations for corrective actions and improvement initiatives and monitor progress toward desired results.

• Support effective use of data and performance information in day-to-day management and resource prioritization.

Paratransit Service Coordination and ADA Execution

• Oversee coordinated execution of paratransit field operations, dispatch, reservations, eligibility administration, and related customer-support functions through subordinate managers.

• Reinforce operational practices that support compliance with ADA paratransit requirements, agency procedures, accessibility expectations, and customer service standards.

• Monitor significant service, eligibility, customer, or compliance issues and ensure appropriate management review, escalation, documentation, and corrective action.

• Coordinate operational preparation and follow-through for audits, reviews, corrective actions, or other oversight activities affecting paratransit service delivery.

• Escalate significant regulatory, policy, or compliance risks to the Director of Mobility Services.

Microtransit Operations and Vendor Performance

• Oversee execution of the microtransit program through the Microtransit Manager, with attention to service reliability, vendor performance, customer experience, technology-enabled operations, and established performance standards.

• Review service performance, demand trends, vendor results, customer feedback, and operational issues affecting microtransit delivery.

• Support implementation of service adjustments, operating improvements, technology changes, and corrective actions within established program strategy and contractual requirements.

• Coordinate with Procurement, Contracts, Technology, Planning, and other internal partners regarding operational issues affecting contracted or technology-supported mobility services.

• Elevate significant vendor performance, contractual, financial, or service-model issues to the Director for strategic or executive-level action.

Incident Response and Operational Continuity

• Provide management leadership during significant service disruptions, customer-impacting events, technology failures, severe weather, emergencies, or other conditions affecting mobility service continuity.

• Coordinate response across subordinate managers and internal service partners to support timely decision-making, communication, resource deployment, and recovery.

• Ensure significant incidents and service failures receive appropriate investigation, documentation, management follow-up, and corrective action.

• Identify recurring operational risks and recommend changes to practices, procedures, staffing, technology, or coordination methods to reduce future impacts.

• Support operational preparedness and continuity planning for unusual or high-impact service conditions.

Cross-Functional Coordination and Implementation

• Coordinate with Safety, Maintenance, Customer Experience, Planning, Technology, Finance, Procurement, Contracts, Training, and other organizational functions to support effective mobility service delivery.

• Lead implementation of approved service changes, technology initiatives, operating procedures, organizational changes, and improvement projects affecting multiple Mobility Services functions.

• Help resolve cross-functional issues that cannot be effectively addressed within an individual manager’s area of responsibility.

• Represent Mobility Services in internal working groups, project teams, operational meetings, and external discussions as assigned by the Director.

• Support stakeholder and community engagement activities by providing operational information, implementation support, and follow-through on identified service concerns.

Resource and Administrative Management

• Support development and administration of operating budgets, staffing plans, resource requests, service performance goals, and program priorities for assigned mobility functions.

• Monitor resource utilization and operational needs and identify issues requiring budgetary, staffing, contractual, or organizational attention.

• Prepare and review performance reports, operational briefings, executive updates, presentations, and recommendations for the Director and other leadership.

• Support consistent documentation, reporting, management controls, and administrative practices across Mobility Services.

• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Core Competencies:

The position requires demonstrated competency in the following areas:

Multi-Program Operational Leadership

Ability to translate strategic direction into coordinated operational execution across multiple mobility service functions.

• Establishes clear priorities and performance expectations for subordinate managers.

• Maintains focus on safety, reliability, accessibility, customer outcomes, and effective service execution.

Leadership Through Managers

Ability to lead a multi-layered organization by setting expectations, developing managers, and maintaining accountability for results.

• Provides effective direction, coaching, and follow-through without unnecessarily assuming subordinate management responsibilities.

• Builds consistency in management practices and strengthens organizational capability.

Performance Management and Continuous Improvement

Ability to use operational data, customer feedback, service trends, and management observations to identify problems and improve performance.

• Distinguishes isolated issues from recurring or systemic concerns.

• Drives practical improvement initiatives and maintains accountability for implementation.

Operational Judgment and Problem Solving

Ability to make sound decisions in a complex, customer-facing operating environment involving service, staffing, compliance, technology, and resource considerations.

• Responds effectively to significant service disruptions and emerging operational risks.

• Recognizes issues requiring escalation to the Director or coordination with other organizational functions.

Cross-Functional Coordination and Communication

Ability to align managers, departments, vendors, and other partners around shared service-delivery objectives.

• Communicates operational priorities, risks, and expectations clearly.

• Builds effective working relationships and resolves issues that span functional boundaries.

Supervision Given to:

• Paratransit Operations Manager

• Paratransit Dispatch, Eligibility and Reservations Manager

• Microtransit Manager

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in transportation, public administration, business administration, operations management, logistics, mobility management, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in transit operations, paratransit, demand-response transportation, mobility services, customer operations, program management, or a related service-delivery environment.

• Experience managing managers, supervisors, or multiple operational functions within a customer-facing or service-oriented organization.

• Experience using operational performance measures, service data, and customer information to identify problems, establish priorities, and improve performance.

• Experience coordinating across multiple departments or functional areas to resolve operational issues and implement service improvements.

• Experience working within established regulatory, contractual, policy, or service-quality requirements.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in public transit paratransit, microtransit, mobility-on-demand, or other demand-response transportation services.

• Experience overseeing multiple related functions such as transportation operations, dispatch, reservations, eligibility administration, customer contact, or contracted service delivery.

• Experience with ADA paratransit requirements and accessibility-related service delivery.

• Experience overseeing vendor-supported or technology-enabled transportation services.

• Experience leading operational improvement, organizational change, technology implementation, or service transition initiatives.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• Paratransit, microtransit, and other demand-response mobility service models and operating practices.

• ADA paratransit service requirements, accessibility principles, and customer service expectations.

• Transit operations management, service performance measures, incident response, and service recovery practices.

• Vendor-supported service delivery, contract performance monitoring, and technology-enabled transportation operations.

• Workforce management principles, including staffing, performance management, leadership development, and organizational accountability.

• Performance management and continuous improvement methods applicable to complex service operations.

Skill in:

• Leading managers and coordinating multiple operational functions toward common service objectives.

• Analyzing service performance information and translating findings into operational priorities and corrective actions.

• Managing significant service issues, operational disruptions, and competing priorities.

• Coordinating effectively across operations, customer service, safety, maintenance, technology, planning, procurement, and other organizational functions.

• Communicating operational issues, risks, performance results, and recommendations clearly to managers and senior leadership.

• Implementing service changes, process improvements, and organizational initiatives across multiple work groups.

Ability to:

• Translate strategic direction into practical operating priorities and measurable expectations.

• Balance service reliability, customer experience, accessibility, compliance, workforce needs, and resource constraints in operational decision-making.

• Lead effectively through subordinate managers while maintaining appropriate accountability and delegation.

• Identify operational risks and distinguish matters requiring management action from issues requiring executive escalation.

• Maintain composure and exercise sound judgment during service disruptions, emergencies, and other high-impact operating conditions.

• Build collaborative relationships and promote coordinated execution across organizational and vendor boundaries.

Working Environment and Physical Demands:

• Works in a combination of office and operational environments, including dispatch, reservations, eligibility, field operations, microtransit service locations, and other mobility-related settings.

• Requires regular meetings, site visits, observation of operations, and use of standard office and mobile communication technology.

• May involve walking, standing, travel between service locations, and engagement in active transportation environments with varying noise levels, weather conditions, and activity.

• May require availability outside normal business hours to support significant service issues, operational disruptions, special events, or emergency response.

• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

The City’s Background Check Policy requires background checks to be conducted on final internal or external candidate(s) applying for any position with the City of Charlotte. The type of information that will be collected as part of a background check includes, but is not limited to: reference checks, social security verification, education verification, criminal conviction record check, and, if applicable, a credit history check, sex offender registry and motor vehicle records check.

Background checks must be in compliance with all federal and state statutes, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The checks must be consistent with the guidelines set forth by these laws requiring organizations to obtain a candidate’s written authorization before obtaining a criminal background report, motor vehicle records check or credit report; and to properly store and dispose of information derived from such reports.

Final candidates must pass a pre-employment drug-screening test and physical examination. During the selection process, candidates may be asked to take a skills test, and/or participate in other assessments.

The City of Charlotte is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or on the basis of actual or perceived gender as expressed through dress, appearance, or behavior.

Our culture is to serve the community honorably.

HOW TO APPLY

Apply online.

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job.

You are welcome to visit the City of Charlotte Human Resources Department lobby, where self-service application kiosks are available. They are located in our office at 700 East 4th Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28202. We are open Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EST), excluding official City holidays.

For questions about your application or the hiring process, please email [email protected]

The City of Charlotte is committed to making our services and programs accessible to all. Upon request, auxiliary aids, written materials in alternate formats, language access, and other reasonable accommodations or modifications will be provided. To make a request, please fill out the Innovation & Technology ADA request form or call 704.336.4120.

BENEFITS

The City of Charlotte provides a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees.

Click here to learn more about the City of Charlotte’s benefits.

The City of Charlotte is a drug and alcohol-free workplace.