Sr. Manager Data and ResearchJob ID:240314Location:DC - L'Enfant PlazaFull/Part Time:Full-TimePosting Open-Close07/10/2024-07/28/2024UnionNRPRegular/Temporary:RegularJob DescriptionDepartment Marketing statementMetro is hiring a Senior Manager, Data and Research in the Office of Performance and Global Benchmarking. Our team works collaboratively across Metro, leveraging data to inform progress against our strategic goals, drive operational decisions, and improve transparency to the region. See some of our work on Metro’s Open Data Hub: https://www.wmata.com/initiatives/open-data-hub/Our new team member will support senior leaders with data, analysis, and research related to Metro’s Service Excellence Strategic Goal: deliver safe, reliable, convenient, equitable, accessible and enjoyable service for customers. They will lead a team of six staff with three direct reports, interacting directly with senior leadership responsible for Bus, Rail, and MetroAccess service. They lead reporting programs that are highly visible both internally and externally, including the quarterly Service Excellence report to the Board, the public-facing Service Excellence dashboard, and monthly or quarterly internal meetings to review progress on key performance indicators with senior leadership. They make strategic decisions about Metro’s digital reporting infrastructure and approach to building reports, manage the production of reports and dashboards for internal and external audiences, manage team processes to document and verify our work, and coach and develop team members.Our ideal candidate loves working with people and is a strong visual and verbal communicator. They have experience with analysis and reporting software (like Excel, SQL, R, Power BI, and Python), and are interested in coaching teammates to grow their skills. They are meticulous and organized in their work, able to oversee multiple projects at one time, and adept at building tools and processes to streamline and coordinate efforts across multiple team members. They like to analyze and understand root causes of larger challenges and are passionate about presenting data and performance measures in a way that helps drive progress on achieving priorities.General Hybrid Work Statement:This opportunity is a hybrid opportunity allowing for flexibility between virtual and in-person work subject to the Authority’s telework policy.MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONSEducation
Bachelor’s degree in Public/Business Administration, Planning, Engineering, Data Science, Financial Management, History, Mathematics/Statistics, Political Science, Economics or a related field
In lieu of a Bachelor’s degree, a high school diploma and four (4) years of relevant experience, conducting research and analysis and communicating results via dashboards, reports, memos or presentations, in addition the experience stated below will be considered
Experience
A minimum of seven (7) years of experience conducting research and analysis and communicating results via dashboards, reports, memos or presentations, to include at least two (2) years in a supervisory, management capacity
Certification/Licensure
N/A
Preferred
Master’s degree in Public/Business Administration, Planning, Engineering, Data Science, Financial Management, History, Mathematics/Statistics, Political Science, Economics or a related field.
Medical GroupSatisfactorily complete the medical examination for this position, if required. The incumbent must be able to perform the essential functions of this position either with or without reasonable accommodations.Mission Essential DesignationIn accordance with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) this job has been identified as critical to mission essential functions. Incumbents in this role may be required to report to or continue to work in the event of authorized office closings or service suspensions due to severe weather, natural disaster, fire, operational emergencies or related events.SUMMARYThe Senior Manager, Data and Research supervises managers and analysts within the Office of Performance and Global Benchmarking. The incumbent provides strategic leadership of one or more of the office’s business lines, including internal and external performance reporting, performance management, and global benchmarking. The incumbent establishes business line objectives, processes, tools and annual work plans. The Senior Manager, Data and Research establishes standards and processes for transit performance reporting and global benchmarking research; this includes standards pertaining to quality, communication, confidentiality, and world-class performance. The incumbent advises senior leadership on how to leverage transit performance data and global benchmarking research to foster favorable outcomes across all of Metro’s strategic goals.ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Supports the Office Director to develop, supervise, and execute the annual work plan, including managing a team consisting of managers, analysts and researchers. Meets regularly with direct reports and their staff to monitor progress against the work plan and re-prioritize activities as new requests arise.
Manages participation in national and global performance benchmarking networks and
builds relationships with peers across the industry. Develops and executes processes to conduct benchmarking research activities in a consistent and timely manner, to ensure industry best practices are identified, communicated and implemented, helping Metro become a world-class transit agency.
Leads team’s development and management of public-facing reports and dashboards to track Strategic Transformation Plan progress, as well as internal automated reports, tools and dashboards to monitor performance drivers and identify improvement opportunities. Develops processes to ensure the information provided is accurate, timely, consistent, and communicated in a manner that is useful and relevant to audiences across all reports. Conducts regular evaluation of the usefulness of reports to inform decision-making and guides the team to refresh their approach based on findings.
Leads teams that conduct analysis and research and facilitate regular meetings to review data, research and performance results; understand drivers and trends; and develop action plans to improve. Develops and implements consistent formats and standards to present information across meetings, modes and business lines.
Builds collaborative partnerships with senior managers and analytic and research teams across Metro to enhance the capacity and capabilities of staff to identify and deliver innovative solutions to critical business problems.
Manages internal Community of Practice to share knowledge and build capacity among analysts across Metro. Develops plan to ensure appropriate training and development programs for both direct reports and other analyst staff across Metro, to serve as Metro’s center of excellence for conducting performance analysis and research.
Designs and implements quality control processes to ensure team’s work products are error free. Works closely with IT/Digital Modernization to coordinate and prioritize data access requests from various team members, and to develop and implement data quality controls in a consistent manner.
Develops and oversees the annual effort to establish targets to track progress against organizational and departmental goals, ensuring a consistent process is followed by managers and analysts assigned to different modes or business lines and that the process complies with federal requirements.
Leads the development and documentation of new performance measures to address management questions, customer feedback, benchmarking requirements, external requirements, risks, or strategic goals. Develops a standard process and format to ensure consistency across modes, business lines, and external reporting requirements.
The functions listed are not intended to limit specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Nor is it intended to limit in any way the right of managers and supervisors to assign, direct and control the work of employees under their supervision.Evaluation CriteriaConsideration will be given to applicants whose resumes demonstrate the required education and experience. Applicants should include all relevant education and work experience.Evaluation criteria may include one or more of the following: Skills and/or behavioral assessment Personal interview Verification of education and experience (including certifications and licenses) Criminal Background Check (a criminal conviction is not an automatic bar to employment) Medical examination including a drug and alcohol screening (for safety sensitive positions) Review of a current motor vehicle reportClosingWMATA is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other status protected by applicable federal law.This posting is an announcement of a vacant position under recruitment. It is not intended to replace the official job description. Job descriptions are available upon confirmation of an interview.