Education & Outreach Specialist

Who are we?

Commute Seattle is a 501c(3) nonprofit Transportation Management Association founded in 2004 with a mission to make it easy for everyone across Puget Sound to walk, ride, or roll to Seattle’s opportunities. We are supported by local governments and transit agencies and are part of a larger organization consisting of the Downtown Seattle Association and Metropolitan Improvement District. Commute Seattle partners with employers and institutions to implement sustainable transportation options and trip reduction strategies that positively change commute behavior, improve quality of life, and support economic and environmental goals.

The Education and Outreach Specialist is a vital part of a team supporting a nationally recognized Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program in a city with cutting edge multi-modal transportation and new mobility programs.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Education and Outreach Specialist works as part of a team to implement transportation programs, services, events, and outreach strategies aimed at supporting small and mid-size businesses, their employees, and the transit-riding public. This person will promote ORCA Business transit pass programs as part of a contract agreement with King County Metro, educate employers about the commuter benefits available to them and their employees, and help develop outreach campaigns, promotional materials, and social media content, for various strategic audiences.

Core elements of this role include:

• Daily meetings or phone calls with small and medium-sized organizations to help them understand their transportation needs and the options available to them.
• Implementing public-facing outreach strategies, such as door-to-door outreach, webinars, tabling events, and social media campaigns.
• Commitment to expanding access to employer-provided transit passes and other transit pass programs, especially to individuals who have low or no income; are Black, Indigenous, or other people of color; are immigrants or refugees; have disabilities; or are linguistically diverse.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Small Business Engagement and Customer Support (50%)

• Provide 1:1 consultations to small-mid size businesses to help them understand local ordinances, programs, and incentives for providing a transportation benefit to their employees.
• Ensure that all customer inquiries are met with prompt, empathetic, and comprehensive responses from Commute Seattle staff.
• Support the Program Manager as needed with presentations to neighborhood business associations, community business organizations, and industry-specific business groups.

Public-Facing Outreach and Events (20%)

• At the direction of the Program Manager, develop mission-driven outreach strategies to connect priority audiences to ORCA and other transportation programs.
• Work collaboratively with the Events Specialist to help plan and implement educational outreach events and informational seminars to promote ORCA programs.

Program Evaluation and Reporting (15%)

• Maintain client database system, fulfill administrative functions such as quarterly reporting and data entry.
• Help prepare and present quarterly and annual reports to agency staff at King County Metro.
• Comprehend, analyze, evaluate, and communicate technical information in writing and/or orally to a broad range of audiences.

Communications & Marketing Support (10%)

• Assist with the development of business-to-business marketing campaigns and generate promotional content for digital and print applications (i.e. social media content, simple postcard and flyer updates).
• Assist with the creation of social media and communications aimed at the transit-riding public to raise awareness of ORCA programs and other transportation programs and incentives.

Administration, Professional Development, Team, and Culture (5%)

• Attend trainings, conferences, and other professional development and networking opportunities.
• Attend weekly staff meetings, regular cross-team collaborative meetings, stand-up, and all hands meetings.
• Participate in team- and culture-building events.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• A minimum of 2+ years of related employment which may include client management, account management, communications, transportation demand management, commute trip reduction, consultative sales, transportation planning or another related field.
• Familiarity with, or enthusiasm to learn, content management software such as Canva, Buffer, and Adobe.
• Strong customer service orientation, and passion for direct engagement with customers and partners. In-person outreach is a core element of the job.
• The candidate must be detail-oriented and have strong organizational skills to manage a high volume of customer service relations and database management. Experience managing ongoing customer relationships and/or accounts preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, as well as the ability to organize and share complex information clearly and concisely. Related employment or educational experience, which may include client management, relationship management, and public outreach.
• Competency and/or willingness to learn with Microsoft Outlook products, Google Suite, and Zoom.

Desirable Qualifications

• Passion for walking, biking, transit, sustainability, and affordability.
• Experience communicating with multicultural audiences, particularly BIPOC, immigrant, and English as a Second Language communities.
• Public Speaking experience.

CHARACTERISTICS

• Reflect the Downtown Seattle Association’s core values of Collaboration, Perseverance, Innovation, Excellence, and Integrity.
• Demonstrates empathy and active listening when working with customers, coworkers, and funders; responsive communication and desires resolve issues completely and promptly.
• Commitment to equity and social justice with an understanding of the role that racism, ableism, sexism, and other forms of bias and oppression play in perpetuating inequity.
• Humility, sense of humor, comfort with ambiguity, and servant leadership.
• Ability to weave and work within intersecting areas of focus including sustainable transportation, improved quality of life, and a thriving and mobile city.
• Willingness and comfort to engage with evolving and shifting portfolio of job duties.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS & ACCESSIBILITY

• Ability to work comfortably at a workstation, with options for ergonomic accommodations such as adjustable chairs, standing desks, or other equipment.
• Proficiency in using computer input devices such as keyboards and mice, or alternative input methods.
• Capability to access and interpret information from computer screens.
• Excellent written communication skills for composing emails, reports, and other documents.
• Strong verbal communication skills for interacting with colleagues and clients in person, over the phone, and via video conference.
• Work in person, in a downtown Seattle office environment with moderate noise levels and occasional interruptions multiple days a week, with quiet workspaces or noise-canceling headphones provided.

Commute Seattle is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and those who may require assistance due to medical conditions or limitations. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability or medical condition that may require accommodation during the application process or while performing the essential functions of the job, please inform us of your needs.

We recognize the value Commute Seattle and our affiliate organizations and programs reflecting the diversity of the community we serve and are intentionally and actively seeking out applications from a variety of backgrounds, including members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC).

Commute Seattle is an equal opportunity employer. All employees and potential employees will be recruited, selected, trained, promoted, and, if necessary, disciplined without regard to sex, race, religion, creed, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, color, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, political ideology or activity, disability, honorably-discharged veteran or military status. All applicants are carefully screened, and full consideration is given to their training, education, skills, aptitudes, experience, and previous work record. In addition, Commute Seattle does not discriminate on the basis of genetic information in its employment related policies and practices, including coverage under its health benefits program.