Description

General Summary:

The Director of Mobility Services serves as the executive leader of CATS’ non-fixed route mobility services portfolio, with authority over strategy, performance, compliance, organizational structure, and vendor governance and providing division-level leadership and accountability for paratransit, microtransit, and other demand-response programs delivered through a combination of internal operations and contracted service providers. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this role holds full responsibility for the strategic direction, operational performance, regulatory compliance, fiscal stewardship, and organizational capacity of mobility services.

The Director ensures that mobility services are safe, reliable, accessible, equitable, and financially sustainable, and that all programs comply with applicable federal, state, and local requirements, including ADA and Title VI. This position exercises executive judgment over service delivery models, vendor strategies, compliance risk, and resource allocation, translating CATS’ mission, policy direction, and long-term strategic priorities into measurable operational outcomes.

Operating through Assistant Directors, senior staff, and external partners, the Director leads continuous improvement, innovation, and long-range planning for non-fixed route services. The role serves as a senior representative of CATS with regulatory agencies, service providers, advocacy organizations, and regional partners, and is accountable for ensuring that mobility services evolve responsibly to meet changing customer needs while managing risk, maintaining public trust, and supporting organizational sustainability.

 
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 Program Leadership

• Exercises decision-making authority within established policy, budget, and governance frameworks.
• Provide division-level executive leadership and strategic direction for CATS’ non-fixed route mobility services, including paratransit, microtransit, and other demand-response programs.
• Ensure mobility services are aligned with CATS’ mission, service standards, equity goals, approved budgets, and long-term operational objectives.
• Translate Board-approved and executive-level priorities into effective service delivery models, performance expectations, and operational strategies.
• Exercise authority over service design, prioritization, and modification decisions within established policy and fiscal parameters.
   

Regulatory Compliance and Accessibility Oversight

• Ensure mobility services comply with ADA, Title VI, and other applicable federal, state, and local requirements.
• Establish executive oversight and accountability for policies, procedures, and service practices related to eligibility, trip provision, service equity, and accessibility.
• Serve as the executive leader of compliance risk for mobility services, including responsibility for audits, corrective action planning, executive reporting, and external reviews and primary executive point of contact for external regulatory agencies on mobility services matters.
• Escalate high-risk compliance issues to the COO and recommend mitigation strategies.
   

Operational Oversight and Service Quality

• Hold enterprise-level accountability for operational performance outcomes to ensure service reliability, efficiency, and responsiveness.
• Establishes performance monitoring frameworks and uses service data, trends, and indicators to inform executive decision-making, risk management, and resource allocation.
• Authorize and prioritize continuous improvement initiatives to enhance service quality, customer experience, and long-term sustainability.
• Balance service quality, equity, compliance, and cost considerations in operational decisions.

Contracted Service Provider Oversight

• Holds enterprise accountability over the contracted service delivery model for non-fixed route mobility services.
• Ensure contracted services meet CATS’ requirements related to service quality, safety, accessibility, regulatory compliance, and cost effectiveness.
• Partner with Procurement, Contracts, and Legal leadership on contract structuring, amendments, renewals, scopes of work, and performance remedies.
• Approve recommendations related to vendor selection, contract strategy, and service delivery approach.

Vendor Performance & Accountability

• Establish and enforce enterprise-level performance standards, accountability frameworks, and governance mechanisms for contracted mobility service providers.
• Monitor vendor performance using service delivery, customer experience, safety, compliance, and financial metrics.
• Is accountable for final internal authority for resolution of escalated vendor performance, service failures, or compliance concerns, including approval of corrective actions or contractual remedies.

 Organizational Leadership and Management

• Provide executive leadership for a multi-layered Mobility Services organization, through Assistant Directors and subordinate managers.
• Set division-wide performance expectations, accountability structures, and leadership standards for the Mobility Services portfolio.
• Authorize organizational design, staffing models, and succession planning to support evolving service models.
• Coordinate with Operations, Finance, Procurement, Contracts, Customer Experience, and Legal teams to align service delivery, budgets, and compliance strategies.
• Is accountable to executive leadership on non-fixed route mobility strategy and risk.

Community Engagement & Accessibility Partnerships

• Provide executive leadership in external and community engagement to ensure mobility services reflect community needs, accessibility priorities, and equity goals.
• Represent CATS as a senior executive in public forums, advisory groups, and regional initiatives related to mobility and accessibility.
• Ensure stakeholder input is systematically incorporated into service planning, evaluation, and improvement decisions.

Strategic Planning and Innovation

• Lead executive planning and decision-making related to new mobility service models, technologies, and partnerships.
• Assess emerging trends and best practices and recommend strategic investments or service changes.
• Provide executive leadership for innovation, pilot programs, and transition to scalable service models.
• Translate lessons learned into long-term mobility strategies aligned with organizational priorities and funding capacity.

Core Competencies:
The position requires demonstrated competency in the following areas:

Leadership and Supervision: Ability to provide executive leadership for a multi-layered organization; establish leadership expectations; set performance standards; and ensure subordinate managers effectively supervise, coach, and hold staff accountable for results while modeling agency values and leading organizational change.

• Sets clear expectations and performance measures for staff and contractors.
• Delegates authority appropriately and holds staff accountable for results.
• Establishes leadership expectations and ensures subordinate managers provide effective coaching and performance management.

Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement: Ability to work effectively with internal departments, external contractors, regulatory agencies, advocacy organizations, and the public; build productive relationships among stakeholders with diverse and competing interests; and manage conflict constructively.

• Works productively with cross-department teams and external partners.
• Manages stakeholder conflicts constructively and maintains positive working relationships.
• Demonstrates respect for diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

Communication: Ability to communicate complex technical, operational, and policy information clearly in written and oral form; tailor communication to executive leadership, governing bodies, staff, contractors, and external stakeholders; and represent the organization with professionalism, transparency, and credibility.

• Communicates technical and operational information clearly and accurately.
• Adjusts communication style based on audience needs.
• Ensures timely sharing of critical information.

Technical and Analytical Skills: Advanced knowledge of operations, systems, and processes; ability to analyze complex problems, evaluate alternatives, and implement effective solutions, including development of new approaches where necessary. Ability to use performance metrics, financial data, and trend analysis to guide strategic decisions; evaluate tradeoffs; and ensure accountability for results across the mobility services portfolio.

• Applies technical expertise to improve operations and systems.
• Identifies root causes of problems and implements effective solutions.
• Introduces process improvements or innovations when needed.

Fiscal and Asset Management: Ability to develop and manage departmental budgets; link financial planning to operational and strategic goals; apply asset management and lifecycle costing principles in decision-making; and identify and quantify operational and financial risks and opportunities.

• Develops and manages the Mobility Services budget; evaluates cost drivers; and ensures service delivery aligns with approved financial plans and long-term sustainability.
• Recommends service levels, contract strategies, and investment priorities based on financial analysis and organizational risk tolerance.
• Uses lifecycle costing and asset management principles in decisions.
• Identifies and quantifies operational and financial risks and opportunities.

Contract Strategy and Vendor Governance – Ability to design and oversee contracted service delivery strategies; establish performance-based contracts and accountability mechanisms; and ensure vendor relationships support service quality, regulatory compliance, and fiscal sustainability.

• Develops and implements contracting strategies that align service delivery models with performance standards, regulatory requirements, and long-term fiscal objectives.
• Establishes and enforces vendor governance frameworks, including performance metrics, reporting requirements, and corrective action processes to ensure accountability and service quality.

Strategic and Systems Thinking: Ability to align service delivery and operational priorities with agency strategy, safety, and service objectives; use performance metrics, risk analysis, and industry best practices to guide decisions; anticipate infrastructure and service needs; and proactively address emerging risks.

• Aligns daily work and long-term initiatives with agency strategy.
• Uses data and metrics to guide decisions.
• Anticipates operational challenges and mitigates risks proactively.

Supervision Given to:

• Assistant Director of Paratransit Operations
• Assistant Director of Microtransit

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in public administration, transportation planning, business administration, operations management, or a related field and seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in mobility or transportation operations, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience leading complex service delivery programs with accountability for performance, compliance, and customer outcomes.
• Experience managing professional and managerial staff within multi-layered organizations.
• Knowledge of and experience applying regulatory requirements governing transportation or mobility services.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in public administration, transportation planning, business administration, or a related field.
• Experience overseeing contracted mobility or transportation providers, including performance management and issue resolution.
• Experience with ADA paratransit, microtransit, or other demand-response service models.
• Experience in a public transit or regional transportation authority environment.
• Experience leading service innovation, pilot programs, or implementation of new mobility service models.
• Experience engaging community stakeholders, advocacy groups, and external partners in a public-facing leadership role.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• Non-fixed route mobility service models, including ADA paratransit, microtransit, and other demand-response services.
• Federal, state, and local regulatory requirements governing mobility services, including ADA, Title VI, and accessibility and equity standards.
• Contracted service delivery models and vendor oversight in public-sector transportation environments.
• Performance management frameworks, service quality metrics, and customer experience indicators for mobility services.
• Public-sector operations, budgeting, and organizational governance in transit or regional authority settings.
• Best practices in mobility innovation, pilot programs, and emerging service models and technologies.

Skilled in:

• Providing executive leadership for complex service portfolios with multiple service types and delivery models.
• Overseeing contracted service providers, including setting performance expectations, evaluating results, and resolving escalated service or compliance issues.
• Interpreting and applying regulatory requirements to operational policies and service delivery decisions.
• Analyzing performance data and customer feedback to identify risks, inefficiencies, and improvement opportunities.
• Leading cross-functional collaboration across operations, finance, procurement, contracts, legal, and customer experience functions.
• Communicating complex operational, regulatory, and performance issues to executive leadership, governing bodies, and external stakeholders.
• Representing the organization in public forums, community engagements, and interagency or regional partnerships.
• Exercising independent judgment in managing high-visibility mobility services with significant regulatory and customer impact.
• Balancing service quality, accessibility, equity, fiscal sustainability, and compliance in operational decisions.
• Leading and develop senior staff and program leaders with clear accountability and performance expectations.
• Anticipating and mitigating operational, regulatory, and reputational risks associated with contracted mobility services.
• Translating organizational strategy and policy direction into effective operational plans and service delivery models.
• Integrating stakeholder and community input into service planning, evaluation, and continuous improvement.
• Leading complex organizational change and service model transformation.
• Maintaining professionalism, integrity, and transparency in all aspects of service oversight and external engagement.

Working Environment and Physical Demands: 

• Works primarily in an office environment but regularly engages with operational settings related to non-fixed route mobility services, including administrative offices, service provider facilities, and field locations associated with service delivery. 
• Requires periodic site visits, participation in meetings at various locations, and attendance at community events, public forums, or regional partner meetings, which may occur outside of standard business hours.
• Involves extended periods of sitting, standing, walking, and use of standard office equipment such as computers, phones, and meeting technologies. 
• May occasionally be required to review service operations in the field, observe service delivery activities, or access facilities with varying physical conditions. 
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.

To Apply:

Krauthamer & Associates (K&A), a retained executive search firm, has been engaged to assist with the recruitment. To request more information or to submit a resume and cover letter, please contact: Gregg Moser, Partner at K&A at gmoser@kapartners.com.