TECHNICAL MANAGER V - CULTURAL RESOURCES UNIT MANAGER - IPR45415

Agency: Department of Transportation
Closing Date/Time: 01/31/2022
Salary: $6,145 - $10,210 Monthly
Job Type: Salaried Full Time
County: Sangamon
Number of Vacancies: 1
Plan/BU: NR916

This position is a union position; therefore, provisions of the relevant collective bargaining agreement/labor contract apply to the filling of this position.

All applicants who want to be considered for this position MUST apply electronically through SuccessFactors. Applications submitted via email or any paper manner (mail, fax, hand delivery) will not be considered.

Agency Mission Statement

The Illinois Department of Transportation is seeking to hire a Cultural Resources Unit Manager.

The IDOT team works diligently to provide safe, cost-effective transportation for Illinois in ways that enhance quality of life, promote economic prosperity and protect our environment. We are problem solvers and leaders, constantly searching for innovations and improvements in support of our commitment to providing the best multimodal transportation system for Illinois.

Our team fosters a culture of inclusivity. We value diversity and hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards as we work together for a common purpose. Team members frequently collaborate with colleagues and others outside the department to best meet customer needs.

Employees enjoy excellent benefits, including health, vision and dental insurance; a retirement plan and deferred compensation options; state holidays and other time off; tuition reimbursement; flexible schedules; and pre-tax benefit programs. The department also offers extensive training and career advancement opportunities.

We invite qualified applicants to apply to become part of our team. We are confident that you will take pride in serving Illinois and its residents and visitors.

Job Responsibilities

This position is accountable for managing the cultural resources studies program which supports environmental impact statements and other environmental documents for all department projects and for local government highway projects. The incumbent ensures that the department is in compliance with all aspects of Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

Annual statewide program budget: $5 million
Value of projects: $1 billion

This position reports to the Location and Environment Section Chief. Reporting to this position are the Cultural Resources Specialist and Cultural Surveys Coordinator.

This position manages the cultural resource-related activities of all department projects and local government highway projects. The complexity and sensitivity of many of the projects involved requires the incumbent to be extremely versatile and knowledgeable in all aspects of environmental impact analysis and project management. The incumbent is responsible for the identification and analysis of project impacts as they relate to archaeological, historical, and architectural resources. The incumbent develops mitigation measures for adverse effects to cultural resources to ensure that the department is acting in compliance with the requirements of Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The incumbent works in an environment where an in-depth knowledge of these highly technical disciplines are needed to effectively coordinate and synthesize their related activities and to review the documents that are required. S/He is responsible for obtaining appropriately skilled consultants for that work which cannot be handled by in-house staff. The incumbent should have a general knowledge of the procedures and documents that are required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other federal environmental laws and regulations such as Section 4(f) of the Federal Highway Act of 1966 and the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), as well as state historic preservation laws and regulations.

The incumbent is challenged with a broad array of technical and managerial problems involving the difficult balancing of the needs of the public and regulatory agencies for comprehensive cultural resource information with the department's need for expeditious clearance of projects for construction. The incumbent's greatest challenge is to satisfy the needs of each in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Due to the highly regulated nature of the resources involved, the incumbent personally approves the clearance or establishes the process for clearance of cultural resources aspects of project development prior to approval for construction.

(Job Responsibilities continued)

The incumbent establishes priorities that will facilitate completion of the cultural resources studies and meet the needs of the construction program. The incumbent directs the activities of in-house cultural resource experts and retains and directs activities of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey staff and other appropriately skilled consultants. The incumbent provides cultural resources expertise for the offices of the department as well as for local government highway offices and updates the Bureau of Design and Environment (BDE) staff, as necessary. S/He is responsible for the interpretation of and assists in the development of the department's policies and procedures as they pertain to cultural resources and the fulfillment of the requirements of Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. The incumbent directs and coordinates the appropriate course of action that may be needed as the department's projects proceed. The incumbent is responsible for the review of the cultural resource aspects of environmental reports to ensure they are adequate to obtain expeditious project approval. The incumbent coordinates projects with the staff of the FHWA, Federal Rail Administration (FRA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), and federally recognized tribes that claim ancestral links to Illinois. S/He evaluates the project consultant for cultural resources capabilities. The incumbent keeps abreast of cultural resource issues and their potential effects on the department. S/He develops Cultural Resource Programmatic Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding, as necessary. The incumbent trains, evaluates, and motivates his/her staff.

The incumbent accomplishes his/her accountabilities through the following staff:

Cultural Resources Specialist who is accountable for coordinating compliance procedures for department projects involving cultural resources with special attention to architectural resources such as historic buildings and bridges.

Cultural Surveys Coordinator who is accountable for tracking and expediting environmental survey requests (ESRs) pertaining to cultural resources.

(Job Responsbilities continued)

The incumbent has authority to assign priorities, resolve technical problems, and monitor and approve consultant work for all cultural resource studies. The incumbent has broad latitude to act and will refer only the most complicated and/or sensitive matters to the Location and Environment Section Chief for resolution.

The incumbent is in frequent contact with the district's studies and plans engineers and environmental staff; the central and district Bureaus of Local Roads and Streets staff; the BDE staff; the staff of the FHWA, FRA, FAA, SHPO; other federal/state/local agency personnel; tribal representatives; construction contractors; and the public. The incumbent is often required to meet with personnel from the FHWA to answer specific questions and provide specific details on individual projects to ensure federal funding of the project. Frequent meetings are held with appropriate federal/state/local officials or their staffs, construction contractors, and the public to resolve conflicts or answer questions. Frequent statewide and occasional out-of-state travel with overnight stays is required to attend training and conferences.

The effectiveness of this position can be measured by the timeliness, accuracy, and acceptability of all cultural resources studies, and by the timely resolution of environmental problems within his/her area of purview.

Principal Accountabilities

1. Establishes priorities to facilitate the completion of the cultural resources studies program and meets the needs of the construction program.
2. Directs the activities of in-house cultural resource experts and retains and directs activities of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey staff and other appropriately skilled consultants for special cultural resources studies and administers their contracts and approves their work.
3. Provides cultural resources expertise for the offices of the department as well as for local government highway offices and updates the BDE staff as necessary.
4. Interprets and assists in the development of the department's policies and procedures as they pertain to cultural resources and the fulfillment of the requirements of Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, and other federal and state historic preservation laws.
5. Approves the clearance or establishes the process for clearance of the cultural resource aspects of project development.
6. Coordinates projects with the staff of the FHWA, FRA, FAA, SHPO, and federally recognized tribes.
7. Evaluates project consultants for cultural resources capabilities.
8. Promotes the professional development of his/her staff through training, evaluation, and motivation.
9. Keeps abreast of cultural resource issues and their potential effects on the department.
10. Develops Cultural Resource Programmatic Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding, as necessary.
11. Performs duties in compliance with departmental safety rules. Performs all duties in a manner conducive to the fair and equitable treatment of all employees.
12. Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Position Requirements
• Education/Experience
-Completion of a PhD or master's degree in anthropology or archaeology PLUS three years of experience in Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act of 1966 project management, specifically in the identification of resources, assessing effects to resources, and coordinating results with the SHPO; OR
- Eleven years of experience in Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act of 1966 project management, specifically in the identification of resources, assessing effects to resources, and coordinating results with the SHPO
• Valid Illinois driver's license
• Frequent statewide and occasional out-of-state travel with overnight stays

Position Desirables
• General knowledge of the procedures and documents that are required under the NEPA and other environmental laws and regulations such as Section 4(f) of the Federal Highway Act of 1966 and NAGPRA
• Experience consulting with Native American tribes
• Ability to plan, organize, and execute technical program requirements
• Strong oral and written communication skills

Work Hours: 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM Monday-Friday
Work Location: 2300 S Dirksen Pkwy Springfield, IL 62764-0001

Office: Office of Highways Project Implementation/Bureau of Design & Environment
Agency Contact:DOT.CO.BPM.EmploymentApplications@Illinois.gov

Job Function: Transportation

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