BPS Transportation Department Careers

Assistant Director of Contract Operations and Fleet 

The Boston Public Schools is the largest school district in Massachusetts with approximately 53,000 students and a $1.3B budget. The Office of Transportation within BPS is one of the largest departments in the district overseeing a $130M annual budget (~10% of total spending). On a daily basis, our 730+ buses drive 43K miles bringing over 25K students to 200 schools across the Boston area - not just Boston Public Schools but also local parochial, private, and charter schools.

The core mission of the position is to significantly improve our bus operator contractor’sperformance, with an immediate focus on increasing bus on-time performance and enhancing customer service to students and schools. The Assistant Director will do this primarily through performance management of the contractor based on the contract, liaising across the contractor, schools, and BPS central office members. 

Critical vendor employees hired under the bus operator contract have a unique relationship to the City and District that extends beyond the private vendor contract. The Assistant Director will oversee labor relations for BPS DOT in regards to these workforces, ensuring that labor relations is positioned to best support continuously improved on time performance, balanced with responsible budget management and student safety. 

The Assistant Director will work with finance to lead procurement by BPS supporting bus operations from procurement of a bus vendor to buses and other critical transportation contracts. This role will oversee the ongoing development and execution of BPS’s fleet management plan. This includes overseeing BPS DOT’s work in partnership with the City of Boston “greening” the bus fleet, as well as oversight of BPS DOT’s work obtaining necessary real estate and infrastructure to support long term fleet electrification. 

The Assistant Director will act as the liaison to BPS and City of Boston Departments on topics related to vendor bus operations, fleet/real estate management, as well as, labor relations related to the yellow bus vendor contract. 

This position will directly impact the lives of the 25,000 students who rely on safe buses, running on time, and affordably across the district each day.  

Key responsibilities of the position include:

Contract operations management

• Lead BOS DOT’s management and support of the Department’s ~$120 million contract for the operation of its buses and bus yards
• Lead performance management of yellow bus contract operations through daily, weekly and monthly meetings to review yellow bus vendor performance and develop and assist in implementing strategies, processes, and tools to improve operational performance, including:
  • Daily on time performance - every minute a bus is late is lost learning time for those students
  • Safety - meeting or exceeding established safety standards
  • Customer service to families and schools
  • Budget efficiency - any dollar spent on transportation could be invested in student learning
  • Effective management of drivers and interaction with drivers’ union
  • Other KPIs such as reduction of bus idle time to reduce carbon emissions
• Ensure that the school bus contractor is upholding all commitments as laid out in the contract - including abiding by all federal, state, and local regulations

Oversee BPS DOT’s vendor employee labor relations

• Act as the BPS DOT liaison to District and City of Boston Departments on this topic. 
• Independently oversee communication, stakeholder engagement and relationship management.  
• Working with the vendor to manage labor relations strategy development and execution.

Oversee procurement in support for bus operations, including fleet replacement, real estate, and infrastructure

• Plan and execute annual bus purchases (generally 30-75 buses), including the following:
  • Work closely with our finance team, routing and planning team, and vendor maintenance team to develop a new long term fleet strategy based on service needs and reducing environmental impact. 
  • Oversee preparation of bus specifications for school buses and then lead start to end procurement processes and new vehicle onboarding process
• Liaise with the City of Boston department on real estate and infrastructure to support fleet electrification.
• Should BPS decide to evaluate pursuing a new contract for the operation of BPS buses and bus yards, lead evaluation of different procurement options and procurement process if pursued.

Serve as liaison to other BPS and City of Boston Departments on relevant topics

• Key relationships include:
  • City of Boston Environment Department – work together to reduce fleet carbon footprint by taking steps to monitor and reduce fuel and utility consumption
  • City of Boston Transportation Department and other intergovernmental transportation bodies (e.g. MASSDOT, BPDA, Central Fleet) – collaborate on traffic flow, signage, and signal issues throughout the city (e.g., bus lanes)
  • As part of these and other groups / efforts, support in preparation of position

Qualifications - Required:

• Bachelor’s degree and 3-5 years of experience in operations or contract operations management
• An understanding of collective bargaining agreements and experience in negotiating contracts and/or working in a unionized environment
• Demonstrated ability to develop and implement initiatives, procedures, and protocols to improve operations, maximize cost efficiencies, and improve student safety
• An ability to have a strong understanding of the details but also an ability to explain ideas at a high level to senior District and City leadership
• Strong communication skills, including ability to listen and understand different viewpoints from diverse stakeholders such as students
• Ability to develop and hold reports accountable to results and high standards
• Openness to feedback and willingness to collaborate; demonstrated team player
• Flexible/adaptable working style in a fast-paced operations environment
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and Google Suite (Gmail, Google Sheets/Docs, etc.).
• Dedication to reduction of greenhouse gases and alternate fuels
• This position is subject to the City of Boston residency requirement Current authorization to work in the United States - Candidates must have such authorization by their first day of employment

Qualifications - Preferred:

• Legal Degree OR masters degree in business/operations-related field or similar degree 
• Procurement experience, particularly Chapter 30B procurement law
• Labor relations management experience
• Managerial experience
• Familiarity with School District operations (Transportation highly preferred)
• Familiarity with bus purchases
• Familiarity with commercial real estate purchases and/or leases
• Experience speaking in public forums

Terms: Managerial, D62. City of Boston Residency is Required.

SPED Cab Monitor

• Must be 18 years of age or older
• High School Diploma or GED
• Ability to enter/exit bus via steps repeatedly
• Ability to lift 25-49 lbs 

Bus Drivers (Transdev)

• Paid training! New hires will get paid $18.73 hourly during training!
• CDL and other training available to new hires!
• $29.13 hourly pay rate after new hire training!
• Full time employment with work year-round – not just during the school year!
• Guaranteed minimum of 31 hours per week!
• Medical, Dental and Vision!
• Short/long term disability and life insurance!
• Holiday pay!
• Paid time off!
• 401(K) with a Company match!
• Employee assistance program!
• Ability to advance your career!
• Note: Bus drivers are employees of Transdev (our yellow bus contractor). The link below will take you to the Transdev application page.