This guidance does not represent an exhaustive list of roles but includes the primary categories of leaders and practitioners that are critical to the operation of a typical state transportation agency.
The following roles are covered.
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Chief Operating Officer: The highest-ranking executive in the state DOT. These individuals are responsible for overseeing the activities of the entire agency.
- Chief Financial Officer (CFO): This individual has primary responsibility for financial planning, management and reporting for the agency.
- Information Technology Director/Chief Information Officer (CIO): This role is a composite of what may in practice be several individual roles within a DOT that are responsible for technology, information, and data management.
- Human Resources (HR) Officer: This individual manages all human resource planning, management, policies and operations for the agency.
- Operations Lead:
This individual is responsible for system operations and maintenance. This individual may be the Chief Engineer or a Deputy Director for Maintenance and Operations. - Communications Lead: This position leads and directs strategic communications and outreach functions for the agency.
- Planning Director: This role is responsible for the transportation planning function within the agency.
- Planning/Policy Lead: This role leads planning and policy work within the agency. This role ensures alignment with strategic priorities and within resource constraints. Depending on the organization, sometimes these functions are managed by two distinct areas of the operation.
- Performance Management Lead: This individual is responsible for collecting, measuring, reporting and recommending action related to performance information within the agency.
- Knowledge Management Lead: This role leads the creation, dissemination and management of knowledge and information within the organization.
The roles-based guidance represents the most critical roles at the time of publication. This guidebook establishes a framework for the flexible online guidance that provides for additional roles, evolving change forces, new strategies and emerging resources over time.