Manager, Rider Insights

We are the Metropolitan Council
, the regional government for the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. We plan 30 years ahead for the future of the metropolitan area and provide regional transportation, wastewater, and housing services. More information about us on our website.

We are committed to supporting a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve.

The Metropolitan Council’s Metro Transit Division is one of the country's largest transit systems, employs more than 3,000 people, and provides ridership through an integrated network of buses, light rail and commuter trains, as well as a resource for those who carpool, vanpool, walk, or bike in the Twin Cities.

How your work would contribute to our organization and the Twin Cities region:

The Manager, Rider Insights is responsible for understanding customer needs and translating customer insights into actions that improve the customer experience. This position supports the agency's Customer Experience (CX) Action Plan by identifying customer pain points, prioritizing opportunities for improvement, and providing data-driven insights to inform organizational decision-making. The incumbent works cross-functionally to build partnerships across business units, ensuring customer feedback is effectively incorporated into organizational strategies, projects, and programs.

The position evaluates the effectiveness of customer experience initiatives, develops and delivers regular reports on customer feedback from multiple sources, and engages executive leadership and key stakeholders to communicate customer insights, recommendations, and outcomes.

This posting will establish an eight (8) month eligibility pool for current and future opening.

What you would do in this job:

1. Develop and provide end-to-end ownership of the Rider Insights program in support of CX priorities and the CX Action Plan.

• Determine and own customer feedback intake channels, ensuring consistency in data format.
• Determine technology, including AI solutions, to turn customer feedback into usable insights for the agency.
• Set data strategy and establish data pipelines to business units to ensure rider insights are available and can be used to drive decision-making.
• Establish standards for rider insights integration with CX priority development in the CX Action Plan.
• Establish standards for rider insights integration with CX priority project evaluation to inform actions of other teams.

2. Manage, mentor, and empower a team of Data Scientists and CX Planners to perform at a high level by setting clear goals and priorities and providing professional and technical growth opportunities.

• Hire, onboard, and manage a team of Data Scientists and CX Planners to support Rider Insights.
• Set goals and priorities for the CX Rider Insights team and ensure the team has the resources to effectively perform its work.
• Influence goals and priorities of Strategic Priority Teams.
• Manage the Rider Insights business unit budget by tracking expenses, updating projections, and analyzing budget variances to support the larger department budget.
• Oversee compliance with Metropolitan Council leave policies and programs (FMLA, Paid Parental Leave, Employee Sick & Safe Time, etc.).
• Implement and own professional and technical growth opportunities for staff.
• Develop and own the strategy for the Rider Insights team, ensure effective communication, and maintain an inclusive work environment.
• Influence the strategy and communications of Strategic Priority Teams.

3. Influence the design and execution of research methods (qualitative and quantitative) to identify and prioritize customer pain points.

• Influence the design and execution of random intercept surveys at stops and stations, as well as onboard buses and trains.
• Determine web-based surveys and program them into survey software utilizing advanced logic, skip patterns, and branching.
• Conduct focus groups, one-on-one interviews, ride-along research, video testimonials from customers, and other qualitative research to gain a deeper understanding of customer pain points.
• Liaison and collaborate with the Office of Performance to establish research and survey best practices, define clear roles and responsibilities, and avoid duplication of effort.

4. Build partnerships to understand business processes and current limitations and establish standards for data collection and insights that meet business unit needs.

• Liaison with stakeholders to establish clear outcomes and metrics to determine project success.
• Own integration of rider insights into business processes and decision-making.
• Model cross-functional work and collaboration across Metro Transit.
• Set clear roles and responsibilities by defining and mapping business capabilities and workflows.
• Integrate business unit requirements and needs into system and data development.

5. Build strong CX practices within the team and across the agency to develop a customer-centric mindset.

• Identify CX best practices within the Rider Insights team and help…