Community Outreach Specialist

This Opportunity

WSP
is seeking a motivated, community-driven, and highly talented Community Outreach Specialist
to support a truly transformative public infrastructure initiative. In this role, you will be at the center of one of the most significant transportation redevelopment efforts in the region:
The Port Authority's Midtown Bus Terminal Replacement (MBTR) Program.

The Community Outreach Specialist will support the Major Capital Projects Department (MCP), Government and Community Relations Offices for New York and New Jersey (GOCOR NY/NJ), and other Port Authority departments as part of the MBTR Program Management Team (undera third-party consultant team). Reporting to the Port Authority’s GOCOR NY/NJ teams, and MCP department, this professional will serve as a key public facing representative for the Program.

The selected candidate will oversee daily operations of the Community Outreach Office and act as a liaison between the MBTR Program and a wide range of stakeholders — residents, commuters, bus terminal users, elected officials, local businesses, community boards, advocacy groups, and partner agencies. Their work will help ensure that community voices are heard, concerns are addressed, while supporting the project’s goals and schedules, and engagement remains strong during Phase 1 of the project (with the potential to be extended through Phase
2).

We’re looking for an outreach professional who thrives in fast paced public infrastructure environments and brings a proactive, solutions-oriented approach to communication, issue resolution, stakeholder coordination, and measurable community engagement.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage daily engagement operations of the Community Outreach Office, including walk-in engagement and response coordination for community inquiries and complaints.
• Field and track incoming concerns received through the project desk line, email correspondence, public meetings, and in-person interactions and coordinate concerns with the project’s logistics team.
• Serve as a visible “boots on the ground” representative for the Midtown Bus Terminal Replacement Program and support issue identification and resolution in the field.
• Develop and implement outreach initiatives designed to increase stakeholder engagement and outreach participation with goal of advancing the project’s schedule and deliverables.
• Conduct recurring outreach to residential buildings, local businesses, commuters, bus terminal users, bus carriers, community organizations, and advocacy groups impacted by Program activities.
• Organize and staff monthly mobile outreach office hours within elected officials’ offices, public libraries, and other public-facing locations throughout Manhattan and New Jersey communities, as well as in the current Bus Terminal.
• Coordinate and support public meetings, stakeholder briefings, community information sessions, and outreach events.
• Prepare outreach materials including flyers, notifications, newsletters, presentations, handouts, displays, and digital communications.
• Publish routine community and commuter updates through print and electronic communication channels.
• Maintain and regularly update stakeholder contact databases, complaint logs, outreach metrics, and engagement tracking reports.
• Prepare weekly and monthly reporting summaries documenting:
  • Number and type of stakeholder engagements
  • Complaint response and resolution tracking
  • Outreach activities completed
  • Community concerns and trends
  • Engagement metrics and participation levels
  • Upcoming outreach initiatives and events
  • Report on how these activities supported and promoted the project’s schedule and deliverables
• Capture meeting minutes and action items for quarterly Port Authority Bus Terminal Advisory Council Meetings, monthly MBTR Community Construction Task Force Meetings, and other stakeholder meetings.
• Coordinate outreach activities with Port Authority departments including MCP, TB&T, Office of Media Relations, and Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion (ODEI), as well as consultants, contractors, and bus operators.
• Support workforce development and community opportunity initiatives, including coordination of job fairs and…