Department: Charlotte Area Transit System Department

Salary: $145,541.00 - $209,213.74 Commensurate with Experience

SUMMARY
The Director of Capital Program Management serves as the executive leader of CATS' capital program management function, with authority over capital portfolio governance, capital planning, project controls, performance reporting, and related program support systems. Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, this role holds responsibility for the strategic direction, organizational design, governance frameworks, and operational performance of the Capital Program Management department, including capital planning and prioritization, grant strategy, transit asset management alignment, project controls, capital reporting, PMIS administration, and other enterprise functions supporting disciplined capital delivery.

The Director ensures that CATS' capital portfolio is planned, prioritized, monitored, and governed in a manner that is transparent, fiscally responsible, data-informed, and aligned with agency strategy, asset condition needs, regulatory requirements, and delivery capacity. This position exercises executive judgment over capital investment governance, capital prioritization, project controls standards, risk and performance reporting, and the systems and processes used to support consistent capital program execution across the organization.
Operating through subordinate managers, analysts, coordinators, technical staff, and external partners, the Director leads continuous improvement and long-range development of CATS' capital program management capability.
The role serves as a senior representative of CATS with executive leadership, governing bodies, federal and state oversight entities, regional partners, and other stakeholders on matters related to capital portfolio performance, investment strategy, and capital governance, and is accountable for helping ensure that the agency's capital resources are directed and managed in a disciplined manner that supports organizational sustainability and public trust.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

The following duties are standard for this position. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the classification if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment for this classification.

Capital Program Leadership

• Exercises decision-making authority within established policy, budget, and governance frameworks.
• Provide executive leadership and strategic direction for CATS' Capital Program Management function, including capital planning, project controls, transit asset management alignment, PMIS stewardship, and related enterprise capital support activities.
• Ensure capital program management practices are aligned with CATS' strategic priorities, approved budgets, delivery capacity, asset stewardship needs, and long-term infrastructure objectives.
• Translate executive and Board priorities into effective capital portfolio governance structures, performance expectations, and implementation strategies.
• Exercise authority over capital planning frameworks, governance standards, and portfolio support processes within established fiscal and policy parameters.

Strategic Capital Planning and Investment Governance

• Lead development and oversight of the Capital Investment Plan across short-, mid-, and long-range horizons, ensuring alignment with asset needs, service planning objectives, operational priorities, and funding constraints.
• Establish executive oversight and accountability for capital prioritization methods, evaluation frameworks, and investment decision support processes.
• Ensure capital planning decisions are data-informed, transparent, and aligned with agency strategy, state-of-good-repair needs, and long-term system development goals.
• Recommend capital investment strategies and prioritization approaches to executive leadership based on condition, risk, readiness, financial capacity, and organizational priorities.

Project Controls and Capital Performance Oversight

• Hold enterprise-level accountability for project controls standards, capital performance reporting, and related governance mechanisms across the capital portfolio.
• Establish and maintain capital program expectations related to cost control, schedule management, risk reporting, contingency oversight, change control, documentation discipline, and performance monitoring.
• Ensure consistent use of project controls methodologies, capital reporting tools, and PMIS platforms across the organization.
• Authorize and prioritize improvements to capital controls, forecasting methods, reporting structures, and related support systems.

Transit Asset Management and Lifecycle Integration

• Ensure capital planning and capital reporting practices appropriately incorporate transit asset management principles, lifecycle considerations, reliability needs, and state-of-good-repair priorities.
• Establish alignment between capital investment decision-making and asset condition, replacement cycles, long-term reinvestment needs, and lifecycle cost considerations.
• Support integration of TAM, capital planning, and capital reporting processes to improve visibility into future infrastructure and asset needs.
• Promote disciplined use of asset information and lifecycle thinking in capital investment decisions.

Regulatory, Grant, and Capital Compliance Oversight

• Ensure capital program reporting and supporting processes comply with applicable federal, state, and local requirements, including grant conditions, oversight expectations, audit requirements, and related capital reporting obligations.
• Serve as the executive leader for capital governance and performance reporting related to audits, federal oversight reviews, external reporting, and similar compliance activities.
• Establish accountability for maintaining audit-ready records, defensible governance processes, and disciplined documentation across the capital program management function.
• Escalate significant capital compliance, reporting, or governance risks to the Chief Development Officer and recommend mitigation strategies.

Risk Management and Executive Decision Support

• Lead capital portfolio risk identification, assessment, and mitigation support processes related to cost, schedule, funding, delivery readiness, and long-term reinvestment needs.
• Oversee development of capital forecasts, scenario analyses, and executive decision-support materials related to portfolio performance and future capital obligations.
• Ensure performance data, risk information, and portfolio trends are translated into clear recommendations for executive leadership and governing bodies.
• Support informed decision-making regarding capital investment pacing, prioritization, corrective actions, and resource allocation.

Cross-Functional Coordination and Organizational Alignment

• Coordinate with Major Project Delivery, Engineering, Transit Planning, Operations, Finance, Procurement, Legal, Real Estate and TOD, and other internal functions to align capital governance, reporting, planning, and controls practices.
• Ensure capital program management processes support effective coordination among planning, delivery, asset management, financial, and operational functions.
• Resolve or elevate cross-functional issues affecting capital prioritization, reporting, readiness, or governance.
• Support alignment between capital portfolio decisions and broader agency delivery, financial, and operational constraints.

Organizational Leadership and Management

• Provide executive leadership for a multi-layered Capital Program Management organization through subordinate managers and program leads.
• Set department-wide performance expectations, accountability structures, leadership standards, and professional expectations for the Capital Program Management portfolio.
• Authorize organizational design, staffing models, consultant support strategies, and succession planning to support the evolving maturity of the capital program management function.
• Coordinate with Development and enterprise leadership to ensure staffing, tools, processes, and governance structures are scaled appropriately to agency needs.

Continuous Improvement and Program Development

• Lead executive planning and decision-making related to improvement of capital governance systems, project controls practices, capital planning processes, PMIS tools, and portfolio reporting methods.
• Assess emerging best practices in capital portfolio governance, asset-informed planning, and project controls and recommend appropriate process or system improvements.
• Provide executive leadership for the continued maturation of CATS' capital program management capability as the agency transitions to a larger and more independent regional authority model.
• Translate lessons learned into long-term improvements in capital planning, controls, transparency, and organizational effectiveness.

Core Competencies:

The position requires demonstrated competency in the following areas:

Technical and Analytical Skills: Advanced knowledge of capital portfolio governance, project controls, planning systems, and related processes; ability to analyze complex problems, evaluate alternatives, and implement effective solutions, including development of new approaches where necessary. Ability to use performance metrics, financial data, risk information, and trend analysis to guide strategic decisions and ensure accountability across the capital portfolio.

• Applies technical expertise to improve capital governance systems and processes.
• Identifies root causes of portfolio, controls, or reporting issues and implements effective solutions.
• Introduces process improvements or systems enhancements when needed.

Fiscal and Asset Management: Ability to guide capital planning and portfolio management in a manner that links financial planning, capital strategy, and asset lifecycle needs; apply lifecycle costing and state-of-good-repair concepts in decision-making; and identify and quantify capital risks and opportunities.

• Guides capital investment planning and portfolio decisions in alignment with financial capacity and long-term infrastructure needs.
• Evaluates cost drivers, capital performance trends, and reinvestment implications.
• Uses lifecycle and asset management principles in capital prioritization and portfolio oversight.
• Identifies and quantifies capital and financial risks and opportunities.

Capital Governance and Project Controls Leadership: Ability to design and oversee governance structures, controls frameworks, reporting standards, and accountability mechanisms that support disciplined capital delivery and transparent decision-making.

• Establishes and enforces enterprise-level standards for controls, reporting, and governance.
• Ensures consistent use of capital performance metrics, PMIS tools, and documented processes.
• Maintains accountability for quality, consistency, and discipline in capital program support functions.

Strategic and Systems Thinking: Ability to align capital planning, portfolio governance, and delivery support functions with agency strategy, asset needs, delivery realities, and long-term system objectives; use data, risk analysis, and industry practice to guide decisions; and anticipate emerging capital planning and governance needs.

• Aligns day-to-day capital program management work with agency strategy and long-term infrastructure goals.
• Uses data, trends, and risk information to guide decisions.
• Anticipates portfolio challenges and governance needs proactively.

Supervision Given to:

• Assistant Director, Project Controls
• Capital Planning Manager
• TAM Manager
• Art in Transit Program Manager

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in public administration, engineering, business administration, finance, planning, construction management, project management, or a related field and seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in capital program management, capital planning, project controls, infrastructure portfolio management, transit asset management, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience leading complex capital planning, project controls, or portfolio governance functions with accountability for performance, reporting, and organizational outcomes.
• Experience managing professional and managerial staff within multi-layered organizations.
• Knowledge of and experience appl