Salary : $115,252.80 - $163,904.00 Annually
Location : Ames - 50010 - Story County, IA
Job Type: Full-time
Job Number: 27-01022
Agency: 645 Iowa Department of Transportation
Opening Date: 10/09/2026
Closing Date: 10/19/2026 11:59 PM Central
LinkedIn Tag: #LI-DNP
Point of Contact:To Apply: If you are interested in the position, please submit your resume,cover letter, and responses to the questions in the posting to Alysia Engelhardt at Aysia.Engelhardt@Iowadot.us no later than 11:59 PM on 10/19/2026.
Job Description Job Title:Director of the Project Management Bureau
Reports To: Iowa DOT Transportation Development Division Deputy Director of Project Development
Position Type: Confidential, At-Will
Location:Ames, Iowa
This position is a confidential, at-will position that serves as the Director of the Project Management Bureau in the Transportation Development Division. This position reports to the Deputy Director of Project Development in the Transportation Development Division and is a member of the Transportation Development Division's management team, which formulates division policy, long-range plans, and plays a critical role in developing and managing the portfolio of highway projects that makes up the State of Iowa's 5-year Transportation Improvement Program.
The Project Management Bureau serves to address the following strategic objectives related to project management:
- Increased transparency and accountability for meeting project schedules, budgets, and quality standards.
- Provide better information and decision-making processes related to the resources needed to deliver quality projects on time and within budget.
- Manage and coordinate the highway program project prioritization process, which involves an engineering and economic evaluation and analysis of a large pool of potential projects for further development and programming.
- Establish better controls and mechanisms for reporting project cost, schedule, and quality.
- Provide a more comprehensive and risk-based approach to management of large, complex projects, some of which are in excess of several hundred million dollars.
- Improve existing processes for developing and managing small to medium-sized projects with varying levels of complexity.
- Provide data, tools, insight and recommendations that will help upper management create clarity and consistency in prioritizing and managing a portfolio of projects for programming and development.
As the Director of the Project Management Bureau, this position is responsible for providing overall leadership of transportation project management activities. This involves establishing long-range program objectives for project management and evaluating the performance in meeting those objectives.
This position is responsible for direct supervision and management of approximately 12 full-time positions in the Project Management Bureau, several of which are advanced engineering positions. This also includes wide-ranging, close and complex collaboration and coordination with Division Directors, District Engineers and Bureau Directors across the Department.
This position oversees the Department's software to schedule, fund, and track projects from planning through construction letting.
Finally, this position serves as the Department's primary representative on the ACEC / Iowa DOT / FHWA Partnering Council, addressing all concerns and disagreements between the Department and the consultant firms that aid in delivering our program.
Travel: Overnight travel will be occasionally required.
Shift: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm (may be flexed)
Requirements:- Must possess and maintain a license as a Professional Engineer in the State of Iowa.
As a State of Iowa employee, you will be eligible for the following benefits:- Competitive pay and benefits package including health, dental, flexible spending, and life insurance
- Insurance benefits start the first month following 30 days of employment and costs can be reviewed
- Opportunities for professional growth and development.
- Paid time off effective immediately - biweekly vacation, separate sick leave, accruals rollover on a yearly basis, and 9 paid holidays per year.
- Iowa Public Employee Retirement System (IPERS) Retirement Package with employer match
- Optional 401A plan with employer contributions.
- Employee Discount Programs from a variety of vendors (vision, cellular, fitness, recreation, season passes, travel, counseling; legal, financial).
We encourage you to learn more about the State of Iowa Employee benefits and costs at the !
**Please provide your resopnses to the following questions with your resume and cover leter**- Do you have a current Professional Engineer license in another state?
- Do you have a current State of Iowa Professional Engineer license?
- Do you have the potential to obtain a State of Iowa Professional Engineer license upon appointment?
You have the freedom to flourish in Iowa - Apply now!Minimum Qualification Requirements Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:
1) Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in any field, and experience equal to six and one-half years of full-time management-level work in finance, human resources, engineering, law, data processing, or program research or evaluation.
2) Ten and one-half years of full-time management-level work experience in finance, human resources, engineering, law, data processing, or program research or evaluation.
3) All of the following (a and b): a. Six and one-half years of full-time management-level work experience in finance, human resources, engineering, law, data processing, or program research or evaluation; and b. A combination of a total of four years of education and full-time experience (as described in part a), where thirty semester hours of accredited college or university course work in any field equals one year of full-time experience. Graduation from the Iowa Certified Public Manager Program is also equivalent to one year of full-time experience or education.
4) All of the following (a, b, and c): a. Four and one-half years of full-time management-level work experience in finance, human resources, engineering, law, regulation, data processing, or program research or evaluation; and b. A combination of a total of four years of education and full-time experience (as described in part a), where thirty semester hours of accredited college or university course work in any field equals one year of full-time experience; and c. A combination of a total of two years of graduate-level education and full-time experience (as described in part a), where twenty-four semester hours of accredited graduate college or university course work in a public-service-related area (e.g., public or business administration, social work, law, education, engineering) equals one year of full-time experience. Graduation from the Iowa Certified Public Manager Program is also equivalent to one year of full-time experience or education. 5) Current, continuous experience in the state executive branch that includes two years of full-time work as a Public Service Manager 1.
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