Rail System Safety Specialist at North County Transit District, CA

About the Department

Under the general direction of the Deputy Chief Executive Officer/Chief General Counsel, who serves as the Safety Management System Executive (SMS Executive), the Rail System Safety Specialist fosters a proactive organizational safety culture and promotes a safe and healthy environment for all employees, passengers, contractors, and the public in accordance with applicable federal, state, local, and regulatory laws, rules, and/or guidelines with the primary focus on rail system safety.

Distinguishing Characteristics

This position supports the SMS Executive and Safety Department by providing professional level knowledge of transit and/or commuter rail safety programs, environmental health and safety (EHS) programs, emergency response plans, and federal and state regulations directly related to transit railroad systems.  This position requires prior experience in conducting rail safety activities and the ability to identify, evaluate, and mitigate public and industrial safety risks.  

Supervision Received and Exercised

This position reports to the SMS Executive and exercises no supervisory authority.  This position is expected to participate in the sharing of expert knowledge and as a vital member of various project teams that may be instituted.

Working Conditions

Normal working conditions for this position are in both an office and field setting. Business travel may be required periodically between District sites, governmental agencies, consultants’ facilities, and other locations as required. The Rail System Safety Specialist may be required to respond to emergencies at any hour; work may at times require more than 8 hours per day or require irregular hours to perform the essential duties of this position. 

Position Duties

Essential Functions

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Performs field inspections and inspects the day-to-day rail operations and maintenance facilities, transit stations, and other NCTD facilities to evaluate service quality and compliance with contracts, regulatory requirements, and system safety standards.
• Conducts audits/reviews and prepares reports in support of NCTD’s Safety Plans.
• Identifies and generates reports on trends analysis on indicators to reduce or mitigate incidents and accidents. 
• Investigates and performs hazard analyses on rail safety incidents and accidents, generates conclusive reports, and makes recommendations for corrective actions, prepares investigation reports for submission to regulatory authorities as required; collaborates with Rail Division management and stakeholders as necessary.
• Responsible for requesting downloads of video footage for all rail incidents, including near-miss incidents and reviewing for compliance with applicable operating and/or safety rules; issue corrective actions to address deficiencies when necessary and track to completion.
• Identifies, recommends, and pursues resolution and correction of safety deficiencies, including tracking in the safety database (Vector Solutions) and issuance of corrective actions.
• Develops and maintains accident statistical databases for internal and external reporting
• May serve as a liaison with oversight agencies such as the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Cal OSHA, and various environmental regulatory authorities.
• Prepares, edits, proofreads and/or presents a variety of reports, correspondence, and other documents, including updates to Standard Operating Procedures, Manuals, Plans, Operating Rules, etc.; makes presentations to a variety of audiences as requested.
• Assists Rail Engineering staff and/or the Field Safety Specialist in oversight of construction safety consultants as needed.
• Supports the management of the environmental health and safety programs, including hazardous materials, related to rail operations/facilities.  
• Facilitates and/or attends safety meetings; may serve as Chair or Co-Chair of committees as assigned by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer/Chief General Counsel.
• Enters inspection and incident reports and respective corrective actions into Vector Solutions as necessary.
• Supports safety training efforts at all NCTD sites as needed.
• Serves as part of departmental on-call rotation to respond to incidents and emergency situations; may respond directly to rail incident site as needed in select situations.
• Performs other related duties as assigned. 

Minimum Qualifications

Education/Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in in Safety, Public Administration, or related field is preferred, but not required. 
• Minimum three years of directly relevant experience in the rail industry or comparable position required, as per below:
  • Strong knowledge of commuter and/or hybrid rail operations
  • Working knowledge of safety rules for contractors and other third parties working on the rail systems or rail facilities
  • Working knowledge of applicable FRA, FTA, and CPUC regulations
  • Familiarity with Cal/OSHA regulations
  • Demonstrated experience with contract oversight and compliance

A combination of experience/skills and education to fulfill the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities for this position may be considered.

Certificates/Licenses

• The successful candidate will be required as a condition of employment to comply with FTA training requirements as set forth in 49 CFR Part 672 by enrolling in the Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program (PTSCTP) and must successfully complete the training courses within the three-year timeframe as prescribed by the FTA.
• Must be able to become GCOR Qualified on NCTD owned railroad properties after hire.  
• Must be able to obtain and maintain annual access to Marine Corp Base Camp Pendleton.
• Possess and maintain a California driver’s license, Class C, with less than 6 points in the preceding 36-month period and no DUIs in the preceding 7-year period.
• Maintain compliance with the District’s policy regarding Conflict of Interest and Ethics. 

General Requirements

• Experience with and knowledge of railroad and/or rail transit track, signal, mechanical, and operations discipline.
• Knowledge of principles of inspections and audits, preferably for rail agencies, to ensure the compliance of state and federal requirements, such as State General Orders, System Safety Plans, and the Code of Federal Regulations.
• Experience with investigating accidents; ability to determine probable cause and contributing factors.  
• Ability to reason clearly and exercise a high degree of independence in performing routine daily work assignments. 
• Ability to work well under pressure with minimal supervision, analyze situations accurately, and recommend and coordinate effective courses of action, while establishing and maintaining cooperative and positive working relationships with others, both inside and outside NCTD.
• Demonstrated proficiency in computer software programs including the Microsoft Office Suite and database systems.   

Other Qualifications

Physical Requirements  

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.   Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

The employee must possess the ability to use the phone and computer for extended periods, manual dexterity to complete clerical functions and work with office equipment and lift equipment up to 25 pounds on a periodic basis.  The employee must be able to hear, see, and communicate verbally to exchange information.   The employee must be able to physically travel between District locations and other destinations, work in evenings when required, work in hazardous conditions, and negotiate a variety of different and irregular terrain as is typical along a railway right of way.  The employee may be subject to fumes, odors, dusts, gases, chemicals.  The employee must be able to walk, climb, balance, bend, carry, push, reach, sit, and stand.

Machines / Tools / Equipment

• Ability to operate a personal computer and Microsoft Office Suite programs.
• Ability to operate standard office equipment, including a fax and scanner machine, copy machine, and telephone. 
• Ability to carry and operate a mobile device.

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