Chief Operations Officer

Company: American Public Transit Association
Location: Fort Worth
Posted on: April 26, 2025

Job Description:

ABOUT TRINITY METROTrinity Metro, located in the heart of North Texas, Fort Worth is the fastest growing large city in the nation. It offers an exceptional quality of life with a thriving cultural scene, making it an ideal place to live and work. It is a popular city due to its affordable cost of living, diverse job opportunities, and mix of city and country living. Fort Worth's neighborhoods, outdoor spaces, vibrant music and food scenes, and topnotch museums and attractions contribute to this lively and welcoming environment. The city is also home to excellent universities and several multinational corporations, further contributing to its growing reputation as a hub for innovation, education, and opportunity.Trinity Metro plays an essential role in driving economic growth, enhancing accessibility, and improving quality of life throughout the region. Trinity Metro is the public transit agency serving Tarrant County, TX. Trinity Metro operates a bus network with 32 routes, TEXRail a 27.2 mile commuter rail line, On-Demand service that operates in 7 zones, paratransit services throughout Tarrant County, Trinity Metro Bikes bike share program with 62 stations and 140 e-bikes, 202 vanpools, and it jointly owns and operates Trinity Railway Express. In addition, Trinity Metro is rolling out new color-differentiated bus routes, starting with the Orange Line that started operations on September 2024 to the Fort Worth Stockyards (increasing ridership to that area by 20%) and a new Blue Line downtown circulator coming in June 2025. TEXRail commuter line will also deliver two additional miles of rail to the medical district creating a greater pathway to healthcare.In a recent study, on average, one in three Tarrant County residents utilize Trinity Metro as a means of transportation. In 2024, the system averaged 21,000 weekday rides, with annual ridership of 7.8 million growing steadily from previous years at a rate of 15-20%. The economic return around our transit hubs and train stations is significant. Every dollar invested in Trinity Metro generates over three dollars in economic returns for Tarrant County. In fact, the total economic impact of Trinity Metro investments is equivalent to the impact of hosting two Super Bowls annually.SUMMARYTo help lead and support our continued growth in bus operations and maintenance, Trinity Metro is seeking a highly qualified, knowledgeable and innovative Chief Operations Officer. The COO plays a key role in executive leadership, overseeing core operational areas including fixed route operations, fleet maintenance, safety functions for in-house bus and paratransit services, and on-demand services. As an essential member of the executive team, the COO encourages collaboration, innovation, and effective change management across the organization. In this role, the COO works to develop strong operational leaders, align daily functions with strategic organizational goals, and promote a culture of excellence and continuous improvement. The COO also plays a central role in labor negotiations, budget planning, capital spending, and community and government engagement, while advancing innovation and service quality. Successful candidates will be collaborative, driven, and committed to both the operational and overall success of Trinity Metro.ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIESThe successful candidate for this role will have experience developing strong operational leaders who are empowered to make day to day operating decisions, and will be invested in the overall business success and understand their role as it relates to the larger strategic goals for the agency. Trinity Metro will make reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.The COO will be responsible for the following functions and duties:

• Promotes a culture of excellence by modeling leadership behaviors and promoting the mission, vision, and values of the organization.
• Leads the operating modal divisions of the organization at the executive leadership team level.
• Serves as the executive leadership team member responsible for Trinity Metro fixed route, Trinity Metro On-Demand paratransit services and fleet maintenance.
• Negotiates collective bargaining labor agreements and maintains a productive and successful relationship with labor unions.
• Creates a culture of continuous improvement where operational data (i.e., key performance indicators) is used to inform resource allocation and investment decisions.
• Collaborates with the executive leadership team to develop policy recommendations (e.g., fares, service, work rules) for approval by the President & CEO or Board of Directors as appropriate.
• Works closely with the Chief Financial Officer to ensure proper funding is available to support operations. Directs and monitors expenditures in accordance with the approved budget; determines operational resource allocation and levels of service to meet business goals.
• Cultivates and maintains professional relationships with community leaders, government officials, and key stakeholders to enhance the authority's operational effectiveness, ensure alignment with community transportation needs and advance economic development objectives.
• Makes recommendations for capital spending to support business goals.
• Maintains rapport with frontline staff by riding services, convening employee meetings to share information and solicit employee feedback and participating in company events.
• Identifies, recommends and/or implements new innovations to achieve benefits such as improved customer service, service reliability and ridership. Continuously looks for ways to provide better service at a lower cost.
• Maintains productive relationships with the Federal Transit Administration and regulatory agencies as applicable.
• Makes recommendations to management to improve operations, decrease inefficiencies and streamline work processes; works cooperatively with all customers, internal and external.
• Participates in company community activities to promote transit on off duty hours.
• Directly supervises employees; applies supervisory responsibilities according to organizational policies and applicable laws.
• Interviews, hires and trains employees; plans and directs work; sets goals for the department; evaluates and manages employee performance; addresses complaints and resolves employee issues.
• Performs other duties, as assigned.EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE
  • Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, Transportation or related field. A master's degree is preferred.
  • A minimum of 10 years of leadership in a public transit field with at least 5 years in an operating role.
  • Any combination of experience, training and/or education that provides the required knowledge, abilities, and skills may substitute for the required education.TO APPLYTrinity Metro has engaged Krauthamer & Associates (K&A), a retained executive search firm, to assist with the Chief Operations Officer recruitment. To request more information or to apply by submitting a resume, please contact: Gregg Moser, Partner at K&A, at .
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Keywords: American Public Transit Association, Allen , Chief Operations Officer, Executive , Fort Worth, Texas