PROJECT MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST 1

Code: 40040 State Competitive Range: P26 (FY 2027) Work week 4E: FLSA exemptOvertime table (4A:3, Appx. A)

Salary: $83,582.01 - $122,831.91/year FY 2027 schedule (last updated 2026-07-27)

Official job specification

The text below is the official specification published by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission. The plain-language summary and analysis above are derived from it by NJ Civil Service Navigator. Source: the official specification page at NJ CSC.

Definition

Under the limited supervision of a Project Management Specialist 3, or other supervisory official, in the Department of Transportation, serves as part of a project management team in planning and managing Transportation capital projects and/or locally administered projects and programs; manages schedules, scopes, budgets and quality of capital projects through the Department's project delivery system; monitors the work activities and resources to ensure timely completion of project and program tasks and financial management requirements; assists with contractual management oversight and procurement activities; does related work as required.

Examples of work

• As part of a team, develops, obtains approval for, manages and updates all assigned project schedules; monitors schedule activities to ensure timely completion and consistency with the Department's project delivery process; and identifies tasks requiring recovery plan and mitigation to address project slippage in keeping with the Department's capital program goals relative to project delivery.
• Participates in the coordination with local and county officials for the development of locally administered State Aid and Federal Aid programs; provides technical professional guidance concerning the selection of projects to be funded; reviews and evaluates applications for projects for conformity to program criteria; participates in work involving program appraisal and project selection; and prepares documents and Department actions necessary to secure funding.
• For locally administered projects and programs, is responsible for the delivery of State Aid and Federal Aid programs; coordinates and provides oversight of Department programs related to counties, municipalities and other grant sub-recipients; ensures compliance with Department policies and procedures and State and Federal requirements.
• As part of a team, develops, obtains approval for, and manages budgets on all assigned projects in accordance with Department procedures and federal guidelines where applicable; monitors the project budget to avoid suspense, project inactivity, and over obligations of unneeded funds; identifies variances between the targeted budget and incurred cost and takes corrective actions as needed, including coordination with other units who have budgeted funds under the managed project; and adheres to the Department's close-out policy and procedure for proper programmatic fiscal management.
• Ensures that all quality assurance requirements are followed in accordance with the Department's latest quality guidance; coordinates with designers, subject matter experts, and internal and external stakeholders on problems and resolves project issues; applies quality assurance philosophy to ensure acceptable quality of deliverables; and implements appropriate elements of risk management strategies to further ascertain high quality project deliverables.
• Participates in the quality assurance review and acceptance of plans, specifications and estimates for locally administered projects in accordance with Department policies and procedures and State and Federal requirements; provides grant recipients with guidance in developing grant related contract documents.
• Assists in managing project changes and scope of work on assigned projects; coordinates with internal and external stakeholders to develop appropriate project scope based upon the purpose and need; manages scopes, schedules and budgets in accordance with the current change requirements; utilizes management system information as input in developing scope of projects and to identify any potential conflicts with overlapping or adjacent projects.
• As needed, participates in project construction inspections and/or construction oversight inspections; reviews and evaluates construction change orders, conducts final inspection; recommends acceptance of completed work and final audits and prepares documents for project close-out.
• Assists in the consultant procurement and agreement process on assigned projects; participates in the consultant selection process; develops and executes consultant agreements, addenda, and modifications; processes consultant invoices to ensure adherence to NJ's prompt payment act; prepares consultant evaluations consistent with current guidelines; and closes out consultant and federal agreements in accordance with policy and procedure.
• Assists in the utility and jurisdictional agreement processes on assigned projects; monitors all utility activities to ensure timely delivery of assigned projects; monitors invoices and takes the appropriate actions to avoid financial inactivity; prepares and executes jurisdictional plans and agreements; and closes out utility agreements in accordance with the latest guidelines.
• Provides information, advice, and assistance to Department, State, County, and/or municipal officials, representatives from other agencies and other interested parties; provides assistance in the delivery of capital projects and/or locally administered State Aid and Federal Aid projects and programs.
• Assists the Project Management Specialist 3 in making estimates of the resources needed to establish project budgets, as necessary.
• Resolves problems and issues to ensure projects and programs progress within the specified timeframes and within budget.
• Keeps the Project Management Specialist 3 and Project Management Specialist 2 apprised of the progress of projects and/or project issues.
• As part of a team, develops and coordinates community outreach and communication plans as deemed necessary on assigned projects and ensures continuous communication with internal and external stakeholders to secure buy-in and successful delivery of the project scope of work.
• Prepares and submits for approval correspondence and/or requests for information in response to external and internal stakeholder inquiries and processes OPRA requests.
• Updates all reports and project databases as required.
• Participates in the monitoring and reporting of program status and progress; the collection and compilation of program data for comprehensive reports; information for budget requests; and administrative and technical reports.
• Assists in the preparation of annual budget requests.
• Will be required to learn to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and computerized information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.

Education

Graduation from an accredited college with a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering.

Experience

Five (5) years of professional experience in project design, project support services, and/or project construction and materials in the field of transportation engineering.

License

Appointee will be required to possess a driver's license valid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle, rather than employee mobility, is necessary to perform the essential duties of the position.

Knowledge, skills and abilities

• Knowledge of the standards, specifications, policies, procedures, regulations and functions of the Department of Transportation.
• Knowledge of engineering principles for all types of transportation facilities and familiarity with the economic, engineering, administrative and other challenges encountered in the delivery of capital transportation projects.
• Knowledge of the principles, practices, equipment and procedures of modern transportation and highway engineering.
• Knowledge of related State and Federal policies and procedures.
• Knowledge of the various project delivery systems and criteria utilized to determine the proper course of action.
• Knowledge of social, economic, environmental and safety engineering considerations.
• Knowledge of project management principles and techniques.
• Knowledge of computerized management reporting techniques.
• Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with representatives of local, county, State, and federal government, industry, civic associations, and others interested in the goals, functions, and responsibilities of the section.
• Ability to understand project initiation through such sources as the Department's various management systems or problem statements generated by internal or external stakeholders.
• Ability to acquire knowledge of management principles and practices applicable to scheduling, cost control, and resource management techniques.
• Ability to apply Federal and State legislation and regulations pertaining to or affecting the various activities of the Department.
• Ability to influence organizational resources to complete project tasks including instances where needed resources are controlled by other managers or by outside departments/agencies.
• Ability to represent the Department and/or division as needed to achieve program and/or project objectives.
• Ability to deliver capital projects within or ahead of project schedule and budget including preparation of project management plans with clearly defined project scope, functional criteria, task descriptions, schedule, budget, and quality standards.
• Ability to obtain cooperation and approval from staff across departmental functional lines to successfully advance a project and resolve inter and intra- departmental conflicts.
• Ability to monitor projects by continuously reviewing selected and/or high priority and/or sensitive projects and assigned programs.
• Ability to resolve problems in the administration or coordination of programs, plans, or projects.
• Ability to assist in the implementation and completion of project schedules in the Department's project coordination system.
• Ability to correlate schedules and cost constraints.
• Ability to develop new or improved methods for scheduling and monitoring programs and projects.
• Ability to comprehend, analyze, and interpret the standards, regulations, policies and procedures, and/or specifications of the Department of Transportation and apply them to capital project delivery as appropriate.
• Ability to coordinate the functions of internal and external subject matter experts and other external operating agencies such as the Federal Highway Administration, other state, municipal and county government offices.
• Ability to prepare engineering and other detailed reports containing findings, conclusions and recommendations.
• Ability to learn to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office or related units.
• Ability to read, write, speak, understand, or communicate in English sufficiently to perform the duties of this position. American Sign Language or Braille may also be considered as acceptable forms of communication.
• Persons with mental or physical disabilities are eligible as long as they can perform essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. If the accommodation cannot be made because it would cause the employer undue hardship, such persons may not be eligible.
• <b>NOTE: FOR PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES</b>
• Employees hired by the Department of Transportation on or before July 1, 1999, who do not possess the Bachelor's degree listed above, may substitute education and experience as indicated below to meet the education requirements:
• EDUCATION
• Possession of a Bachelor's degree in Engineering Technology in a field related to civil engineering from an accredited college having a curriculum approved by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
• OR
• Completion of forty-five (45) semester hour credits of specialized college level/non-remedial engineering education from an accredited college in an engineering or engineering technology program. Acceptable specialized education must include a minimum of 24 credits in Engineering/Engineering Science and a minimum of 21 credits in general science and higher-level math courses. Information regarding acceptable courses may be obtained from DOT/Human Resources.
• You must attach a copy of your transcript(s) to your application. Foreign degrees/transcripts must be evaluated by a recognized evaluation service. Failure to do so will result in rejection from the examination process.
• AND
• Three and one-half (3-1/2) years of full time experience in engineering related work.
• Applicants who have more than the required forty-five (45) engineering related credits may substitute additional credits for the required experience on a prorated basis, thirty (30) credits equaling one (1) year of experience up to a maximum of two and one-half (2-1/2) years.

Note

This level would assist the Project Management Specialist 3 and/or the Project Management Specialist 2. Project types include but are not limited to: Rumble Strip Installation Project; Guide Rail Upgrade/Installation Project; Pavement Preservation Project; Pavement Resurfacing Project; Pavement Reconstruction Project; Concrete Pavement Rehabilitation Project; Intersection Improvement Project; Safety Intersection Improvement Project; Americans with Disabilities Act Public Access Project; Interchange Reconstruction Project; Complex Interchange Reconstruction Projects; Bridge Deck Replacement Project; Superstructure Replacement Project; Major Bridge Rehabilitation Project; and Bridge Replacement Project.

Locally administered programs assigned at this level could include but are not limited to Municipal Aid, County Aid, Local Bridges, Local Aid Infrastructure Fund, Safe Streets to Transit, Bikeway, Transit Village, Highway Safety Fund, Freight Impact Fund, Safe Routes to Schools, Transportation Alternatives, Transportation Enhancements, Local Safety/High Risk Rural Roads and MPO Local Lead Programs.

The examples of work for this title are for illustrative purposes only. A particular position using this title may not perform all duties listed in this job specification. Conversely, all duties performed on the job may not be listed.

Possession of a valid Professional Engineer's License issued by the New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors may be substituted for the Bachelor's degree in engineering.

A Master's Degree in Civil or Transportation Engineering may be substituted for one (1) year of the indicated professional experience.