GIS Project Manager (flexible to any TPL office location) Job in Texas

Job title: GIS Project Manager (flexible to any TPL office location)

Company: Trust for Public Land

Expected salary: $70000 – 80000 per year

Location: Dallas, TX

GIS Project Manager (flexible to any TPL office location) Job Details:

The Land and People Lab at Trust for Public Land (TPL) seeks a GIS Project Manager to lead, manage, and implement the spatial components of the ParkScore index, one of TPL’s flagship products. TPL’s ParkScore index is the most comprehensive rating system ever developed to measure how well the 100 most populous U.S. cities are meeting residents’ need for parks. Every year, the ParkScore cities provide TPL with data on amenities, investment, access, equity, and acreage via our City Park Facts survey and through GIS datasets. A critical component of accurately measuring park systems is ensuring accurate information in our geospatial parks database. As such, this position will lead the data collection and update process aligned with the main categories of the ParkScore rating system, and partner with each city in the ParkScore index to review the results. This role collaborates closely with the Associate Director for Parks Research to coordinate the annual ParkScore data release, analyzing, interpreting and communicating results via presentations, maps, data tables, and webpages associated with . The GIS Project Manager must be an effective presenter and communicator and highly skilled in the GIS field with extensive experience in all aspects of GIS project development, management, and execution.

The GIS Project Manager will also lead, manage, and implement the delivery of GIS-based projects and initiatives related to urban park and open space planning and analyses. Because the scope of TPL’s GIS work is broad, this includes a wide variety of GIS-based analyses in a highly collaborative team environment. We implement cutting-edge GIS methodologies, tools and frameworks, facilitate technical teams, identify resources and establish project objectives, timelines and milestones that support TPL’s commitment to improving access to outdoor recreation for all.

About the organization

TPL creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. At TPL, we don’t just save land—we create places to advance health, equity, climate action, and community, from the scale of neighborhood schoolyards to the scale of national parks. Every park, playground, trail, and public space we create is an open invitation to explore, wonder, discover, and play. We’re proud to say that we’ve been connecting communities to the outdoors—and to each other—since 1972. Today, millions of Americans live within a 10-minute walk of a park or natural area we helped create, and countless more visit every year.

The Land and People Lab is an internal “think-and-do tank” that advances TPL’s work through the power of evidence. The Lab generates and analyzes evidence using a broad range of disciplines and tools—from geospatial science to ecology, from economics to epidemiology, from urban planning to landscape architecture. The Lab is also home to TPL’s content experts in climate action, health, and community strategies, who help guide TPL’s strategic commitments to maximizing the multiple benefits of equitable access to parks and open space. The Lab is the department within TPL responsible for assembling evidence and pushing that evidence into practice and policy.

The geospatial team within the Lab supports TPL field teams and external partners across the country to influence policy and practice, making the case for parks and open space funding, creation, maintenance and use in the highest priority places for the people who need them the most. From nationwide analyses to community-level prioritization, our team creates custom maps, decision-support tools, impact analyses, and reports for better decision-making and new insights.

About the role

The GIS Project Manager will lead, manage and implement the spatial components of ParkScore (approximately 70%). This includes:

• Partner with the Associate Director of Parks Research and other TPL teams to successfully release the ParkScore index. Collaborate with the broader ParkScore team to deliver initial and final statistics for ParkScore’s Access, Equity, and Acreage categories.
• Support the 100 largest cities in updating and refining city park data for the ParkScore index and TPL’s urban park database.
• Facilitate communication with the 100 largest cities and other external stakeholders through meetings and webinars. Act as technical translator to communicate complex technical/GIS topics to non-technical audiences. Establish and maintain strong relationships with partners/clients.
• Manage the spatial data coming through the ParkReviewer, a custom application on the ParkServe mapping application, through which park data edits are submitted by city partners and members of the public.
• Manage external contractors to process and edit park data and coordinate updates to the park database and website.
• Lead strategies for improved/automated data processing workflows and quality control.
• Manage the production of PDF maps and data tables.
• Develop opportunities for research, publishing and presentations that utilize the data generated through ParkScore.

This role will also lead, manage and implement the delivery of GIS-based projects and initiatives (approximately 30%). This includes:

• Provide expertise in GIS analyses including advanced use of ESRI tools, knowledge of advanced spatial analysis and modeling techniques.
• Prepare GIS project plans and schedules to coordinate resources, tasks and work assignments.
• Implement strategies to close the park access gap in urban areas across the country using the urban parks database.
• Explore different approaches to measuring and analyzing park performance, park usage, and park equity.

The ideal candidate will bring:

• A commitment to TPL’s mission (creating parks and protecting land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come) and values (belonging, creativity, collaboration, impact, and hope).
• Extensive knowledge of ESRI software (ArcPro, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS 10x, Model Builder, Spatial Analyst, Network Analyst).
• At least three years of experience in the GIS field, demonstrated supervisory/project management experience a plus.
• Bachelor’s Degree in geography, geographical information systems, urban planning, environmental sciences, or related field.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to track complex activities and timelines across multiple projects and work under minimal supervision.
• Ability to work with a high degree of self-direction and flexibility, especially with respect to taking initiative, prioritizing multiple tasks, and using good judgment to resolve problems.
• Experience customizing ArcGIS using Python.
• Expertise in vector and raster analysis techniques.
• Strong collaboration skills, working with a wide range of internal and external audiences.
• Ability to translate technical information for non-technical audiences, specifically GIS and urban analytics.
• Willingness to travel to and participate in conferences, committees, and other in-person meetings.

Additional preferred skills for this role include:

• Experience and interest in urban public spaces
• Spatial data science and statistics
• Experience in monitoring trends over time via spatial data at small neighborhood scale
• Extensive knowledge of U.S. Census data, especially how to aggregate data from smaller geographies up to a larger geography (e.g. block groups to city boundaries)
• Familiarity with data visualization techniques, including on the web.
• Experience with version editing in ArcPro, ArcGIS Business Analyst, creating and managing GIS and relational databases.
• Experience using R, SPSS, STATA, and/or other languages to conduct statistical analyses.

Compensation

As a full-time, exempt employee, you will be eligible for TPL’s comprehensive benefits program which includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, three weeks of vacation annually plus holidays, and a 403(b) retirement plan, currently with a company match of up to 7%. The anticipated hiring range for this position is $70,000-80,000.

Trust for Public Land’s active goal is to be an inclusive and equitable place to work and build community. As the organization actively works to eliminate racial and other disparities it welcomes candidates with diverse backgrounds and/or multicultural skillsets and experiences.
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