Join VTA’s Dynamic Multimodal Planning and Real Estate Team!
At VTA, the newly aligned Multimodal Planning and Real Estate team is a passionate group dedicated to transforming transportation and real estate connections across Santa Clara County.
Planning Division
This division is responsible for conducting all Congestion Management Program (CMP) and VTA transportation and transit planning activities, as well as programming, grants management, and real estate. The Planning Division consists of three primary focus areas: Planning, Programming and Grants, and Multimodal Planning & Real Estate
Multimodal Planning & Real Estate Department Real Estate Department
As part of the Planning Division, the Multimodal Planning & Real Estate department is a passionate group dedicated to transforming transportation, land use, and community connections across Santa Clara County. The department successfully integrates several key programs to achieve this mission, including Multimodal Planning, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD/TOC), Asset Management/Real Estate, and Right-of-Way.
The Right-of-Way Program
As a core program within the department, the Right-of-Way (ROW) team directly executes VTA’s capital delivery by overseeing the acquisition of full properties, permanent easements, temporary construction easements, and other critical property interests. ROW ensures project certification and delivery for massive infrastructure improvements across Santa Clara County, including major rail extensions like BART Silicon Valley and Eastridge to BART Regional Connector (EBRC), as well as highway and complete streets projects. This work involves extensive multi-agency coordination with external partners like Caltrans, utility providers, and local municipalities to handle complex property clearances and utility relocations.
What You'll be Doing
Definition
Under direction, the Senior Real Estate Agent plans, organizes, supervises, and integrates the work of assigned staff and consultants engaged in acquiring, appraising, managing, leasing or disposing of real property and rights-of-way and/or planning, offering, negotiating, and managing VTA's joint development projects and associated agreements, and performs related duties as assigned.
Distinguishing Characteristics
Senior Real Estate Agent is the first line supervisory classification in the Real Estate job series. Incumbents are responsible for planning, organizing, and supervising staff engaged in all aspects of VTA real estate transactions and agreements, and for performing the more difficult and complex duties. Senior Real Estate Agent is distinguished from Manager, Real Estate & Project Administration in that the latter has full managerial responsibility for the entire real property program for VTA.
Typical Tasks
Not all positions perform all duties and not all duties performed are listed. Duties performed vary depending on the area of assignment.
- Selects, supervises, trains, motivates, assigns, evaluates, counsels, and disciplines staff;
- With assigned staff and consultants, develops, implements, and monitors plans, goals and objectives to ensure that designated property appraisal, acquisition, management, sales, relocation projects, and joint development functions are accomplished in accordance with adopted schedules and budgets;
- Supervises and performs work related to major joint development planning projects that encompass residential, commercial, and other types of real estate development;
- Conducts and/or participates in complex planning and rezoning approvals, competitive offerings for long-term leases, difficult appraisals, negotiations, relocation assistance, and property sale or disposition functions;
- Performs detailed, complex research, analyses, and determinations;
- Develops work plans, schedules, and budget estimates for joint development studies and projects and oversees their execution;
- Prepares and presents information to the public, boards, committees, and community groups;
- Reviews, evaluates, and approves architectural, planning, engineering, environmental, financial, and real estate appraisal work product produced by consultants;
- Provides attorneys with market appraisals and other data for use in property settlements and condemnation litigation;
- Plans, directs, negotiates, administers and/or participates in the development, negotiation and administration of consultant contracts;
- Reviews, recommends, and administers Real Estate Department policies and procedures;
- May perform budget preparation and review;
- Reviews, evaluates, and approves appraisals and amounts for negotiation and settlement in accordance with VTA policies and procedures;
- Ensures compliance with VTA policies and procedures regarding equal opportunity and discrimination and harassment prevention;
- Performs other related duties as assigned.
Knowledge of:
- Concepts, methods and techniques for appraising property and establishing market value, current market conditions, and land sales;
- Principles and practices of planning, development, and management of large-scale mixed-use real estate development projects in complex urban settings;
- Methods and techniques for property recordation and property record search;
- Federal, state and local laws and regulations applicable to land and easement acquisition by public agencies, including condemnation and eminent domain proceedings and vacation and relinquishment law;
- Federal, state, and local laws and regulations applicable to planning, design, construction, financing, and operation of real estate development projects;
- Basic principles and practices of property and contract law, including preparation of detailed legal descriptions;
- Basic terminology, methods, and practices of engineering design, architecture, land use planning, land surveying, mapping, construction processes, real estate finance, and relocation;
- Principles and practices of communication and engagement with diverse stakeholders;
- Principles and practices of effective good faith negotiations;
- Principles and practices of effective supervision, training, employee development, motivation, discipline, and management.
Ability to:
- Analyze technical data and legal requirements, evaluate alternatives, and make sound, timely recommendations within established guidelines;
- Understand, interpret, explain, and apply federal, state and local laws and regulations applicable to real estate responsibilities;
- Perform sound property appraisals that require the application of complex valuation considerations;
- Estimate and manage budgets and schedules for planning studies and projects;
- Read and interpret plans, maps, engineering drawings, and sketches;
- Prepare clear, concise, comprehensive, and legally sound documents and reports;
- Exercise sound independent professional judgment within established guidelines;
- Communicate effectively orally and in writing;
- Negotiate effectively and persuasively on behalf of VTA to meet tight acquisition or project deadlines and legal, regulatory, and budget constraints;
- Use tact, discretion and diplomacy in dealing with sensitive situations and parties;
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with managers, staff, consultants, other governmental agencies and their representatives, property owners, tenants, and others encountered in the course of work.
Minimum Qualifications:
Sufficient training, education, and experience to demonstrate possession of the required knowledge and abilities.
Development of the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is typically obtained through a combination of training and experience equivalent to graduation from an accredited college or university with major coursework in business administration, public administration, finance, real estate, or a related field; and five years of increasingly responsible experience in the appraisal, acquisition, relocation, design, financing, construction, and/or management of real property, with at least two years in a project lead or supervisory capacity.
Experience in acquisition of property for public use or experience with public-private development on public property is desirable.
