About MassDOT

An agency on the move, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) takes great pride in connecting the Commonwealth’s residents and communities. Powered by a growing data-analytics discipline – and working in conjunction with municipalities, public agencies, and the private sector – we’re finding new ways to improve the Bay State’s transportation infrastructure.

MassDOT is responsible for developing, implementing, and coordinating transportation policies and projects for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and to efficiently plan, design, construct, and maintain a safe statewide transportation system which effectively meets the transportation needs of the Commonwealth.

MassDOT’s divisions include Highway, Aeronautics, Registry of Motor Vehicles, Rail & Transit, and Planning & Enterprise Services. There are approximately 3,600 employees across the organization.

Position Summary

The Merit Rating Board (MRB) is responsible for maintaining an accurate, current, and complete database of driving records for Massachusetts vehicle drivers and vehicle owners including motor vehicle violations and traffic offenses, automobile insurance claims (at-fault accidents and comprehensive claims), and out-of-state driving records. Automobile insurance premiums may be adjusted by Massachusetts automobile insurers based upon this information, and the MRB provides access to these driving records to Massachusetts automobile insurers and other authorized organizations.

The Director of the MRB is a member of the Registrar’s Senior Staff, appointed by the Merit Rating Board. The Director oversees all activities of the MRB. The Director is responsible for leading a staff of approximately 55 employees including sections responsible for:

• traffic citation data entry,
• traffic citation payment,
• document imaging and storage of traffic citations and payments,
• insurance company services by timely responding to carrier inquiries, and
• customer service by assisting individuals with questions or concerns related to citations or payments.

The Director interacts with staff to improve and enhance MRB’s operations, including the introduction of innovative technology solutions.

The various services provided by the MRB to the automobile insurance industry, Massachusetts courts, Massachusetts law enforcement agencies, policyholders, other Registry of Motor Vehicle (RMV) departments, other state agencies and stakeholders exist within a highly technical environment. Oversight of maintenance, enhancement, and modification of ATLAS, the RMV’s Core business operational system as it relates to MRB functions, are the primary responsibilities of the Director to meet performance goals related to public safety. The Director, in managing the MRB, must coordinate department efforts to serve its wide variety of users, while adapting to their needs as technology changes and evolves.

The Director must establish, maintain, and update standard operating policies and procedures that ensure a complete and accurate database of driving history records and compliance with a complex set of regulations. The Director oversees the publishing of processing instructions for the automobile insurance industry and communicates changes in law and/or regulation to appropriate stakeholders. The editing and maintenance of accurate driver records has broad implications for the individual drivers as well as the safe and effective performance of both the MRB and the RMV – and as such, ensuring coordination and collaboration with RMV business units is a core role of the Director.

The Director manages a budget of $11.5 million annually. The Director reports directly to the Merit Rating Board. The sitting members of the Board are the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, the Commissioner of Insurance, and a designee appointed by the Attorney General. The Director will proactively engage with the board and others as designated on all MRB matters in a meeting in accordance with public law approximately once a month or when deemed necessary.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Directs the staff to accomplish the work objectives and meet goals of the department, ensuring the delivery of quality customer service to customers and establishing and monitoring operation performance goals.
• Responsible for handling all aspects of a budget consisting of approximately $11.5 Million Dollars; analyzes information to ensure all operations are within budget; forecasts future budget needs; reviews budget requests for approval and meets quarterly with RMV fiscal team to review actual budget spending compared to forecasted spending.
• Manages the data transfer and update of paper and electronic traffic citation documents from Massachusetts courts and Massachusetts police departments; manages the receipt and update of traffic citation payments and traffic citation hearing requests from individuals and organizations that have been cited for a traffic offense. Oversees the collection of $25 million in Civil Motor Vehicle Infraction assessments and hearing request fees. Oversees development of written procedures for MRB processes and operations, including, but not limited to, procedures for MRB employees and the Massachusetts automobile insurance industry regarding electronic data transfer processes and procedures for MRB employees, Massachusetts courts, Massachusetts police departments, and the other organizations involved in the reporting of traffic citations to the MRB.
• Manages the electronic data transfer of automobile insurance claims and out-of-state offenses from insurance companies; manages the electronic data transfer of driving records requests from insurance companies and responses from MRB.
• Defines operational objectives and performance measures, develops, and implements strategic plans; reviews, prepares and completes action plans; develops and implements production, productivity, quality control and customer service, error correction and problem resolution standards.
• Develops and consistently monitors performance and quality standards including the accuracy of the driving record database, the performance of the data entry staffs, and the timeliness and accuracy of data transfers from the courts, police departments, and insurance companies; resolves any performance and quality problems; and creates an ongoing productivity and quality improvement program.
• Works with MassDOT Shared Services such as Information Technology, Human Resources, Fiscal, General Services and Intergovernmental Affairs to ensure that the MRB has the needed resources and support to complete its mission.
• Participates in the development, establishment, and appraisal of new or enhanced department-wide policies and procedures; and establishes and tests controls to ensure operational effectiveness and efficiency, reliability of data collection and reporting, and compliance with policies and legal requirements.
• Maintains professional knowledge by staying informed on Massachusetts laws and regulations that affect MRB operations.
• Oversees the production of statistical and other reports from MRB databases, including, but not limited to, Insurance Company Monthly Statements for inquiry and claims submissions, monthly Police Department Statements for each department tracking each citation batch submitted, monthly criminal citation and hearing result submissions from each court, quarterly reports of traffic violations sorted by year written and police department which are distributed to several state agencies, daily traffic citation backlog reports to monitor the number and age of each traffic citation waiting to be entered, and weekly citation reports by data entry person to monitor productivity, and such other reports as MRB board members request.
• Communicates and interacts with other state agencies, court representatives, law enforcement personnel, automobile insurance industry personnel, insurance producers, insurance producer associations, insurance company service bureaus, and other organizations to provide information regarding the MRB’s policies and procedures or systems changes.
• Recommends new legislation and amendments; analyzes proposed legislative and regulatory changes, including providing information on the impact of proposed changes; testifies at legislative committee hearings and public hearings.
• Interprets and explains motor vehicle violation citation statistics to other agencies, representatives of the media and the public.
• Meets with the law enforcement community to discuss motor vehicle citation processing procedures and submission statistics and to assist with the design of the Massachusetts Uniform Traffic Citation and publication of the Motor Vehicle Violation Citation Handbook.
• Identifies the need for outside vendor services where appropriate and in collaboration with MassDOT’s Procurement Department manages MRB’s procurement processes, including the evaluation of responses to Requests for Responses (RFR), Requests for Proposals (RFP), and Requests for Information (RFI).
• Responds to inquiries and provides reports and information to board members, attends board meetings, regularly affords proactive guidance and forecasts for the board regarding MRB performance, identifies for the board obstacles to the completion of the MRB’s mission, notifies the board of any additional work or responsibilities that the MRB has been asked to assume.

Competencies Required

• Demonstrated record in building trust and ensuring transparency in all work.
• Proven ability to implement updated and innovative practices that actively work towards the mission of the Merit Rating Board.
• Able to clearly set team expectations, measure progress towards success and ensure that individuals have the capability to meet goals.
• Adept at motivating a team to accomplish goals; strong communicator with team and key stakeholders to ensure collaboration.
• Proven record of meeting the needs of constituents with high quality service.
• Ability to build consensus through cooperation to accomplish goals.
• Experienced in establishing data standards and procedures, advanced user of data and databases.
• Knowledge of and ability to apply appropriate principles, procedures, requirements, regulations, and policies.
• Ability to understand and interpret extensive regulatory requirements and design systems to ensure compliance.
• Applicants are required to successfully satisfy: (i) a comprehensive name-based and fingerprint-based background check of their state and federal criminal history records information from all U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and certain U.S. Territories and from some foreign nations; (ii) an employment reference check, and (iii) a satisfactory review of their driving records to be eligible for this position.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated success in managing a large organization.
• Exceptionally strong communication and facilitation skills, both written and verbal, and the ability to interact effectively and professionally with staff and third parties.
• Demonstrated capabilities as a proactive team builder who has a history of attracting, developing, and retaining a high-performance staff.
• Strong technology skills are essential; candidate must be personally capable and comfortable with the application of technology to perform analysis to assess the quality and meaning of data sets.
• Experience with various information technology and software platforms and programs, including knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite (especially Excel).
• Demonstrated ability to prepare reports based on data analysis and present findings to the board.
• Experience with ATLAS or similar database systems.
• Ability to develop and implement new policies and procedures to achieve department goals and objectives and understanding of impact on service delivery.
• Demonstrated experience in analysis and planning with the ability to analyze and anticipate situations, define problems and objectives, recognize alternatives, and formulate solutions.
• Excellent analytical skills and strong problem-solving skills to develop innovative solutions to issues.
• Ability to manage, lead and coordinate projects.
• Self-motivated with strong organizational skills and superior attention to detail.
• Must be able to manage multiple tasks/projects simultaneously with inflexible time frames.
• Ability to adapt to frequent priority changes.
• Experience with implementing changes and improvements at technology reliant organizations.
• Demonstrated quantitative skills.
• Familiarity with rules and regulations governing the Safe Driver Insurance Plan (SDIP) and related insurer merit rating systems.

All prospective applicants should be aware that this position will be filled by the Merit Rating Board. Application materials, including resumes, may be reviewed by the members of the Merit Rating Board and, unless otherwise exempted from the Public Records Law (MGL Ch. 66, sec. 10), may be subject to release upon request. In addition, prospective applicants should know that interviews for the position may be conducted by the Merit Rating Board during a public meeting.

Minimum Entrance Requirements

First consideration will be given to those applicants that apply within the first 14 days.

All job applications must be submitted online through MassCareers to be considered.

Applicants must have at least (A) seven (7) years of full-time or, equivalent part-time, professional, administrative, supervisory, or managerial experience in business administration, business management, public administration, public management, clinical administration, or clinical management of which (B) at least three (3) years must have been in a managerial capacity.

• For questions regarding the job posting, email heather.sweeney@dot.state.ma.us.
• For general questions regarding MassDOT, call the Human Resources Service Center at 857-368-4722.
• For a disability -related reasonable accommodation or alternative application method, call ADA Coordinator, Heather Ulesoo 617-851-9447.

An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer. Females, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.