Associate Planner
uppartners
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Job summary
Urban Planning Partners (UPP) in Oakland seeks a mid-level Associate Planner to lead projects, mentor junior staff, and contribute to proposals. You’ll grow into fuller project management and client relationships across Northern and Central California, shaping strategy and deliverables from vision to implementation.
You’ll deliver high-quality planning and CEQA work, with increasing responsibility for housing policy, design standards, and stakeholder engagement, while coordinating with
Qualifications
- 3-6 years of professional planning experience with progressive responsibility.
- Bachelor’s in planning, community development, environmental science, public administration, or related field.
- Master’s degree may substitute for 1 year of experience.
Responsibilities
- Lead small and medium planning/environmental projects as PM or Deputy PM.
- Draft and manage project descriptions, entitlement pathways, and CEQA topic sections.
- Coordinate streamlined reviews and approvals for commercial, mixed-use, and multifamily projects.
- Prepare CEQA documents (exemptions → EIRs) for infill, TOD, mixed-use, and policy projects.
- Conduct qualitative and quantitative analysis with clear logic and defensible conclusions.
- Coordinate subconsultants and maintain QA/QC across deliverables.
- Support jurisdictions adopting pro-housing policies and objective design standards.
- Review, refine, and propose ordinance updates that are implementable and durable.
- Turn complex policy into clear tools that communities and staff can use.
- Pull GIS data, perform spatial analysis, and create maps/graphics to tell the story.
- Develop graphics for reports and engagement.
- Research codes, ordinances, and official records to build sound planning pathways.
- Use Adobe/SketchUp as needed to translate ideas into accessible visuals.
- Support Bay Area jurisdictions as an extension of staff.
- Review applications for completeness, coordinate department feedback.
- Write staff reports and present clearly to Planning Commissions/City Councils.
- Design and facilitate engagement—from surveys to workshops to focus groups.
- Use inclusive approaches to reach representative voices.
- Translate community insight into planning outcomes.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
At Urban Planning Partners (UPP), we help create better places as partners with our clients and the communities where we work. Our projects are dynamic, complex, and rooted in real places and real people - spanning housing policy, CEQA review, land-use approvals, municipal planning, and community engagement throughout the Bay Area and Northern California.
We're a small, savvy team known for designing a way forward when the path isn't obvious. We innovate within existing policy, set new precedents thoughtfully, and bring clarity to the trickiest planning codes. We care about impact and about how we get there: with curiosity, rigor, collaboration, and a healthy dose of fun. Our culture values flexibility, work-life balance, and showing up for one another.
This is a mid-level, longer-term role for a planner who's ready to lead. As an Associate Planner, you've already managed smaller projects and supported big, complicated work. At UPP, you'll grow into fuller project management, mentoring, and proposal leadership-shaping both our projects and the firm alongside us.
You'll help deliver high-quality planning and CEQA work across Northern and Central California, with increasing responsibility for strategy, client relationships, and deliverables that move projects from vision to implementation.
(Responsibilities vary by experience and project needs.)
- Lead small and medium planning/environmental projects as PM or Deputy PM
- Draft and manage project descriptions, entitlement pathways, and CEQA topic sections
- Coordinate streamlined reviews and approvals for commercial, mixed-use, and multifamily projects
- Prepare CEQA documents (exemptions → EIRs) for infill, TOD, mixed-use, and policy projects
- Conduct qualitative and quantitative analysis with clear logic and defensible conclusionsCoordinate subconsultants and maintain strong QA/QC across deliverables
- Support jurisdictions adopting pro-housing policies and objective design standards
- Review, refine, and propose ordinance updates that are implementable and durable
- Turn complex policy into clear tools that communities and staff can use
- Pull GIS data, perform spatial analysis, and create maps/visuals that tell the story
- Develop graphics for reports and engagement
- Research codes, ordinances, and official records to build sound planning pathways
- Use Adobe/SketchUp as needed to translate ideas into accessible visuals
- Support Bay Area jurisdictions as an extension of staff
- Review applications for completeness, coordinate department feedback
- Write staff reports and present clearly to Planning Commissions/City Councils
- Design and facilitate engagement—from surveys to workshops to focus groups
- Use inclusive, innovative approaches to reach representative voices
- Translate community insight into planning outcomes people can see themselves in
- Lead/co-lead proposals and interview prep
- Support social media/marketing as needed
- Lead a long-term internal project (website, graphics, BD, etc.)
- Play an active role in professional organizations and the planning community
- 3-6 years of professional planning experience with progressive responsibility
- Bachelor’s in planning, community development, environmental science, public administration, or related field
- Master’s degree may substitute for 1 year of experience
- Managed 2-3 small projects (<$100K) and/or
- Served as assistant/deputy PM on 2-3 medium/large projects ($100K-$1M+)
- Excellent writing/editing, research, and analytical skills
- Strong understanding of planning process, land use policy, and/or CEQA foundation
- Organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable in a fast-paced environment
- Confident navigating ambiguity and shifting priorities
- Proactive, discerning problem-solver who knows when to ask questions and who to pull in
- Active membership in a professional organization (APA, SPUR, AEP, ULI, etc.) or clear commitment to professional development
- Eligible to work in the U.S.
- Valid California driver's license and ability to drive for company business
- Advanced GIS and graphic design (InDesign, Illustrator, SketchUp, etc.)
- Strong policy/research orientation; curiosity and love of problem solving
- Bilingual (spoken/written) relevant to local communities
You're the kind of planner who doesn't wait for perfect clarity to move a project forward-you help create it. You bring both independence and a collaborative instinct, and you know how to build momentum across teams, clients, and communities. You care about doing great work and doing it in a way that feels good to the people around you.
You take initiative in uncertain or evolving planning environments, confidently identifying creative, code-aligned solutions. Ambiguity energizes you-whether it's a zoning puzzle, a fast-moving entitlement pathway, or a CEQA question with no tidy precedent.
You've delivered shared goals within diverse teams. You manage multiple priorities, track deliverables, and help everyone stay on course for deadlines. You know when to run with a task and when to pull in principals, peers, or subconsultants for the strongest result.
You welcome feedback and continuously sharpen both your work and your process. Your deliverables are not only accurate—they're clear, persuasive, and built to last.
You build authentic relationships across stakeholders-clients, agency staff, community members, and teammates. You listen well, communicate clearly, and approach engagement with respect, inclusivity, and care.
You take pride in thorough, accurate work and don't lose sight of outcomes: approvals secured, policies adopted, and communities better served.
You connect community needs, planning policy, feasibility, and environmental constraints into actionable pathways. You synthesize qualitative and quantitative insight into recommendations that move ideas into implementation.
We're small enough that your work will matter right away-and big enough in impact that you'll keep learning. We care deeply about the places we shape and the way we show up with clients and communities. Our core values guide how we work together:
Our Oakland office is one block from 19th St BART on a quiet, tree-lined street. We're on-site Mon-Thu in a fun, collegial environment fueled by snacks and coffee (or tea!).
- Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
- Medical, dental, group life, long-term disability
- Transit reimbursement + monthly wellness stipend
- 401k with 3% company contribution + profit sharing
- Charitable donation matching + referral bonus
UPP is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply.
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