Associate Planner

Oakland County; Waterford Charter Township (MI); Hybrid; USD 67,241 - 90,090; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Professional development

Education assistance

Job summary

Oakland County is seeking an Associate Planner to support countywide and community planning initiatives with a focus on smart growth and sustainable development.

You will assist in land use studies, zoning reviews, and public engagement while developing reports for decision-makers. This early-career role offers hands-on experience working with a multidisciplinary team within a mission-driven public service environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in urban planning or related field.
• One year planning or GIS-related work experience.
• Must have a valid driver’s license and license validity confirmation.
• Must pass the required employment examination.
• Successful completion of six-month probation period.

Responsibilities

• Assist planning, development, and implementation of countywide and community plans.
• Apply planning principles and statutory requirements to land use and planning.
• Research housing, mobility, sustainability, and growth management trends.
• Develop studies supporting long-range planning (demographic, econ, transport, land use).
• Review rezoning requests and master plan updates; draft reports with recommendations.
• Present updates at public and stakeholder meetings.
• Use county/department software to analyze data and complete tasks.
• Support community engagement and outreach, gather feedback, plan events.

Skills

Public planning

GIS knowledge

Communication

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor's in Urban Planning

One year planning experience

Valid driver’s license

Pass employment examination

Six month probation

Tools

GIS software

MS Office

Job description

Overview & Benefits

Oakland County is more than just a workplace. It is a place where you can make a real difference. As one of Michigan’s leading public service organizations, we are committed to strengthening communities, delivering essential services, and improving the quality of life for nearly 1.3 million residents. When you join our team, you become part of a mission-driven workforce guided by integrity, innovation, and a passion for public service. We offer competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, and the opportunity to do meaningful work that matters. For more information about Oakland County benefits and employee perks, please visit: https://www.oakgov.com/government/human-resources/benefits/new-hire

General Summary

$67,241 - $90,090

This is a hybrid position

Are you passionate about community planning and development, land use, and creating vibrant places to live and work? As an Associate Planner, you'll play an important role by supporting planning initiatives and programs that promote smart growth principles, sustainable development strategies, and thriving communities. This is an excellent opportunity for an early-career planning professional to gain hands-on experience, collaborate with a multidisciplinary team, and make a meaningful impact on the communities we serve. If you're eager to launch or grow your planning career while making a lasting impact on your community, we'd love to hear from you.

What You’ll Do

• Assist with the planning, development, and implementation of countywide and community-specific planning initiatives and projects.
• Apply planning principles, methodologies, and applicable statutory requirements to land use and community planning initiatives.
• Conduct research on emerging trends in housing, mobility, environmental sustainability, resilience, demographic change, economic development and innovative approaches to growth management.
• Assist in developing economic, demographic, transportation, environmental, housing, recreation, and land use studies that support long-range planning efforts.
• Review and evaluate rezoning applications, community master plan updates and amendments, and prepare reports with recommendations for decision-makers.
• Present planning information and project updates at public meetings, stakeholder meetings, and other project-related events.
• Utilize county and department software applications to analyze data, prepare reports, and complete project assignments.
• Contribute to community engagement efforts, helping develop outreach strategies, managing event logistics, summarizing feedback, and supporting inclusive public participation.

Why You’ll Love It Here

• You'll work alongside experienced planning professionals, contribute to meaningful projects, and gain valuable experience in land use planning, development review, community engagement, and long-range planning.
• You will build strong professional skills in research, project coordination, time management, and technical reporting.
• Community meetings, events, trainings, and real-world project involvement will give you practical insight into community and place-based development.
• Your work will support programs, initiatives, trainings, and analysis that preserve local character, promote community identity, and strengthen partnerships.

Minimum Qualifications

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS WITHIN GENERAL PLANNING

Analyzes defined planning issues, and develops specific related goals and objectives. Assists in implementing planning projects and strategies, and monitoring and evaluating them. Assists in developing methodologies and structure for planning projects including legal requirements and best practices for implementation. As assigned performs research and analysis on new and emerging techniques for land use control and change management. Prepares impact analyses on basic submitted land use proposals and issues, master plan elements and other special studies. Prepares reports and makes recommendations on less complex rezoning proposals and master plans, and makes presentations to government officials and citizens. Researches social, economic, housing, transportation, land use and other data for county planning purposes. As directed represents the division and confers with personnel of other agencies, public officials, other employees and the public. Assists in the collection of data for county planning projects using a variety of techniques, including the use of statistics. Participates as a presenter at project related meetings. May be required to work an adjusted schedule involving evening hours and/or weekends to attend municipal boards and related project meetings or activities. Utilizes current Countywide and/or department specific software to complete assignments.

ESSENTIAL MENTAL & PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Ability to communicate to accurately convey information.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Work is performed in a typical office environment. May be required to travel to business and/or construction sites.

IMPORTANT NOTE

The primary purpose of this job description is to set a fair and equitable salary range for this job classification. Generally, only those key duties necessary for proper job evaluation and/or labor market analysis have been included. Other duties and responsibilities will be assigned by the supervisor.

EXPERIENCE, TRAINING, KNOWLEDGES, SKILLS & ABILITIES REQUIRED MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS WITHIN THE GENERAL CLASS AND GIS

1. Possess a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in Urban Planning, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Geography or a related field.
2. Have had at least one (1) year of full-time progressively responsible work experience in city, county or regional planning, private consulting planning, Geographic Information Systems, or other closely related professional planning experience.
3. Must maintain a valid motor vehicle operator's license. Out of Country driver's license holders will be required to obtain the appropriate valid State of Michigan driver's license before the hire date.
4. Pass the complete examination, including the employment medical, established for this classification.
5. Successfully complete the six month probationary period.

ADDITIONAL DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

1. Considerable knowledge of principles and practices of city, urban, and regional planning.
2. Considerable knowledge of the relationship of different land uses, of the economic factors in influencing urban development, and of the general legal and social determinants of community development.
3. Considerable knowledge of and ability to utilize current word processing, spreadsheet, database, e-mail and Internet software.
4. Reasonable knowledge of anticipated and accepted local, state and federal planning practices according to legislation affecting land use planning.
5. Reasonable knowledge to correlate court cases and legal precedents and decisions to land use, zoning and subdivision control.
6. Reasonable ability to apply and identify data research techniques in the preparation and presentation of comprehensive master plans.
7. Reasonable ability to speak effectively before professional and civic groups public gatherings, and in presenting reports, plans, proposals and recommendations to government committees and agencies.
8. Reasonable ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with administrators, public and private officials or organizations and the general public.
9. Reasonable ability to follow complex written and oral instructions.
10. Reasonable ability to make routine decisions in accordance with established departmental policies and procedures.
11. Ability to use standard computer GIS, desktop publishing, word processing, spreadsheet and database programs.
12. Reasonable knowledge of the principles, techniques and source of information applicable to the collection, compilation, analysis and presentation of data pertaining to city, urban, land use planning.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

Must maintain a valid motor vehicle operator or chauffeur's license. Additional Minimum Qualifications Union* BU91 - United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 889: Economic Dev Non-Supv *If applicable

EEO Statement

We are committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances.

Inclusion Statement

Oakland County is committed to welcoming applicants from all backgrounds, including those with prior convictions, as we believe in providing equal opportunities for all. We value the unique perspectives and experiences each individual brings to our team and are dedicated to fostering an inclusive, supportive workplace.

All candidates are evaluated based on their ability to meet the job requirements, legal obligations and thrive in our organization.

At Oakland County, we offer a stable and supportive work environment, competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits, professional development, and generous education assistance program. We value the dedication and hard work of our team and our commitment to the communities we serve - it's at the heart of our success. We're always seeking new ways to enhance our workplace and foster a culture of growth, inclusion, and innovation. We believe that our people are our greatest asset, and our future depends on the diverse perspectives, experiences, and talents of our team. Join us on our mission to keep Oakland County a vibrant place to live, work, and play.