Land Planner Project Manager

Timmonsgroup1; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Timmons Group in Richmond, VA, seeks an experienced land planning leader to grow a private development practice. You will manage a small technical team, oversee entitlement projects from proposal to approval, and collaborate with senior leadership on EDAs and large developers.

You will drive quality standards, coordinate with civil, landscape, and planning professionals, and nurture key client relationships for repeat work. AICP and AI tools experience are valued.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Urban/Regional Planning, Landscape Architecture, Geography, Engineering, or related field.
• 8+ years in land planning, private development, entitlement, or economic/community development experience.
• AICP certification expected within one year of hire.
• Demonstrated leadership potential with experience supervising or mentoring staff.
• Excellent communication and client-management skills including public hearings.
• Proficiency in ArcGIS, MS Office, AutoCAD (Civil 3D a plus), and Adobe Creative Suite.
• Ability to productively use AI tools in planning and design environments.
• Experience with proposals, fee estimates, and business development activities.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Private Development Land Planning practice and manage a small technical team.
• Oversee entitlement projects from proposal through approval with cross-disciplinary coordination.
• Partner with senior leadership on fast-turnaround projects for EDAs and large developers.
• Represent clients in rezoning, SUP, and other zoning cases, including public hearings.
• Prioritize work across multiple projects to meet deadlines.
• Maintain and grow client relationships for repeat and referral work.
• Set technical best practices and review staff deliverables for quality.
• Prepare planning-level cost estimates and feasibility analyses.
• Prepare entitlement documents and graphics for code consistency.
• Attend public meetings and engage stakeholders, occasionally evenings/weekends.

Skills

Leadership

Client management

Public speaking

Communication

Team mentoring

Education

Bachelor's in Urban/Regional Planning

Tools

ArcGIS

MS Office

AutoCAD

Civil 3D

Adobe Creative Suite

AI tools

Job description

Essential Roles and Responsibilities

include but are not limited to:

Practice Leadership & Project Management (35-45%)

• Lead and grow the Private Development Land Planning practice, including day-to-day management of a small technical team - assigning work, setting priorities, and ensuring on-time, on-budget delivery.
• Manage entitlement projects from proposal through approval, coordinating internal planning, civil engineering, and landscape architecture teams.
• Partner with senior leadership on fast-turnaround projects for EDAs, large-scale developers, and rural localities.
• Represent clients in rezoning, SUP, and other zoning cases, including public engagement and hearings.
• Prioritize work across multiple concurrent projects and staff assignments to meet deadlines.
• Maintain and grow client relationships, positioning Timmons Group for repeat and referral work.

Planning & Technical Production (25-35%)

• Set and lead technical best practices and quality standards across the team's production work, reviewing staff deliverables for accuracy and consistency.
• Analyze site conditions, zoning, and regulations to develop feasible layouts for residential, commercial, mixed-use, and recreational projects.
• Prepare planning-level cost estimates and feasibility analyses to support client decisions.
• Prepare and review entitlement documents, rezoning/SUP applications, and graphics for code consistency.
• Research and author feasibility reports with engineering and planning recommendations, including program frameworks helping rural localities and EDAs address housing and mixed-use needs.
• Produce deliverables using MS Office, AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Suite, and GIS.

Business Development (15-20%)

• Partner with principals on proposal preparation, scope/fee development, and RFP/RFQ responses, including client interviews and presentations.
• Help identify and pursue new opportunities with developers, EDAs, and rural localities.

Team Development & Administration (10-15%)

• Supervise and mentor technical planning staff, including check-ins, workload balancing, feedback, and professional growth.
• Support staff recruiting, onboarding, and training as the practice grows.
• Participate in project budget/schedule reviews and internal planning meetings.
• Attend public, stakeholder, and technical committee meetings, including occasional evenings/weekends; perform other duties as assigned.

Skills & Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Urban/Regional Planning, Landscape Architecture, Geography, Engineering, or related field; Master's not required but is a plus. Experience will weigh more heavily than formal education.
• 8+ years in land planning, ideally with private development, entitlement, or economic/community development experience.
• AICP certification expected within one year of hire (not required at application).
• Demonstrated leadership potential, with prior experience supervising, mentoring, or leading technical staff strongly preferred.
• Excellent communication and client-management skills, including representing clients at public hearings.
• Strong, creative graphics skills; ability to distill complex regulatory information into clear public materials.
• Proficiency in ArcGIS is a must; also proficient with MS Office, AutoCAD (Civil 3D a plus), and Adobe Creative Suite.
• Understanding of, and capacity to productively use, AI tools in the evolving planning and design environment.
• Experience with proposals, fee estimates, and business development activities preferred.
• A high-energy, creative, flexible self-starter who thrives managing multiple concurrent client engagements.

Compensation: Our best estimate of the salary range for this position is $90,000-$120,000. Offers are based on a range of job-related factors such as internal equity, experience, skills, education, credentials and role complexity.

The requirements listed are representative of the knowledge, skills and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

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