Principal Planner

Concord Communications; Concord (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

CalPERS pension

Health insurance plans

Vacation and sick leave

Tuition reimbursement

Retirement options

FSAs

Job summary

The City of Concord is seeking a Principal Planner in the Community Development Department. The incumbent will oversee current development and long-range planning projects, supervise planning staff, and help implement housing element programs and policy updates in alignment with state law.

Ideal candidates bring extensive public-sector planning experience, strong leadership skills, and the ability to manage multiple projects within budget and time constraints.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience managing current development and long-range planning projects.
• Experience supervising staff and leading teams in a public agency.
• Experience with General Plan amendments, rezoning, and housing element updates is highly desired.

Responsibilities

• Oversee or directly manage current development and long-range planning projects.
• Provide supervisory guidance to planning staff and coordinate with other City divisions.
• Develop and implement housing element programs and development code updates in compliance with state law.

Job description

Principal Planner

The City of Concord is currently seeking to fill one Principal Planner vacancy in the Community Development Department. Ideal candidates possess extensive experience in current development and long range planning projects, both as project managers and as supervisors or team leaders.

The Community Development Department

The City of Concord’s Community Development Department, or CDD, is home to the Planning, Building, Engineering, and Housing and Community Services divisions, which work together to maintain and improve the quality of life for residents, businesses and visitors.

The Planning Division implements and administers the policy direction of the City Council and addresses the community's needs regarding its built environment, development and growth. To this end, the Planning Division provides the public with information about development and use regulations, develops long-range planning policies and plans, evaluates development projects, implements housing programs, and assists with the Concord Reuse Project to develop the former Concord Naval Weapons Station.

What You Will Be Doing

The Principal Planner oversees or directly manages current development and long range planning projects, public policy development, and implementation of various polices and programs. The Principal Planner reports to the Planning Manager and provides management-level supervision to assigned staff on current development and long range/policy projects, as well as general assistance in day-to-day management of the Planning Division.

More specifically, this position may oversee the implementation of Housing Element programs (e.g. amending the City's Affordable Housing Incentive Program), Development Code updates for conformance with state law (e.g., SB 9 ordinance) or general "clean-up," and implementation of cannabis regulations and agreements.

We Are Looking For Someone Who

• Possesses extensive experience in either current development projects, long range planning projects, or both. This includes experience managing complex development projects and creating and/or implementing policies for public agencies, particularly housing policy.
• Has specific experience with General Plan amendments and rezoning. Experience in Specific Plan development/implementation and General Plan amendments/updates, including Housing Element updates and implementation is highly desired.
• Has the ability to manage multiple projects while concurrently adhering to established budgets and timeframes.
• Possesses exceptional oral and written communication skills, including active listening skills, clear articulation, and the ability to adapt communication style when engaging with the public, community stakeholders, developers, and elected officials. Is sensitive to and addresses potential concerns of elected and appointed officials when presenting projects.
• Has supervisory experience and excels at mentoring, coaching, and motivating less experienced staff.
• Embraces and is guided by the City’s Mission, Vision and Values.

What We Offer

The City of Concord offers the opportunity to take part in a collaborative and exciting work experience, where you can grow in your career while working alongside the community to make Concord a city of the highest quality. The City is an employer that invests in its employees’ professional and personal development, values work-life balance, is dedicated to employee wellness and provides numerous benefit and retirement options, to include the following:

• Participation in CalPERS pension, tiered based on date of hire
• A variety of health care plans or a cash-in-lieu benefit of $200 if waiving coverage
• City-paid dental insurance; employee-paid vision insurance
• Vacation accruals starting at 15 days per year, 12 days of sick leave per year, 11 paid holidays per year, plus 80 hours of administrative leave per year
• Generous tuition reimbursement program
• 401(k) and 457 deferred compensation plans, including an employer paid contribution of 3% plus $2000 annually
• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) for healthcare, dependent care and commuting costs
• Life insurance in the amount of twice the annual salary (up to $400,000 max) and disability insurance
• A wellness program that offers annual health expos, health and nutrition education, as well as a variety of mental health resources
• Salary is negotiable within the advertised range. Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice. Additional information can be found at www.cityofconcord.org.

The Community

Nestled in the foothills of Mt. Diablo, Concord is a major East Bay community located 29 miles east of San Francisco and 58miles north of San Jose. With a population of almost 130,000 residents occupying an area of 31 square miles, Concord is the largest city in Contra Costa County. The City’s central location offers easy access to the entire Bay Area including Oakland, San Francisco, and the Silicon Valley. Concord has much to offer; its local lifestyle reflects a careful blending of the City’s early California heritage, along with modern planned development. It is a harmonious community of quiet neighborhoods, an excellent park system, convenient shopping centers, large preserves of open space, a state-of-the-art hospital, and a wide variety of restaurants. Additionally, diverse public and private educational opportunities for students of all ages are available in Concord. Concord residents enjoy a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and mild winters. The ideal weather and natural beauty of Concord make the area ideal for visitors and locals seeking active outdoor activities. In Concord, where “Families Come First,” one is never far from a park or an open green space for active play or just relaxing. Todos Santos Plaza, the heart of downtown Concord, features a year-round Farmer’s Market, several seasonal and community celebrations, as well as serving as a wonderful outdoor space for all to enjoy.

SELECTION PROCESS

• All qualified applications and supplemental responses will be competitively evaluated, and those candidates demonstrating the strongest qualifications for the position will be invited to participate in a panel interview. If you are selected to participate in the panel interview and are unavailable, we regret that we will not be able to reschedule you.

Conviction History

If you receive a conditional job offer, you will be fingerprinted, and your fingerprints will be sent to the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The resulting report of your conviction history (if any) will be used to determine whether the nature of your conviction conflicts with the specific duties and responsibilities of the job for which you have received a conditional job offer. If a conflict exists, you will be asked to present any evidence of rehabilitation that may mitigate the conflict, except when federal or state regulations bar employment in specific circumstances. Having a conviction history does not automatically preclude you from a job with the City of Concord.

Examples of duties include, but are not limited to

• Coordinates the duties of assigned planning staff and performs activities pertaining to the processing of applications for consideration by the City Council, Planning Commission, Design Review Board, Zoning Administrator, and other bodies, as assigned.
• May act as Zoning Administrator and conduct hearings on applications as well as take action on applications under the jurisdiction of the Zoning Administrator which do not require hearings.
• Supervises professional Planners on assigned projects; coordinates and provides lead direction to consultants; coordinates and reviews the preparation of reports and correspondence; participates in the coordination of the Permit Center.
• Coordinates and participates in meetings to provide and receive information regarding applications and proposed plans and ordinances. Makes presentations before authoritative bodies such as the City Council, Planning Commission, Design Review Board, and other agencies, as assigned.
• Performs complex project management duties.
• Promotes the City's Mission to make Concord a city of the highest quality by providing responsive, cost-effective, and innovative government services; understands and subscribes to the Vision and Values statement adopted by the City.

Qualifications

Competencies, Knowledge and Abilities

Public Planning – Knowledge of functions, principles, methods, and techniques of public sector planning including land use planning, urban design, planning and zoning law, and environmental impact analysis.

Planning and Evaluating – Determines objectives and strategies, coordinates with other parts of the organization to accomplish goals, monitors and evaluates the progress and outcomes of operational plans, and anticipates potential threats and/or opportunities.

Land Use and Development – Knowledge of the principles and tools relevant to land use planning, development, regulations, and permitting.

Reading – Understands and interprets written material including technical material, rules, regulations, instructions, reports, charts, graphs, or tables, and applies what is learned from written material to specific situations.

Writing – Recognizes and uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information in a succinct and organized manner, and produces written information which may include technical material that is appropriate for the intended audience.

Oral Communication – Expresses information to individuals or groups effectively taking into account the audience and nature of the information, makes clear and convincing oral presentations, listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

Supervision – Knowledge of supervisory theories and methods sufficient to be able to perform a variety of lead work functions.

Process Development/Improvement – Uses experience and observation to map existing processes and identify improvements, or develops new processes and procedures to address existing gaps.

Technical Competence – Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training and extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job, works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job, and advises others on technical issues.

Information Management – Identifies a need for and knows where or how to gather information and organizes and maintains information or information management systems.

Technology Application – Uses machines, tools, instruments, and/or equipment effectively and uses computer applications to analyze and communicate information in the appropriate format.

Self-Direction – Sets goals, takes initiative in implementing ideas, systems, or policies that affect a planning area, manages time efficiently, encourages feedback, and invests in self- development.

Vision – Understands where the organization is headed and how to make a contribution, takes a long-term view, and recognizes opportunities to help the organization accomplish its objectives or move toward the vision.

External Awareness – Identifies and understands economic, political, and social trends that affect the organization.

Interpersonal Skills – Shows understanding, courtesy, tact, empathy, and concern, develops and maintains relationships, may deal with people who are difficult, hostile, and/or distressed, relates well to people from varied backgrounds and situations, and is sensitive to individual differences.

Problem Solving – Identifies problems, determines accuracy and relevance of information, uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives and to make recommendations, and initiates actions aligned with the strategic objectives of the section, unit, or project.

Decisiveness – Commits to action, even in uncertain situations, by making sound and timely decisions necessary to carry out projects, ideas, systems, or policies that affect the planning area. Legal, public, and financial consequences are generally limited to related area(s).

Reasoning – Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information, analyzes information, and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions.

Team Building – Encourages and facilitates cooperation and open communication, promotes team work at all levels, cooperates with staff, higher-level managers, peers, administrative staff from other organizations, internal and external customers, and local stakeholder groups to accomplish goals.

Diversity – Is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, and other individual differences in the workforce.

Customer Service – Works with customers to assess needs, provide assistance, resolves problems, and satisfy expectations, knows products and services, and is committed to providing quality products and services.

Teaching Others – Helps others learn through formal or informal methods, identifies training needs, provides constructive feedback, coaches others on how to perform tasks, and acts as a mentor.

Creative Thinking – Uses imagination to develop new insights into situations,