Senior Planner (Hazard Mitigation)

The Personnel Board of Jefferson County Alabama; Birmingham (AL); On-site; USD 60,000 - 94,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Birmingham is seeking a well-qualified Senior Planner to join the Hazard Mitigation Division. You will review submissions for zoning, land use, and floodplain regulations, and act as a liaison to committees and citizens about development activities. Work is under a supervisor for policy adherence.

Responsibilities include preparing and presenting findings, managing planning projects, and contributing to strategies while ensuring compliance with city codes and state regulations.

Qualifications

• Experience writing or preparing hazard mitigation or long-range planning elements.
• Ability to analyze demographic, land-use, or market data.
• Experience interpreting zoning, floodplain, or subdivision regulations.
• Experience presenting to public bodies and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Review drawings, maps, surveys, and applications for compliance with codes and ordinances.
• Communicate with contractors, developers, and the public to explain regulations.
• Process zoning, subdivision, or case files with research and findings.
• Serve as staff liaison to planning commissions and boards.
• Support short- and long-range planning and ordinance revisions.
• Manage grants, project scope, budgets, and timelines.

Skills

Hazard mitigation

Long-range planning

Data analysis

Public presentations

Communication with public

Education

Bachelor's degree in Planning or related field

Job description

Senior Planner (Hazard Mitigation) - City of Birmingham

Current employees of any Merit System agency should click "Apply-Internal." All others should click "Apply-External."

LOCATIONS: Birmingham

TARGET CLOSE DATE:

10/02/2026

PAY GRADE:

Grade 26

TYPE:

Full time

JOB SUMMARY:

The City of Birmingham is seeking a well-qualified and motivated Senior Planner to join their Hazard Mitigation Division. Senior Planners focus on reviewing submission documents such as drawings, maps, surveys, and applications related to development projects to ensure compliance with City and department requirements and ordinances. Individuals in this job class also act as liaisons for the department to various committees, commissions, and citizens to communicate activities taking place, and to provide information related to project development within the community. Their work is performed under the general direction of a supervisor and is reviewed for completeness and adherence to policies and procedures.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:

The City of Birmingham provides competitive pay and comprehensive benefits packages to include medical and dental insurance, employer-sponsored retirement plan (pension), generous paid holidays, sick and vacation leave, and more. The pay range for this job is listed below:

$60,486 - $93,828

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

The following are job-related qualifications that are required for employment consideration for this position:

Option A:

• Driver's license.
• Experience writing, developing, or preparing hazard mitigation plans and long-range planning elements, such as land-use planning, environmental planning, and demographics.
• Experience collecting and analyzing data (e.g., demographic, land-use survey, market, census) in preparation for a planning study.
• Experience writing, developing, preparing, and interpreting current planning functions or development regulations, including zoning, subdivision, and floodplain regulations.
• Experience implementing long-range, short-range plans and hazard mitigation plans and developing appropriate regulations to specific situations.
• Experience developing and delivering presentations to the public, public bodies, and other stakeholders (e.g., civic and business organizations, neighborhood associations, public hearings).

Option B:

• Driver's license.
• Bachelor's degree in Planning, Urban Planning, Emergency Management, Urban Studies, Public Administration, Environmental Management, or a related degree.
• Experience writing, developing, or preparing hazard mitigation plans and/or long-range planning elements, such as land-use planning, environmental planning, and demographics.
• Experience developing and delivering presentations to the public, public bodies, and other stakeholders (e.g., civic and business organizations, neighborhood associations, public hearings).

TYPICAL JOB DUTIES:

• Reviews drawings, maps, surveys, and applications for various purposes (e.g., zoning, subdivisions, building, addressing, construction permits) to ensure compliance with departmental requirements and County/City codes and ordinances.
• Communicates with various individuals (e.g., contractors, realtors, engineers, developers, general public) in order to answer questions and explain ordinances relating to flood plain, zoning, signage, subdivision, future land use, and the comprehension plan.
• Processes cases or projects (e.g., re-zoning cases, subdivision cases, variances) by conducting research, analysis, and findings of cases in order to ensure accuracy and adherence to best planning practices.
• Acts as a staff liaison to various committees/commissions (e.g., Planning and Zoning Commission, Zoning Board of Adjustment, Subdivision Committee, Zoning Advisory Committee, Historic Preservation, Planning and Zoning, Design Review Board, Board of Landscape Design) in order to gather feedback, relay information and deliver presentations.
• Participates in strategic, current, and long-range planning and ordinance revisions by conducting research and analyzing various data (e.g., demographic reports, neighborhood revitalization plans) to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations.
• Manages federal and state project-based grants to include defining and managing the project scope and deliverables, troubleshooting problem areas, and overseeing project budgets, timelines and contingency plans.
• Manages hazard mitigation and/or disaster recovery programs and watershed and/or floodplain planning programs by developing management plans, protocols, and procedures to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations and requirements.
• Researches other adopted city or county long-range plans to ensure the site development plans/projects are consistent with the stated goals of the long-range plan.
• Reviews site and development plans for adherence to development regulations required through the Zoning Ordinance and, when appropriate, approves them.
• Conducts or participates in neighborhood or public involvement meetings to inform citizens about projects in their community and to obtain feedback.
• Interprets codes and ordinances to ensure compliance with applicable federal regulations and programs.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

Job is primarily sedentary involving sitting for long periods of time, but may involve occasional walking or standing for brief periods. May involve occasional light lifting of items or objects weighing up to 25 lbs.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Work is conducted mostly indoors in an office setting, with periodic field visits to external indoor or outdoor locations. Work involves use of standard office equipment, such as computer, phone, copier, etc.

EEO STATEMENT:

The Personnel Board of Jefferson Countyprovides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment with the Personnel Board of Jefferson County, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. Each Merit System member city/agencyoperates its own equal employment opportunity policies available on the individual city/agency website.

ACCOMMODATION:

To request an accommodation in the application or hiring process due to your own ongoing medical condition or disability, please contact our Accommodations Coordinator at [e-mail] or phone at 205-279-3500 (select option 1) Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time. The accommodation process is reserved solely for job seekers with disabilities requesting accessibility assistance or accommodation in the job application process.

NOTE:

This job posting may close before, or be extended beyond, the listed Target Close Date based on the employment needs of the Merit System. More detail regarding this job is available by clicking Apply.

DISCLAIMER:

This job posting is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of the job duties, responsibilities, or skills and abilities required for this position and may be changed at the discretion of the Personnel Board at any time.