City Planner / City Planner Trainee

100 Santa Rosa Avenue near First Street, Santa Rosa CA

Description

APPLY ONLINE AT: The City of Santa Rosa announces an exciting opportunity to join a team of professionals performing highly responsible work in the field of urban planning and environmental analysis. Join the City and be part of a dynamic and professional team! Multiple positions available! The City of Santa Rosa is committed to building a workforce reflective of our community and establishing a lasting culture of equity and belonging within our organization. Our collective talents and expertise contribute to high-quality public services that support a vibrant, resilient, inclusive City for our community and visitors. We celebrate a diverse workforce and welcome all qualified candidates to apply. City staff will conduct an interactive Zoom Information Meeting on Wednesday, February 23, 2022 from 12:00 noon- 1:00 P.M. to provide information about the position, the selection process, and answer questions. For information on how to attend go to: City Planner: $77,427 - $108,988 Annually* City Planner Trainee: $54,199 - $76,661 annually* *Plus a 2.5% Cost of Living Adjustment scheduled for April 2022 *Plus 2% for demonstrated proficiency in Spanish The Benefits of City Employment In addition to offering a challenging, rewarding work environment and excellent salary, the City of Santa Rosa provides a generous suite of benefits, including retirement through CalPERS, a competitive leave accrual package, your choice of two health plans, a flexible spending program, employer contributions to a Retiree Health Savings plan, and top of the line employer paid vision and dental coverage. More information about City benefits can be found at: About the Positions The City has three positions open. There is one current full-time, ongoing position; one full-time, two-year limited term position; and one full-time, three-year limited term position available. Additional openings are anticipated in the near future and this recruitment can be used to fill those positions as well. For all of these opportunities, the City may fill these positions at either the City Planner OR the Trainee level. A City Planner is the primary point of service for planning issues and meets face-to-face with applicants and residents; conducts neighborhood meetings; makes staff presentations to the Planning Commission, the Design Review and Cultural Heritage Boards, the Zoning Administrator, and the Waterways Advisory Committee; and attends City Council meetings to answer questions about their assigned projects. See the Examples of Duties section for more information. A City Planner Trainee is expected to participate fully in the work of the department, in on-the-job training, and in formal professional training and education. Promotion from the trainee level to the professional journey level may occur as soon as the prescribed training is successfully completed and all requirements of the professional journey level position are satisfied, including the one year of professional experience and completion of a Bachelor's degree in a related field. Trainees are probationary employees. What We're Looking For We are looking for candidates with excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills and a commitment to providing excellent customer service. The ideal candidate is also a proven self-starter with a strong commitment to the field who thrives on managing multiple projects and working in a dynamic organization. In addition, the ideal candidate is someone who demonstrates understanding or experience working on behalf of or within communities that have been historically marginalized or underrepresented in local government. In addition to basic computer software, knowledge of GIS and/or permit software is desirable. The ability to communicate in Spanish as well as English is highly desirable. For consideration at the City Planner level, a Bachelor's Degree in Planning or a related field and minimum of one year of full-time planning experience at the professional level (above technical-level work) is required. Examples of related fields include geography, biology or other life sciences, environmental studies, political science, government, architecture, civil engineering, surveying, and atmospheric science. Trainee applicants must be able to obtain the equivalent of a Bachelor's degree in a related field within a year of hire. The Ideal City Planner candidate demonstrates a solid foundation in planning principles and practices; experience with environmental review, development review, advance planning, and/or public counter serving a city or county jurisdiction similar to Santa Rosa. Local experience is a plus. The Ideal Trainee candidate demonstrates a foundation and interest in planning principles and practices through internships, directly related coursework, class projects, and/or volunteer work; experience in the community that provided exposure to local community planning concerns, laws, environmental regulations, general plan, zoning and design standards and local social, economic, population or land use data and trends. About the Planning & Economic Development (PED) Department PED provides a wide range of development services to this dynamic, growing, and diverse community; developing long-range plans for the growth of Santa Rosa; and reviewing development proposals for consistency with those plans. These are very busy, challenging, yet rewarding times for the Department. Planning staff assist in the land use permit review, the public review process, preparing reports and presentations, conducting outreach and education, and processing both minor and major permit applications. Community outreach and engagement are key components of both new development projects as well as long-range policy development, with an emphasis on ensuring equity, inclusivity, and transparency in our planning processes. Selection Process: Applications will be carefully reviewed and evaluated. Applicants possessing the MOST DESIRABLE qualifications based on a screening of application materials, with special focus on the supplemental questionnaire, will be invited to continue in the selection process. Please complete a thoughtful, thorough supplemental questionnaire submission. Incomplete responses, or responses such as "See Resume", may not be considered. Top candidates will be referred to the hiring department for structured interviews. The hiring eligible list resulting from this recruitment may also be used to fill future City Planner or Trainee vacancies, limited term or ongoing. REQYUIRED QUALIFICATONS: Knowledge of: Principles and practices of urban planning and zoning; laws underlying general plans, zoning and land divisions; current literature, information sources and research techniques in the field of urban planning; applicable environmental laws and regulations; computer software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. Ability to: Analyze and compile technical and statistical data and prepare reports; utilize computer software to prepare professional reports, spreadsheets, maps and presentations; perform complex professional planning work with a minimum of supervision; conduct and analyze planning studies and present the findings in an understandable manner; apply planning principles and practices to specific problems and formulate recommendations; communicate clearly and concisely, orally and in writing; interpret and explain planning and zoning programs to the general public; work under pressure and meet established deadlines; establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers, representatives of other agencies, municipal officials and the public. Experience and Education: Any combination equivalent to experience and education that could likely provide the required knowledge and abilities would be qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be: Experience - Sufficient independent planning experience of a professional nature in a public planning environment. A minimum of one year of experience is required at the City Planner level. Typically this experience would be comparable to that gained in the City of Santa Rosa's Planning & Economic Development Department. Education - Equivalent to a Bachelor's degree from a college or university with major study in planning or a related field considered useful in city planning work. (For City Planner level) License or Certificate: This classification requires the ability to perform work at various locations. Individuals must be physically capable of operating a motor vehicle safely and possess a valid, Class C, California Drivers License, or be able to demonstrate the ability to travel on scheduled or unscheduled visits to various City facilities or work locations which may or may not be reachable by public transportation.