Principal Planner

Alexandria, VA, United States

Principal Planner

The City of Alexandria is located in Northern Virginia and is bordered by the Nation's Capital, Washington, DC, via the Potomac River, and Arlington, and Fairfax counties. With a population of approximately 160,000 and a land area of 15.75 square miles, Alexandria is the seventh largest City in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Alexandria has a beautiful waterfront that underwent a recent City redevelopment planning process, resulting in beautiful passive and active park space, riverfront restaurants, housing, and the preservation of historic and cultural attractions for residents and tourists alike to enjoy.  The waterfront is steps aways from City Hall where this position will be located within the Neighborhood Planning and Community Development (NPCD) Division of the Department of Planning & Zoning.   Through other long-range planning work, lead or supported by NPCD, several neighborhoods are undergoing revitalization processes that are collaborative, inclusive and visionary.  Additionally, City-wide initiatives are being undertaken relative to housing choice and affordability; arts and entertainment areas; institutionally based around K-12 schools, higher education, hospitals and other facilities; and zoning reform.  We invite those who have a strong interest, and experience, in long-range and community planning to be part of the NPCD team through this Principal Planner position.  In addition to offering exciting projects, the City of Alexandria is a great place to work, with excellent benefits and a collegial and diverse work environment; it supports work/life balance with an award-winning Wellness program and it offers professional development resources; and provides opportunities for expanded compensation through earned annual merit increases. The City is a quick and comfortable Metro ride away from other parts of this amenity rich, historical yet contemporary, and cosmopolitan yet quaint region. We invite qualified candidates to apply for our  Principal Planner position in the Neighborhood Planning and Community Development Division.

An Overview:

The P rincipal Planner for the Neighborhood Planning and Community Development Division will lead a team responsible for developing small area plans and/or executing other planning and implementation initiatives. The ideal candidate  should be a leader who brings out the best in the team that they supervise, who embraces innovative thinking, who demonstrates passion and enthusiasm for the planning field, and who thrives in a diverse, collaborative, and dynamic environment.

What You Should Bring:

The ideal candidate should be an experienced and innovative planning professional with community planning experience in comparable urban settings. The incumbent should bring the following skills, experience, and attributes to the position:

Highly motivated team player with strong planning skills, project management experience, excellent judgement, and an innovative approach to complex planning challenges.

Experience applying urban planning concepts including design of people-oriented urban spaces, housing affordability, open space, connectivity and mobility, climate resiliency, development economics and the ability to read and analyze site plans.

Demonstrated ability to quickly assimilate complex information, discern challenges, and devise  effective innovative solutions.

Demonstrated skill and ease in presenting to a range of small and large audiences, and the ability to explain complex concepts in a clear and engaging manner.

Experience in local government and communicating with policymakers, senior level managers, interdepartmental staff and intergovernmental entities; and

Demonstrated leader who enjoys supervising, mentoring, motivating, problem solving, and providing constructive criticism to an experienced team of professionals.

The Opportunity:

Lead planning teams and provide project management on small area plans, plan implementation initiatives, and other special planning policy or analysis initiatives.

Design and implement community engagement strategies for planning processes, striving for equitable, meaningful, transparent community engagement.

Collaborate with professional planners in P&Z, in other City Departments, and with other agencies to e ngage the community in creating Small Area Plans that reflect their desires and the City’s strategic goals.

Write comprehensive and concise narrative for plans, staff reports, and other documents as needed.

Create graphics that convey complex concepts in simple understandable ways for presentations and printed materials.

Deliver dynamic presentations to community groups, Commissions, and City Council.

Supervise junior planners to provide professional guidance, motivation, technical direction, and mentorship.

Contribute to high level policy discussions and opportunities for innovation.

Manage multiple complex projects and teams at the same time; and

Lead and facilitate discussions and Q&A for internal, interdepartmental and community meetings.

About the Department:

P&Zworks closely with communities to carry out the City's Strategic Plan, fostering amenity-rich, service-oriented and equity-balanced neighborhoods; protecting historic and cultural resources; and supporting diverse and creative businesses. In developing neighborhood plans, reviewing development proposals, and promoting economic vitality.   We continue our commitment to collaborate with all stakeholder groups to honor the character of each neighborhood and to strengthen and sustain them, and Alexandria as a whole, for now and in the future.      Four-Year College Degree, at least five years of progressively responsible experience in urban or transportation planning and management of large-scale urban projects, and completion of college-level courses in urban planning, transportation or transit planning, public administration, engineering, geography, or a related field, or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

The ideal candidate will have a Master's Degree in urban planning  or a closely related field and AICP Certification (or equivalent) and at least six years of demonstrated professional experience and expertise in urban planning (or a closely related field) applying the following skills: neighborhood planning, community development, urban design, affordable housing, real estate economics, environmental planning and climate resiliency, transportation, and equitable community engagement/facilitation.  The successful incumbent will have demonstrated ability to handle multiple large complex projects simultaneously and progressive project management experience, including at least four years supervising junior planners and leading project teams to complete community driven small area plans. The successful incumbent should also have experience reviewing development site plans, excellent written and presentation communication skills, including at least four years of experience presenting to community groups, Boards, and Commissions, and elected bodies, and demonstrated expertise  working with Adobe Creative Suite, AutoCAD (or equivalent) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to produce creative, engaging and informative material for a variety of audiences.  The ideal candidate has demonstrated knowledge and experience in equity-oriented community engagement and successfully reaching historically marginalized communities.

This position requires the successful completion of a pre-employment background check.

THE STARTING SALARY IS BASED ON EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE AND APPLICANTS CAN EXPECT AN OFFER WITHIN THE SALARY RANGE OF $78,467.48 TO $105,110.20.

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