Principal Planner

About Alexandria

The City of Alexandria is in northern Virginia and is bordered by the District of Columbia (Potomac River), 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 charming waterfront and is a unique and historic place to live and work.

With two local historic districts, seven national register districts, and a variety of distinct neighborhoods, we proudly embrace our rich history and seize the endless opportunities that lie ahead. If you are interested in working for the vibrant City of Alexandria, we invite qualified candidates to apply for our Principal Planner position leading the Public Facilities Development Team within the Department of Planning & Zoning.

This Principal Planner position is primarily responsible for supervising a team of professional planners and performing regulatory review of public facilities and other development plans from concept phase through construction in the Planning & Zoning's Development Planning Division. The Principal Planner will work with the Division Chief and other Principal Planners to manage work assignments within the Division; lead communications and meetings on development cases;

oversee the review of letters, staff reports and presentations prepared by their review team; and present recommendations to City Council, Planning Commission and various civic groups. This planning position will be responsible for a wide range of development projects, as well as working within an interdisciplinary team environment to bring new planning efforts forward. While it is possible that teams within the Development Planning Division will be reassigned occasionally, the Principal Planner for this position will lead a team assigned to the Potomac Yard area of the City and handle all applications for public facilities, including schools, parks, and major infrastructure projects.

This Principal Planner should demonstrate leadership while working with various city departments and community groups in a collaborative team environment and encourage a collaborative approach among assigned team members. The Planner should demonstrate knowledge of current literature and recent practices in public sector planning, and the ability to explore creative ideas that facilitate innovative planning and development. The ideal candidate must be a highly motivated planner able to provide analytical assistance on complex development review applications by applying knowledge of planning and zoning regulations and policies to actual development and construction projects.

The candidate must have strong analytical, written and oral communication skills and be able to work independently, have excellent and responsive customer service skills, the ability to handle multiple projects within established deadlines, and the ability to work effectively with the public and City agencies to resolve issues.

• Manage the workflow of the assigned team;
• Guide assigned staff in the review of public and private development projects and in the preparation of special studies and policy initiatives;
• Implement and support the development team with completing One Start to streamline development review;
• Support the efforts of various departments implementing the City’s CIP;
• Review and edit detailed staff reports pertaining to development projects;
• Lead interdepartmental development review of complex, multi-disciplinary development cases;
• Monitor staff in the execution of contract management responsibilities for special projects and in the development of deliverables;
• Review and edit graphics for presentations and printed materials;
• Present to Planning Commission;
  City Council and other commissions, boards and public bodies;
• Give presentations to senior management within P&Z and senior management within the City; and
• Perform related work as required.

Thorough knowledge of urban planning, urban design, zoning administration, and project management; ability to communicate…