Community Development & Planning Specialist

Community Development & Planning Specialist

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs is seeking an Atlanta-based Community Development & Planning Specialist for its Community Development Team in the Office of Community Planning, Research, and Geoanalytics. Our office implements a variety of programs impacting city and county governments, regional commissions, local authorities, partner organizations, and internal clients. We administer the State's requirements related to local and regional comprehensive planning, service delivery strategies, development impact fees, annexation arbitration and filing of municipal annexation actions, Government Management Indicators Survey (GOMI), and several other programs.

This position will work on a flexible, collaborative team and manage the office's educational offerings and outreach functions. The programs managed by this position include:

• The Community Planning Institute (CPI)
• The Plan First program
• Community Planning Success Stories and Best Practices

The ideal candidate is an experienced planner who understands how local governments develop, adopt, implement, and utilize Comprehensive Plans. Because the selected candidate will be a liaison between our program staffers and our primary partners (cities, counties, regional commissions, and authorities), a background that provides an understanding of the needs and unique perspectives of local officials and their staff will be very helpful in undertaking the assigned work programs.

The incumbent will also oversee program coordination and workshop logistics for the Community Planning Institute.

Note:

Because of the outwardly focused nature of this position, automobile travel around the state (some of which will be overnight) will be necessary.

Helpful Characteristics & Core

Skills:

• Direct experience with comprehensive planning, community planning, or local government planning processes, including an understanding of how Georgia local governments develop, adopt, and implement comprehensive plans.
• Knowledge of Georgia, its communities, regional commissions, and the State's processes/regulations related to local government management and operations (community planning, government finance, economic development, regulatory compliance, etc.).
• Experience coordinating or managing educational programs, workshops, conferences, or multi-day training meetings involving local government officials and community stakeholders.
• Excellent writing and presentation skills, with a high level of comfort speaking in public forums and facilitating training sessions.
• Solid interpersonal skills and the ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with local government officials, community stakeholders, and partner organizations.
• Knowledge of Microsoft's suite of office software, including experience with Excel and data analysis to interpret analytics and create actionable reports.
• Attention to detail, excellent time management, organizational skills, and the ability to coordinate multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently while maintaining strong coordination with team members.

Qualifications:

Agency-Specific

Minimum Qualifications:

Master's degree in a related field from an accredited college or university AND one year of experience required at the lower-level Prgm Consultant 1 (GSP
090) OR any other combination of education and professional experience that provides the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the job.

Preferred Qualifications:

We will give preference to applicants who, in addition to meeting the agency-specific minimum qualifications, possess at least one of the following:

• Degree in City/Urban/Regional Planning, Public Administration, Public Policy, or another directly related field (Master's degree in Urban/Regional Planning strongly preferred).
• AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners) certification or active eligibility/candidacy, or another relevant professional certification.
• Two or more years of direct professional planning experience working within a local government (city/county), regional commission, or consulting company serving these organizations in developing, reviewing, or implementing comprehensive plans.

Position Requirements:

We may ask selected candidates for a writing sample prior to scheduling an interview. We may also ask selected candidates to conduct a short, educational presentation to DCA team members during the interview. Job…