Community Development & Planning Specialist

Community Development & Planning Specialist

Make a Difference and Join the DCA Team! DCA gives employees more to do than merely make a living. DCA is serious about helping Georgia's families live more abundantly with a greater sense of hope and achievement. If public service, a great environment, and the desire to enrich the lives of others motivate you to do your best work, you should consider joining the DCA Team.

OUR MISSION

To help build strong, vibrant communities.

OUR VISION

For Georgians of today and tomorrow to have the opportunity to live and work in thriving communities.

OUR CULTURE

DCA is dedicated to helping build strong, vibrant communities. DCA offers a fast-paced, challenging, and dynamic environment that requires attention to detail, pride in the quality of work, and the ability to work as a versatile team player. We are a diverse team of highly competent and committed professionals who strive to help people and communities thrive through technical expertise, innovative thinking, and a passion for making a difference.

Team members are at their best when collaborating and supporting each other as they perform challenging and dynamic work. DCA gives its employees the opportunity to do more than merely make a living. We are serious about helping Georgia's families live more abundantly with a greater sense of hope and achievement. If public service and the desire to enrich the lives of others motivates you to do your best work, you should consider joining the DCA Team.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

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 CHARACHTERISTICS & CORE SKILLSDirect 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…