Staff Designer – Civic Engagement

• Job Category:
  Constituent Services & Community Programs
• Salary Band: $70,000 to $80,000
• Compensation: USD 68,377 - USD 78,633

THE AGENCY

The Department of City Planning (DCP) plans for the future of New York City, working to create thriving and dynamic neighborhoods with access to housing and jobs, resilient infrastructure, and a vibrant public realm. The Department engages communities to develop inclusive plans, expands housing access and economic opportunity, and plans for long‑term sustainability. DCP supports the City Planning Commission in its annual review of hundreds of land use applications.

The Department also advises on citywide strategic and capital planning, analyzes data, conducts policy analysis, and creates open data and civic engagement tools. DCP is also the custodian of the official City Map, which designates streets, parks and other public places. Department of City Planning offers staff meaningful opportunities to help shape the future of New York City and address some of its most pressing challenges.

The Department values public service, collaboration, and creativity, and supports professional development. Learn more about DCP and view current job openings .gov/planning.

THE DIVISION

The Community Planning and Engagement division serves as the center for DCP’s coordinated community planning work. The Team is charged with fostering innovation and continuous improvement in the way we develop neighborhood and citywide planning initiatives among DCP divisions, in collaboration with partner agencies and New Yorkers.

THE ROLE

The Community Planning and Engagement division seeks a highly motivated, entrepreneurial Staff Designer who shares our passion for making urban planning processes accessible, inclusive, and fun. The Staff Designer will work with divisions across the Department of City Planning, our agency partners and New Yorkers to increase understanding of city planning topics, internal and public processes as well as ways to shape local and citywide planning initiatives.

They have three main areas of work:

• Supports the development and implementation of community engagement plans for neighborhood and citywide initiatives.
• Develops materials that increase understanding of DCP tools and processes, expand opportunities to participate in neighborhood planning and citywide policy development and align with agency messaging and branding.
• Builds the capacity of DCP staff to create legible, attractive, and visually engaging materials that strengthen our civic engagement practice.

We seek a candidate with a design background (graphic design, urban design, architecture, etc.) who is skilled at creating illustrations and tools for engagement, as well as facilitating meaningful, inclusive processes to increase participation in community planning and policy development. While most illustrations and tools will be used for print materials such as reports, posters, display boards, and graphic organizers for activities, experience creating motion graphics, or other animations as well as digital design is welcome.

The candidate should be a creative problem solver with excellent interpersonal, project management and communication skills as well as a demonstrated ability to work independently with minimal supervision. They should have experience engaging and facilitating communities in design processes as well proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office.

• Supports the development and implementation of visual design strategies within engagement plans for neighborhood and citywide initiatives:
  • Work with teams from across DCP, coordinating with Communications when materials are externally facing, to identify design goals and strategies for…