Principal Planner - Community Planning & Revitalization Division

Prince William County, VA, one of the fastest-growing communities in the Washington D.C. metro region and one of the most diverse in the country, is seeking to welcome a Principal Planner to join the Prince William County Planning Office's Community Planning & Revitalization Division. We are looking for a highly collaborative, creative, and technically skilled planning professional with strengths in spatial analysis, urban design, and visual communication who can support a team of professionals and provide sound advice and guidance to internal and external stakeholders as the County continues to grow and evolve.

The ideal candidate combines planning knowledge with advanced spatial analysis, design visualization, and digital communication skills that help translate planning ideas into clear and compelling concepts for decision makers and the community. This role is well suited for a professional who enjoys working at the intersection of planning policy, design thinking, and community engagement, and who can communicate complex planning ideas through both written analysis and visual storytelling.

Candidates with strong spatial analysis, urban design, or visualization backgrounds who are eager to apply these skills to community planning and redevelopment initiatives are encouraged to apply.

The Community Planning & Revitalization Division supports Prince William County by facilitating and revitalizing its communities as vibrant, equitable, and exceptional places through innovative planning and design excellence for future development, redevelopment, and public investment. This Division provides planning services and community engagement at the neighborhood level, focusing on the creation of small-area plans and special planning studies that promote placemaking, equity, and revitalization.

The Division guides the implementation of small-area plans through providing design guidance for new development, fostering strategic investment in the built environment, and coordinating revitalization efforts with economic development. This program works with the private sector to identify, promote, and implement redevelopment and revitalization strategies of vacant/underused properties, the reuse of existing structures, and quality mixed-use developments in strategic locations.

The Principal Planner leads complex planning and urban design initiatives that guide redevelopment, revitalization, and strategic investment within the County’s targeted growth areas. This position helps shape the physical form, character, and long-term vision of these communities through planning, analysis, engagement, and implementation. Responsibilities include reviewing broad-scope, complex development proposals in targeted areas, preparing planning analyses informed by best practices and the County’s Comprehensive Plan, and providing recommendations to the Planning Director, Planning Commission, and Board of County Supervisors.

The primary focus of this position is managing Small Area Plan projects and related planning initiatives from project initiation through adoption and implementation. This includes developing project scopes, schedules, work plans, deliverables, engagement strategies, and implementation timelines. The Principal Planner coordinates internal staff, oversees consultants, manages consultant deliverables, supports contract administration, and ensures project milestones are completed accurately, on time, and in alignment with Board-adopted plans, policies, and community development objectives.

The successful candidate will be highly organized, detail-oriented, and experienced in managing multiple priorities, deadlines, stakeholders, and project components simultaneously. Strong project management skills are essential, including the ability to coordinate cross-functional teams, track deliverables, manage consultant work products, resolve project issues, and maintain clear documentation throughout the planning process.

This position also requires excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a significant emphasis on public speaking, meeting facilitation, and presenting…