Under the general supervision of the Planning Director, the Assistant Director aides in managing and coordinating the activities, operations, and staff of the Planning Department. Advises on general planning and development decisions. Ensures activities and accomplishments are consistent with the goals of the Department, the City's strategic goals, and the Comprehensive Plan. Provides highly responsible and complex administrative support to the Director and the City Manager's Office. Exercises direct supervision over assigned staff, administers multiple boards or commissions, and serves as Director in the Director's absence. The Assistant Director position may be assigned the management and leadership of the current planning, administrative, or long- range teams within the Planning department.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Essential functions, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include any of the following representative duties, knowledge, and skills. This is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and duties performed by incumbents of this class; employees may be assigned duties which are not listed below; reasonable accommodations will be made as required. The job description does not constitute an employment agreement and is subject to change at any time by the employer. Essential duties and responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Assists the director in developing and implementing department goals, objectives, policies, budget and priorities for each assigned service area.
• Trains and coaches staff; develops staff skills and conducts performance evaluations; works with staff to maximize performance and individual growth; meets regularly with staff to disseminate information and to discuss and resolve issues.
• Works with the director to establish and monitor performance metrics; adopts and implements Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Code Interpretations, and Customer Communication.
• Oversees the development of administrative and operational plans for efficient and effective services; monitors and evaluates the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery methods and procedures; identifies opportunities for improvement, advises the director and implements management solutions
• Manages and coordinates all activities relating to development and revision of the Unified Development Code (UDC), provides leadership to development process improvements, and provides leadership to the revision and amendment of development regulations that impact the entitlement and development review process.
• Provides interpretation and communication of all code changes and amendments.
• Manage all issues relating to proposed legislative changes.
• Communicates plans, status, and troubleshoots issues to the Director on a frequent basis.
• Ensures coordination, collaboration and communication within and between department divisions; fosters a cooperative spirit.
• Ensures a high quality of development reviews are achieved in accordance with adopted regulations and land use policies, and reports appropriate performance measures.
• Assesses and monitors division workload, administrative/support systems, and internal reporting relationships; advises on and implements improvements.
• May serve in one or more special assignment roles.
• Meets with developers and consultants to discuss concerns during, before, or after the review process, and provides advice related to property selection, regulations, and identify potential problems and solutions.
• Oversees, advises, provides technical support to and directly administers assigned boards or commissions.
• Collaborates cross-department and with outside agencies on special projects as assigned.
• Assists the director in coordinating strategies to integrate services with other development review departments.
• Leads community meetings, or meetings of stakeholders with competing interests.
• Delivers presentations to groups, boards, commissions and City Council.
• Confers with customers (architects, engineers, contractors, developers, special interest groups, business owners and property owners); resolves issues that arise; mediates discussions between stakeholders.
• Conveys department direction and provides guidance to assigned area(s) of oversight; assigns and coordinates tasks and projects; reviews work for quality, timeliness, conformance with requirements and consistency with the Comprehensive Plan.
• Implements customer service initiatives and ensures the highest standard of customer service excellence is consistently delivered.
• Serves as an official department representative to other departments, committees, outside agencies, elected or appointed officials, non-profits, etc.
• Provides consultation to the director and colleagues on all issues related to the department.
• Prepares documents and responses for City Council, City Manager's Office, the Director, staff and citizens.
• Serves as director in his/her absence.
• Performs other duties as assigned or required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Education, training and Experience Guidelines

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in Planning, Urban Design, Geography, Architecture, Landscape Architecture or a planning related field. Six (6) years of full-time professional work experience in municipal planning. Three (3) years of the required experience must have been in a supervisory capacity. OR any combination of experience, education and/or training that provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.

A Master's degree in a planning-related field may be substituted for one (1) year of the required experience.

Knowledge of:

• Personnel supervision, training and management and leadership practices, principles, and Performance Management Programs.
• Urban planning and development and local government policies and procedures.
• Planning department specialties including housing, zoning, historic preservation, and long range planning.
• Budgeting procedures and techniques.
• Citizen involvement techniques and processes.
• Land development principals and practice.
• Knowledge of computer hardware and software programs, Internet applications, general knowledge of transportation modeling, database management, and GIS.
• Organization and functions of the various city departments involved in the planning, redevelopment, and related processes.
• Methods and techniques of effective technical report preparation and presentation.

Ability to:

• Be innovative, detail-oriented, experienced in highly visible/controversial projects.
• Manage multiple, high-priority assignments.
• Use computers and applicable software.
• Tracking and managing performance measures.
• Provide effective supervision and staff management.
• Ability to manage projects effectively and meet firm deadlines.
• Oversee and participate in the management of a long range planning program.
• Prepare and interpret ordinances and formulate land use, zoning, and related policies.
• Serve as project manager on the most complex and sensitive projects involving coordination with other departments and outside groups and organizations.
• Draw meaning and recommend application of statistical analysis in land use planning.
• Prepare technical reports.
• Collect and analyze demographics and statistics.
• Evaluate planning material.
• Conduct research.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Negotiate effectively with developers, citizens, appointed officials, Core Team, and the public.
• Persuade through consensus building.
• Establish and maintain effective relationships.
• Train others.
• Read reports, plans, legal documents, and memos.
• Write reports, plans, newsletter articles, resolutions, and ordinances.
• Evaluate and apply mathematical measurements and calculations.
• Interpret zoning ordinances and site plans.
• Analyze complex problems and develop positive courses of action.

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Valid Class C Texas driver's license

American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification or Congress of New Urbanism (CNU) certification is highly desired . Should applicant not have certification(s) an agreed upon date for achieving certification can be established