Job Summary

The City of Bellevue is rapidly maturing into a tech-centric, diverse, metropolitan city within the Central Puget Sound Region. The city's planning team is looking for a creative individual with the technical expertise and passion to help us shape and catalyze positive change in the community. Ideal candidates will have a curious mind, technical prowess, research skills, ability to think beyond the usual or ordinary, and prioritize inclusivity in social and community issues.

This Senior Planner is part of the Community Development Department's Comprehensive Planning Team. The department's vision is to secure Bellevue's future as a livable, inspiring, vibrant and equitable community. The Comprehensive Planning Team conducts a broad range of work including comprehensive planning (annual plan amendments), neighborhood area planning, community engagement, regional policy support, trends analysis and special initiatives as requested by City Council and City Manager's Office. The successful candidate will dedicate a majority of their time to neighborhood area planning and implementation of the newly adopted Comprehensive Plan. They will have the ability to explain complicated issues in a range of public settings. Furthermore, they will have an analytical and methodical mindset, and an ability to adapt to shifting work issues and demands.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Technical Skills and Professional Experience

The Community Development Department is looking for a person to contribute to the City of Bellevue's core values of excellent public service, stewardship, commitment to employees, integrity and innovation and bring a mix of experience and skills that provide as much of the following as possible:

Project management

• Develop and execute work programs and budgets to deliver complex, impactful city projects on time, within budget and meeting state and regional requirements.
• Work constructively in teams that span multiple city departments and partner agencies, using communication and shared leadership skills to achieve multiple objectives.
• Manage potentially controversial issues involving elected and appointed officials and a broad spectrum of interested parties.
• Evaluate program accomplishments against established goals and timetables and make recommendations that will be used in future projects.

Long range planning expertise

• Carry out long range planning projects involving complex technical analysis and policy development.
• Formulate updates to the comprehensive plan and neighborhood plans, including proposing amendments to maps, policies and context-setting narrative.
• Contribute to planning for affordable housing, regional policy, land use code development and area-wide rezoning.
• Align plans with Washington State's Growth Management Act and regional plans and communicate with regional bodies to ensure continued compliance.
• Create and effectively execute inclusive engagement plans to support initiatives and programs.

Technical and analytical expertise

• Think conceptually, observe and evaluate trends, analyze data, draw logical conclusions and make sound decisions.
• Implement surveys and employ statistical analysis using R or other statistical software to understand community dynamics and inform planning projects.
• Work with state and federal demographic & economic data to characterize the community and identify trends.

Writing and communication

• Write professional staff reports, memos, and comprehensive plan policies.
• Communicate effectively with co-workers, City Council, Planning Commission and other stakeholders on planning issues in a manner that develops and maintains positive relationships.
• Represent the city at neighborhood organizations and community meetings, at public hearings, and maintain effective working relationships with community groups and the public.
• Provide backup support to staff the Planning Commission.

Qualifications

Education and Experience Requirements

• Graduation from an accredited four-year university in planning, urban planning, urban geography, environmental studies, or a closely related field. A master's degree is preferred.
• Minimum five years, with seven years preferred, of progressively responsible related experience in comprehensive planning at the state, regional or local level.
• Alternatively, a clear equivalent combination of education, experience, and training that provides the required mix of knowledge, skills and abilities.
• Certification as a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) is preferred.

Supplemental Information

Physical Demands

The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Work involves walking, talking, hearing, using hands to handle, feel or operate objects, tools, or controls and reach with hands and arms.
• Vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• The employee may be required to push, pull, lift, and/or carry objects up to 40 pounds.
• The noise level in the work environment is moderately quiet.

Flexible/Hybrid Working:

A hybrid work schedule is available for this position following an orientation period working in the office after hire. Remote work for this position is subject to the department's operational needs and will be discussed with candidates during the selection process. Full-time remote work is not an available option. Once hired, employees must reside in the State of Washington and within reasonable commuting distance to Bellevue City Hall.