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Planner I & Planning Director – City of Sitka, Alaska

Who: City of Sitka, Alaska – Planning Department

What:
Planner I: Assists Planning Director with overall planning, economic development, zoning, community development, land management and related functions. Maintains all planning case files, compile data and related reports and perform special projects as assigned. Performs short- and long-range planning, economic research and development, land development and management, zoning review, and, community development and state and federal grant functions in accordance with assigned responsibilities.

Planning Director: Plans, organizes and directs the overall planning, economic development, zoning, community development, land management and related functions within the City and Borough. Supervise and perform short- and long-range planning, economic research and development, land development and management, zoning review, community development and state and federal grant functions in accordance with assigned responsibilities. Direct supervision of Planner I. Establish and maintain effective working relationships with other Department and City employees, State and Federal officials and the public. Principal duties performed in both a general office environment and at various fieldwork sites.

Qualifications:
Planner 1: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelors Degree or equivalent, or; Extensive experience in Urban Planning, Economic Development or a related field; or any equivalent combination of experience, education and training which provides the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the work.
  • Knowledge the current practices and procedures involved in planning within a municipality; 
  • Knowledge of land use needs and the analysis and recognition of related issues; 
  • Knowledge of the current practices and procedures involved in economic development activities; 
  • Knowledge of land development and construction principles and practices; 
  • Knowledge of current state and federal grant programs; 
  • Knowledge of local government operations, including the operations of the Finance and Public Works Departments; 
  • Knowledge of administering zoning and subdivision regulations; 
  • Good knowledge of Geographical Information Systems (GIS); 
  • General knowledge of historic preservation practices; 
  • Ability to communicate well with others, both orally and in writing, using both technical and non-technical language; 
  • Ability to work with citizens who may become emotional, concerning official policies and regulations and municipal initiatives;
  • Ability to understand and follow oral and/or written policies, procedures and instructions; 
  • Ability to prepare and present accurate and reliable reports containing findings and recommendations; 
  • Ability to type quickly in Word and WordPerfect, prepare spreadsheets in Excel, learn graphics programs, and learn the Macromedia Dreamweaver web publishing program; 
  • Ability to perform a wide variety of duties and responsibilities with accuracy and speed under the pressure of time-sensitive deadlines; 
  • Ability and willingness to quickly learn and put to use new skills and knowledge brought about by rapidly changing information and/or technology; 
  • Integrity, ingenuity and inventiveness in the performance of assigned tasks. 
  • The individual must demonstrate an ability and willingness to perform both assistant planner tasks and tasks that are generally performed by an administrative assistant. 
Planning Director: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelors Degree or equivalent in Urban Planning, a Master’s Degree preferred and an AICP member; and Extensive experience in Urban Planning, Economic Development or a related field; or any equivalent combination of experience, education and training which provides the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the work.
  • Comprehensive knowledge the current practices and procedures involved in planning within a municipality; 
  • Comprehensive knowledge of land use needs and the analysis and recognition of related issues; 
  • Thorough knowledge of the current practices and procedures involved in economic development activities; 
  • Thorough knowledge of land development practices; 
  • Thorough knowledge of current state and federal grant programs;
  • Thorough knowledge of local government operations, including the operations of the Finance and Public Works Departments; 
  • Thorough knowledge of administering zoning and subdivision regulations; 
  • Knowledge of coastal management programs; 
  • General knowledge of State and Federal real estate law and land mapping and disposal practices; 
  • Ability to use GIS, computer graphics and imaging processing software; 
  • Ability to develop comprehensive plans; 
  • Ability to communicate well with others, both orally and in writing, using both technical and non-technical language; 
  • Ability to work with citizens who may become emotional, concerning official policies and regulations and municipal initiatives; 
  • Ability to understand and follow oral and/or written policies, procedures and instructions; 
  • Ability to prepare and present accurate and reliable reports containing findings and recommendations; 
  • Ability to operate or quickly learn to operate a personal computer using standard or customized software applications appropriate to assigned tasks; 
  • Ability to use logical and creative thought processes to develop solutions according to written specifications and/or oral instructions;
  • Ability to perform a wide variety of duties and responsibilities with accuracy and speed under the pressure of time-sensitive deadlines; 
  • Ability and willingness to quickly learn and put to use new skills and knowledge brought about by rapidly changing information and/or technology; 
  • Integrity, ingenuity and inventiveness in the performance of assigned tasks.
Find the full job postings and apply online here.