City Planner V – Bureau of Planning, Sustainability, and Historic Preservation, City of Chicago (CLOSES THIS WEEK)

Who: Bureau of Planning, Sustainability, and Historic Preservation, City of Chicago

What: As the principal planning agency for the City of Chicago, the Department of Planning & Development (DPD) promotes the comprehensive growth and sustainability of the City and its neighborhoods. The department also oversees the City’s zoning and land use policies and employs a variety of resources to encourage business and real estate development, historic preservation, accessible waterfronts, walkable neighborhoods, and related community improvements, working on various neighborhood investment initiatives city-wide including the new INVEST South/West program. DPD consists of more than 150 staff working within the Commissioner's Office and the bureaus of Economic Development, Zoning, and Planning, Historic Preservation & Sustainability.

INVEST South/West is an unprecedented cross-departmental initiative from Mayor Lightfoot to marshal City resources toward 10 neighborhoods on Chicago’s South and West sides. The Zoning Ordinance Administration Division will review building permit applications to ensure compliance to the Chicago Zoning Ordinance; DPD's economic development initiatives will include a wide spectrum of financial assistance programs, business development efforts, and related quality-of-life endeavors for local neighborhoods; DPD's Planning and Sustainability divisions will work together on citywide and neighborhood land use plans including the development of open space and sustainability policies; DPD's Historic Preservation Division works with property owners, city departments, sister agencies, and the general public to promote the preservation of Chicago's historic resources, and; DPD maintains a database of City-owned land and coordinates the purchase and redevelopment of City-owned property through a series of programs.

The DPD Commissioner is seeking highly collaborative team players with a resilient work ethic and architecture, urban planning, and/or economic development background to serve as a City Planner V in the Planning Division. It is anticipated that DPD is hiring at least 3 new City Planner V positions that will begin employment in Spring 2020.


Key responsibilities

• Plans and coordinates urban design, zoning, and land use studies, including maps and reports detailing social and economic trends and their impact on current and future resources and policies
• Evaluates development project proposals submitted by private consultants and public agencies for conformity with City development goals and objectives, government regulations, funding eligibility, and compliance with site planning and urban design best practices and guidelines
• Provides technical assistance to community organizations, delegate agencies, and developers concerning planning, design, and development projects and related work plans through visioning and graphic representation, including: sketching, 3D representation, and integration of planning and urban design best practices
• Facilitates community engagement in diverse communities with a history of concentrated disadvantage
• Prepares presentations, maps, and planning documents with a high degree of graphic communication using any of the following: ArcGIS, Adobe Creative Suite, Google Sketchup, Rhino, AutoCAD, and hand sketching for planning and urban design strategies
• Supports design review of proposed development projects and public realm improvements with a focus on site and building layout, 3D massing, and zoning analysis
• Prepares project summary reports for review by City Council committees
• Works with operating City departments, governmental agencies, and private consultants on major planning and policy studies
• Prepares grant applications, proposals, and preliminary budgets for planning projects
• Reviews and interprets state and federal legislation pertaining to planning programs and prepares position papers for management’s review
• Represents the department at community forums, civic and business organization meetings, and conferences to discuss planning activities and projects
• Functions as liaison with state and federal agencies involved in collaborative planning projects
• Serves as project manager for planning projects to ensure compliance with specifications and governmental regulations, as required
• Conducts site inspections of work in progress to ensure adherence to development plans, as required
• May provide direction to junior staff, as required 

Position requirements

Minimum Qualifications include:

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning, Urban Design, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Transportation Planning, Environmental Planning, or a directly related field, plus five (5) years of planning work experience; OR
• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Master’s degree in Urban Planning, Urban Design, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Transportation Planning, Environmental Planning, or a directly related field, plus four (4) years of planning work experience 

NOTE: You must provide your transcripts or diploma, professional license, or training certificates at time of processing, if applicable

NOTE: To be considered for this position, you must provide information about your educational background and your work experience. You must include job titles, dates of employment, and specific job duties. (If you are a current City employee, Acting Up cannot be considered). If you fail to provide this information at the time you submit your application, it will be incomplete and you will not be considered for this position. There are three ways to provide the information: 1) you may attach a resume; 2) you may paste a resume; or 3) you can complete the online resume fields.

Education & Employment Verification – Please be advised that if you are selected to be hired you must provide, upon request, adequate information regarding your educational and employment history as it related to the qualifications of the position for which you are applying. If you received your degree internationally, all international transcripts/diplomas must be accompanied by a Foreign Credential Evaluation. If the City of Chicago cannot verify this information, any offer extended to you will be withdrawn and you will not be hired.

SELECTION REQUIREMENTS 

This position requires applicants to complete an interview which will include a skills assessment and/or written exercise as part of the interview. The interviewed candidate(s) possessing the qualifications best suited to fulfill the responsibilities of the position, based on the oral and written parts of the interview will be selected.

Preference will be given to candidates possessing the following:

• A professional Bachelor of Architecture degree or a Master’s degree in Architecture, Urban Design, or Landscape Architecture
• Previous experience developing conceptual and schematic design of buildings or master plans
• Previous experience designing multi-family, commercial, mixed-use, or institutional projects in a dense urban setting NOTE: Applicants selected to interview will be required to present an architectural design portfolio at the time of interview

VETERANS PREFERENCE NOTE: The City of Chicago offers Veterans Preference for both current, active military personnel AND military personnel who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States and have received an honorable or general discharge. Eligible candidates must have at least six months of active duty documents. In order to receive the veterans preference, candidates need to indicate whether or not they are a veteran by answering “yes” or “no” to the question on the online application that asks, “Are you currently serving on active duty for at least six months in the Armed Forces of the United States OR have you served in the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty for at least six months and received an honorable or general discharge?” In addition, you must attach documentation to verify your military service. For veterans, you must attach a copy of your DD214 (Member Copy-4) to your online application which includes character service status OR a letter from the United States Veterans Administration on official stationary stating dates of service and character of service. For active military personnel, you must attach a letter from your Commanding Office on official stationary verifying your active duty, length of service, and character of service in the Armed Forces of the United States AND a copy of your military ID to your online application. Failure to answer the question and attach the required documentation will result in you not being considered for the Veterans Preference.

Evaluation: Your initial evaluation will be based on information provided on the application form and documents submitted with the application. Applications must be submitted by the individual applicant. No second party applicants will be accepted.

Residency Requirement: All employees of the City of Chicago must be actual residents of the City as outlined in 2-152-050 of the City of Chicago Municipal Code. Proof of residency will be required.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation due to disability or pregnancy in order to participate in the application process, please contact the City of Chicago, Department of Human Resources, at (312) 744-4976 (voice) or (312) 744-5035 (TTY). Please be prepared to provide information in support of your reasonable accommodation request.

ALL REFERENCES TO POLITICAL SPONSORSHIP OR RECOMMENDATION MUST BE OMITTED FROM ANY AND ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS SUBMITTED FOR CITY EMPLOYMENT.

PLEASE NOTE: Applications for this position will be accepted until 11:59 pm CST on 03/05/2020. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE

Applications must be submitted at: www.chicago.gov/careers