Senior Planning Technician

The City of Alexandria is located in Northern Virginia and is bordered by the District of Columbia (Potomac River), Arlington, and Fairfax counties.  With a population of approximately 160,000 and a land area of 15.75 square miles, Alexandria is the seventh largest City in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Alexandria has a charming waterfront and is a unique and historic place to work.  Approximately one-quarter of the City's square miles have been designated as a national or local historic district.  Several buildings in these districts are monuments to the past, while being actively used by citizens for homes, businesses, and museums. If you're interested in working for the vibrant City of Alexandria, we invite qualified candidates to apply for our Senior Planning Technician position.
  
An Overview 
The incumbent in this position will work in the Boards and Commissions Unit (BCU) of the Department of Planning & Zoning (P&Z). The ideal candidate will be highly organized, energetic, detail-oriented, flexible, and capable of multi-tasking in a high volume, fast paced environment. Key to this position are strong time-management skills, and the ability to understand and apply local and state regulatory guidelines and manage complex databases, land use information software, and multiple deadlines utilizing sound judgment and working semi-independently, but keeping the BCU Manager informed and taking issues and possible solutions to the BCU Manager.  

What You Should Bring

The incumbent must be detailed-oriented, self-motivated and highly organized, have knowledge and experience in office management processes and procedures; strong computer skills (Microsoft Office and Adobe Products in particular); proficiency with data base and record management systems; and demonstrate strong verbal and written communication skills. Punctuality, reliability and strong customer service skills are essential requirements, along with the ability to work well with BCU team members, P&Z colleagues, applicants, other City departments, and the general public.
  
The Opportunity –Responsibilities entail following, with the potential for additional ones beyond those noted here:    

• Manage the intake and distribution of online land use applications and generate invoices for payment of the associated fees;  
• Demonstrate strong customer service to effectively interface daily with applicants as part of the intake process;
• Communicate and meet with applicants on cases requiring public hearing by the Planning Commission and City Council (i.e., Development Site Plans, Vacations, Encroachments, Special Use Permits, and other non-development and development applications);  
• Review applications and plans for compliance with submission requirements and basic zoning regulations, and manage zoning, development and historic preservation case files, including organizing and scanning them into a document imaging system;  
• Respond to Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and perform a variety of special projects and extensive research projects;  
• Maintain tracking systems and permit databases, produce various reports and manage webpages and webcasts;  
• Coordinate logistics for Planning Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) and Board of Architectural Review (BAR) as assigned, which includes but is not limited to: preparing and publishing dockets, creating legal notices, certifying legal notices, formatting and preparing complex staff reports for final publishing, and meeting scheduling and set up;  
• Provide information about application and review processes, notices, and Boards and Commission public hearings to applicants, staff and the public;  
• Perform a variety of administrative and technical tasks in support, preparation of and follow-up to meetings of the Planning Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals, and Board of Architectural Review (BAR) as assigned;  
• Create and edit a variety of graphics, tables and maps using and ESRI ArcGIS/ArcMap, Microsoft Suite products and Adobe Creative Suite products;  
• Develop and implement creative, and procedurally viable, solutions to problems related to administrative processing, tracking, document management, data management and organization of zoning, development and historic preservation cases;  
• Distribute docket packages to Board and Commission members and post placard notices; 
• Prepare Bond related documents for internal review and signature; and   
• Perform related work as required.  

About the Department 
P&Z works closely with communities to carry out the City's Strategic Plan, fostering amenity-rich, service-oriented and equity-balanced neighborhoods; protecting historic and cultural resources; and supporting diverse and creative businesses. In developing neighborhood plans, reviewing development proposals, and promoting economic vitality, we continue our commitment to collaborate with all stakeholder groups to honor the character of each neighborhood and to strengthen and sustain them, and Alexandria as a whole, for now and in the future.  

Two-Year College Degree; one year of experience providing direct service assistance to the public which shall have involved providing technical advice and information on specific services; one year of experience coordinating events and schedules within prescribed deadlines, working in a fast paced environment, and working in teams; knowledge of graphic design, database and web-based applications, and Microsoft office suite; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities. 

Four-Year College Degree in Urban and Regional Planning  or a related field; brings at least two years of experience working for a municipal governmental Committee, Board, or Commission managing public hearing dockets (agendas),  and working effectively with the public and other government staff; experience working with applicants for zoning, land use/land development, historic preservation, and non-development cases such as Special Use Permits, Development Site Plans, etc.; proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel, at least one year of experience with database applications and in particular Laserfiche scanning and document retrieval functions; proficiency in ESRI ArcGIS/ArcMap, Adobe Creative Suite products. Demonstrated professional communication skills (verbal and written) and the ability to provide superior customer service are a must. Field work and the ability to lift items weighing 20-40 pounds with or without accommodations.  A valid driver's license issued by the state of residency.

This position requires the successful completion of pre-employment background checks.

Salary : $49,149 - $65,836