Technical Director – Land Use Planning

Technical Director – Land Use Planning

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning, Environmental Planning, Geography, Biology, or Civil Engineering or a related field.
• 12+ years of experience in the planning field.
• Experienced project manager, deputy project manager, and major task lead.
• Extensive knowledge of relevant land use laws and permitting requirements, environmental laws and permitting requirements, notification and compliance practices, and applicable Regional/State/Federal regulatory framework.
• Demonstrated technical competence leading permitting and planning projects within business sector (e.g. commercial, infrastructure, transportation, energy, etc.)
• Advanced expertise with consulting practices, conducting land use analysis and preparation of associated documentation.
• Experienced working on planning projects, including long-range plans, policy development, and entitlement.
• Ability to work independently and provide guidance, mentorship, and leadership to team or project members (including subconsultants), with strict adherence to QA/QC.
• Experienced with providing critical review for documents and preparing technical deliverables with a high degree of complexity.
• Strong self-leadership and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to effectively, persuasively, and tactfully interact with employees at all levels of the organization.
• Proficiency with technical and business writing, office automation and communication software, technology, and tools.
• Extensive critical thinking and problem-solving skills required to reach conclusions from data collation and identify the most effective solutions to accomplish objectives of assigned projects.
• Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by WSP’s health, safety and drug/alcohol and harassment policies.
• Must be flexible to a variety of schedules to meet business needs and able to prioritize responsibilities and quickly adapt to changes in work demands.
• Occasional travel may be required depending on project-specific requirements.

Responsibilities

• Serve as land use permit lead for complex infrastructure programs, planning project manager, deputy project manager, and major task lead.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to provide future ready solutions for clients.
• Develop and oversee development of land use-related permits and planning documents, including City of Seattle Master Use Permits (MUP).
• Coordinate permit applications and planning documents for other types of permits including building and demolition permits, grading permits, City of Seattle Street Use permits, City of Seattle Revocable Use Permits, and others.
• Coordinate with clients, resource/regulatory agencies, subcontractors, and technical staff in a confident and professional manner.
• Plan, organize, and execute a broad range of permitting and planning projects, including project budgets, tracking hours and expenses, and task completion.
• Lead a variety of planning projects including comprehensive plan updates, code amendments, shoreline master program updates, on-call planning for local agencies, and entitlement planning for private clients.
• Lead land use analysis tasks related to environmental planning, including NEPA and SEPA documentation.
• Manage client relationships and lead business development activities, including proposal writing.
• Mentor staff and review the work of staff.
• Manage time and effort effectively on multiple projects.

Preferred Qualifications

• Essential professional licensure/certification.
• Active member of local, regional, or national professional organization.
• Familiarity with ESRI ArcGIS applications and tools and Adobe Illustrator.
• Prior experience permitting within Washington State and the City of Seattle.