Job Title: Division Director of Planning and Implementation
City of Seattle Office of Planning & Community Development
Job Number: 2016-00839
Salary: $39.42 - $65.06 Hourly
Location: Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 5th Ave., Seattle, Washington
Job Type: Civil Service Exempt, Regular, Full-time
Shift: Day
Bargaining Unit: Not represented
Closing Date/Time: Tue. 06/28/16 4:00 PM Pacific Time
Overview
Are you passionate about changing the way government does business? Do you have a successful record of directing and building high-priority and highly visible initiatives, programs, and projects? Are you an exceptional manager with significant experience leading cross-functional teams to deliver results? Do you inspire innovation, creativity and strategic thinking? Do you have a successful record of integrating the principles of social equity, green urbanism and livable communities into planning and development initiatives?
If this sounds like you, the City of Seattle wants your talent, leadership, and critical thinking skills to serve as the Division Director of Planning and Implementation for the newly created Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD).
The new Office of Planning and Community Development was established in January 2016 and is tasked with retooling how the City plans for future development so vulnerable populations are not disparately burdened by the growth. The City of Seattle anticipates continued rapid growth and Mayor Murray has charged OPCD with community planning and development that integrates:
- Economic Opportunity
- Affordable Housing
- Open Space and cultural amenities
- Transportation and utilities
- And other City investments
This is an exciting moment for the City; and you will be leading a division that will be responsible for working across City departments to work with communities to develop and execute integrated community plans that address future needs and help ensure a healthy, livable, just and equitable City for all.
Job Responsibilities
In this role you will:
- Work with the OPCD Director and staff, and other City leaders to establish, identify, negotiate, and align City planning functions and prioritize capital investments.
- Coordinate with City department leaders and project managers to develop a roadmap and implementation strategies based on a community's vision, for high priority neighborhoods, and for broader citywide initiatives.
- Ensure that implementation plans include actionable milestones that are aligned with capital investments, resources, Citywide initiatives, and Mayoral priorities
- Coordinate with the Department of Neighborhoods to define and support cohesive community outreach and engagement strategies that reach broadly, particularly to those traditionally underrepresented populations.
- Communicate to the Director, and where necessary, the Mayor and City Council on the status and outcomes of neighborhood priorities, Citywide initiatives, and projects.
This position is critical to the mission and scope of OPCD because it will be responsible for developing and helping to implement major citywide initiatives and priorities.
To be successful in this position, you should possess the following characteristics:
- You are an adaptable leader who is passionate about the public sector and public policy.
- You thrive on working with a broad range of stakeholders; you listen carefully and know how to negotiate and facilitate successful outcomes.
- You have a strong sense of urgency, and are able to juggle multiple priorities, programs, and projects by facilitating clear expectations, timelines, and milestones.
- You have exceptional interpersonal skills and know-how to empower people below, across, and above you to secure resources, work collaboratively and get things done.
- You anticipate potential risks and challenges, and identify creative solutions to move things forward.
- You thrive in ambiguous environments because you see it as an opportunity to shape priorities and agendas, and you are able to see how seemingly unrelated items can come together to achieve a positive outcome.
You will also help set the tone for how the City interacts with communities. At times this work is controversial, and you will need to represent the Mayor's policy direction while carefully listening and being able to respond to public concerns.
Qualifications
In addition to the preceding characteristics, you will need the following:
Education:
- A Bachelor's degree in urban planning, public policy and administration, or other relevant fields; a graduate degree is preferred.
Experience:
- 8 or more years of demonstrated leadership experience working in matrixed organizations managing programs, projects, strategies, and policies that required integration across teams and/or divisions
- 5 years of managing at least 5 direct reports and where you have demonstrated experience in developing and leading projects, programs, and/or strategic initiatives end-to-end
- Significant experience presenting, negotiating, and communicating to executive, other elected officials, and community leaders
- Strong operations background and experience leading cross-functional teams to deliver results
- Proven problem solving and reasoning skills
Ideally, you will also have:
A track record of developing and leading successful high priority and high-visibility initiatives, programs, and projects, and have a good understanding of political processes in large thriving cities. Demonstrated understanding of race and social justice issues, as well as experience promoting the principles of green urbanism and equitable development would be key to this position.
Benefits
The City of Seattle offers a comprehensive benefits package including vacation, holiday and sick leave as well as medical, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for employees and their dependents.
More information about employee benefits is available on the City's website at: http://www.seattle.gov/jobs/benefits.asp
Supplemental Questions
Please visit this page to fill out the supplemental questions section.
Additional Information
In addition to completing the online application fully, please attach a cover letter articulating how you meet the qualifications and characteristics described above as well as a resume. If you have questions, please contact Yoshiko Grace Matsui at yoshiko.GraceMatsui@seattle.gov
Job offers are contingent on review of criminal history as well as verification of information provided by the applicant as a part of the application process.