Application Deadline: 10/10/2024, 11:59 PM

The Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development (CPHD) is seeking a motivated, team-oriented Comprehensive Planning Section (CPS) Supervisor. This position reports to and supports the Comprehensive Planning Manager within the Comprehensive Planning Section and supervises five planning professionals who are responsible for land use policy development and Comprehensive Plan administration.

The Comprehensive Planning Section is responsible for communicating Arlington County's Comprehensive Plan and managing its land use growth policies. The work includes studying and developing land use policy recommendations and zoning implementation tools, analyzing major development requests, and engaging the community in this work. The section also manages targeted work portfolios for the Columbia Pike, Richmond Highway and Langston Boulevard corridors.

Responsibilities

Specific duties include:

• Supervising, guiding, and mentoring section staff and applying leadership with other staff as needed, including managing planning functions related to the Arlington County Comprehensive Plan;
• Leading the preparation and presentation of countywide policy and special planning studies and implementation strategies and tools, with data, planning analyses and research, and well-informed recommendations;
• Managing the Section's review of site plan applications and other special projects to ensure conformance with the Comprehensive Plan;
• Advising and/or performing work including preparing reports in support of Zoning Ordinance amendments, General Land Use Plan amendments, and Special GLUP Studies and recurring updates to the General Land Use Plan and the Five-Year Review of the Comprehensive Plan;
• Advising interdepartmental staff in their work on preparing, updating, reviewing, and maintaining discrete elements of Arlington's Comprehensive Plan to maintain an integrated, cohesive Plan;
• Ensuring that project results align with the Planning Manager's and Planning Director's expectations and are accurate, thorough, innovative, and based on sound principles of land use planning and equitable development;
• Managing, coordinating, and supporting the professional staffing requirements of the Planning Commission and its Long-Range Planning Committee, and the Joint Facilities Advisory Commission;
• Representing the Comprehensive Planning Section, Planning Division, and County in pertinent discussions and meetings with community members and groups, advisory commissions, regional counterparts, state and federal government staff, property and business owners and developers, County leadership, and in County litigation; and
• Supporting the Comprehensive Planning Manager in the administration of the Comprehensive Planning Section by assisting with the preparation of work plans, onboarding and ongoing training, Section meetings, procedural efficiencies/optimization; and supporting other County initiatives.

The ideal candidate will possess:

• Experience analyzing complex, politically sensitive and highly visible issues, interpreting them and their interrelationships, and formulating strategies to address them;
• Land use and physical planning sense and experience planning for equitable development, smart growth and sustainable transit-oriented development;
• Proven ability to collaborate among multi-disciplined professionals and stakeholders, contribute to high level policy discussions, and identify innovative opportunities;
• Clear and effective presentation skills to communicate work and provide sound advice to staff leadership, community stakeholders and elected officials on elements of the Comprehensive Plan, land use policies, zoning regulations, and other implementation strategies; and
• Sound judgment with political acumen informing staff recommendations.

Qualifications

Minimums:

Education: Completion of the requirements for a Bachelors' degree in Planning, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Public Administration or other related field; plus

Experience: Significant and progressively responsible professional experience that includes planning for a major transit-oriented mixed-use development community and managing highly complex projects and processes.

Desirables: Preference may be given to candidates with a Master's Degree in the related field and experience in one or more of the following:

• Five (5) years in mixed use and/or urban planning, community development, urban design, landscape design, or other related program areas;
• Supervising and managing teams of professional staff who perform planning studies and plan implementation strategies in urban communities;
• Preparing planning reports and multimedia presentations that effectively communicate related work to a range of audiences, including online and other social media platforms;
• Computer software programs for urban planning analysis and urban design, such as ArcGIS and Adobe Creative Suite;
• Project management of planning and development initiatives within an urban community;
• Integration of equitable community engagement and/or facilitation; and/or
• American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Certification from the American Planning Association is desirable.