The City of Palo Alto is seeking a highly motivated individual to fill the newly created Plan Review Manager position. This key role within our Development Center was approved by the City Council in June 2024. The Plan Review Manager will oversee our building plan review operations and lead a team of dedicated professionals to ensure timely and efficient permit services for our community. Strong leadership and communication skills will be essential to collaborate with developers, architects, and other stakeholders to streamline the review process.

About the Position

The Plan Review Manager oversees the building plan review operations and manages a diverse team to ensure prompt and efficient plan reviews and permit services for all stakeholders. This role involves organizing and directing plan review activities at the Palo Alto Development Center under general supervision of the Chief Building Official (CBO) or designee. Responsibilities include executing professional, administrative, financial and supervisory tasks, while fostering productive relationships with various divisions, departments, community representatives, regulatory agencies, and officials.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will fully support the City's dedication to exceptional customer service, showcasing strong communication and collaboration skills while adeptly handling multiple fast-paced projects. Candidates should possess analytical abilities, initiative, independent judgment, and a team-oriented mindset to effectively engage with both City staff and the public.

The Plan Review Manager will meaningfully contribute to advancing electrification and green building technologies by collaborating with City teams and stakeholders to promote sustainable building designs. The successful candidate will work closely with the Chief Building Official (CBO), the Assistant Chief Building Official (ACBO), and the Planning and Development Services management team to implement a streamlined plan review program that prioritizes complex residential and commercial projects, offering both over-the-counter and scheduled review options.

Additionally, the Plan Review Manager will collaborate with the CBO (or designee) to assess and enhance the plan review process, focusing on reducing review cycles and boosting overall efficiency to maximize program effectiveness.

About the Department

The Planning & Development Services Department reviews private and public development proposals, enforces municipal regulations and provides policy analysis to elected and appointed officials. Development Services is a division within the department that is principally responsible for reviewing and issuing building permits, conducting inspections, and providing customer service to residents, business owners, developers, and trade professionals. This work is largely carried out in the City's Development Center, which is a one-stop permitting center. However, many of these services are now available online. We strive for consistency in our results, predictable review times, and adherence to city, state, and federal requirements.

Essential Duties

Essential and other important responsibilities and duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Supervise Plan Review staff by: prioritizing and assigning work; conducting performance evaluations; ensuring staff are trained and regularly trained; tracking progress of assignments, and making hiring, termination and disciplinary recommendations.
• Manages and directs plan review operations, including developing policies, principles, procedures, work processes and evaluating achievement of goals and objectives.
• Represents the department to the public, to other agencies, and to regional and sub-regional committees, including responding to requests for information.
• Manages consultants and contractors.
• Develops and maintains Plan Review Checklists for consistent plan review results.
• Performs other duties of a similar nature or level.

The Plan Review Manager position is under the ‘Manager, Planning' classification.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Understand principles and practices of building inspection, construction, plans examining, permit issuance process, and Development Center counter operations. Have the ability to effectively communicate in all its forms and means to a wide audience. Seasoned knowledge of the Code and its development, with an understanding of municipal codes.

Qualification to enter this position requires skill in:

• Monitoring and evaluating the performance of subordinate staff;
• Prioritizing and assigning work;
• Defining problems, collecting data, establishing facts, and drawing valid conclusions;
• Preparing reports; reading, analyzing, and interpreting technical procedures, and governmental regulations, statutes, and policies;
• Writing reports and correspondence; presenting information and responding to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, elected and appointed officials, boards, and commissions, and the general public;
• Working with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistics;
• Managing special projects and providing plan review support for Capital Improvement Projects (CIP);
• Preparing and giving presentations, including presentations at community or inter-agency meetings and presentations at public hearings of the City Council or City boards and commissions;
• Facilitating meetings;
• Communication, interpersonal skills as applied to interaction with coworkers, supervisor, the general public, and others, sufficient to exchange or convey information and to receive work direction.
• Conducting plan reviews for compliance with State and local ordinances.
• Following established checklists for consistency and completeness.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in a field relevant to the program or function being managed:

• For urban planning functions, urban planning, architecture, or a related field.
• For plan review functions, urban planning, architecture, construction, civil or structural engineering, or a related field. Master's degree in architectural, civil engineering, or structural engineering is highly desirable.
• For building safety functions, civil or structural engineering, architecture, construction management, or related field. Four additional years of supervisory experience may substitute for a Bachelor's degree.
• For all areas, five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in municipal government including supervisory experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above.
• Master's Degree is preferred.

Licensing Requirements

• Valid California Driver's License;
• Depending on area of assignment, may require State of California Professional Engineer (PE) license, ICC and/or IAPMO certification(s) (or equivalent) as a Combination Inspector, Plans Examiner, or Building Official. Additional relevant professional certifications are desirable.

Supplemental Information

More than one position may be filled under this posting.

The Selection Process

Applicants will receive email recruitment status notifications. Having a governmentjobs.com account also allows for notification of status updates.

Depending on the number of qualified applications received, the examination process may consist of supplemental questions, online assessment, written examination, practical performance, oral examination, or any combination to determine which candidate will move forward in the hiring process.