The City of Puyallup is a community of 43,000 and is situated at the foot of scenic Mount Rainier. The city is known as a regional commercial center, and serves its residents and neighbors with a strong, diversified economy. Our employees live in and support a community that has excellent schools, amazing parks and recreational activities, and a vibrant downtown with a variety of restaurants and retail establishments.This temporary Senior Planner position will focus primarily on long-range planning activities; however, some assignments may be in current planning. Essential functions for the position include:

• Performs a wide variety of comprehensive planning activities; including maintenance of the City Comprehensive Plan; gathers and analyzes data, makes recommendations, and prepares reports.
• Assists in preparing ordinances or revisions to ordinances related to land use and development to implement the Comprehensive Plan.
• Processes annexation requests and related tasks.
• Assists other departments in developing functional plans and policies, especially as they relate to land use and development.
• Makes presentations to the Planning Commission and City Council.
• Responds to inquiries from applicants and members of the public on a variety of development-related topics.
• Provides assistance to outside agencies and committees as requested.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Secondary functions for the position may include:

• Reviews development applications for conformance with City land use regulations, including zoning and subdivision codes, critical area regulations and related standards.
• Performs SEPA and shoreline program reviews.
• Prepares reports and makes presentations to the Hearing Examiner.

Knowledge of:

• Modern planning principles and practices;
• Land use concepts and the impact of sociological, demographic, economic, environmental and other factors influencing land use;
• Research techniques and graphic and statistical presentations;
• Site plan review;
• Project review principles and methods;
• The operation of personal computers, including word processing and spreadsheet software and permit tracking systems.

Ability to:

• Systematically gather, organize and analyze data;
• Write reports clearly and interestingly and to convey technical information to laypersons;
• Make clear and concise verbal presentations before a variety of groups in a manner appropriate to the audience;
• Deal with the public courteously and tactfully often under difficult circumstances;
• Interpret and apply laws, draft ordinances and regulations to implement land use planning policies;
• Safely operate a motor vehicle in the performance of job duties;
• Work on multiple, concurrent tasks, with frequent interruptions;
• Effectively work in a team environment, contribute openly, respectfully disagree, understand the ideas of others, listen well and work for consensus;
• Establish and maintain positive, effective working relationships with departmental personnel, developers, citizens groups, the public and other City personnel;
• Prepare and carry out work programs and special projects and meet timelines, and work independently with little direction;
• Represent City and the department in a professional manner under a wide range of circumstances; and 
• Maintain regular, reliable and punctual attendance.

Bachelor's degree in planning or a closely related field and five years of progressively responsible and relevant planning experience (a Master's degree in planning or related field may substitute for one year of experience).
Desirable Qualifications:
Membership in the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Special Qualifications:
Possession of or ability to obtain, and maintain throughout employment, a valid Washington State driver's license.
 
GENERAL INFORMATION
Essential Functions – The statements contained herein reflect general details as necessary to describe the principal functions for this job, the level of knowledge, skills and abilities typically required and the scope of responsibility, but should not be considered an all-inclusive listing of work requirements. Individuals may perform other duties as assigned including work in other functional areas to cover absences or relief, to equalize peak work periods, or to balance the workload.
Hours of Work – Normal work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with one (1) hour lunch. This position will be eligible to remote work up to two days per week after the training period.
FLSA Status - This is a FLSA non-exempt position.
Union Affiliation – This position is a non-represented position.
Temporary, seasonal and non-benefit employment - Employees may be hired to fill various temporary, seasonal and non-benefit positions within the City as approved in the current budget. These employees will receive retirement benefits and paid sick leave as provided for in State law. Temporary, seasonal and non-benefit employees may be terminated at any time for any reason without recourse.
Equal Employment Opportunity – The City of Puyallup is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and does not discriminate in any employer/employee relations based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, disability, genetic information, veteran's status or any other basis protected by applicable discrimination laws.Background - The City of Puyallup will need to obtain the proper background and criminal history information pursuant to RCW 43.43.830/832 for positions where the employee will or may have unsupervised access to children, developmentally delayed persons or vulnerable adults.
Disability – In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, disability will be considered only in the context of an applicant's ability to perform essential functions of the job and to determine reasonable accommodation. Accommodation to participate in the job application and/or selection process for employment will be made upon request with reasonable notice. Please contact the Human Resources Department for further information. The physical demands described in this job announcement are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Identification – Applicants who are offered employment with the City are required to provide proof of identity and authorization to work in the United States within three days of date of hire, as required by the 1986 Federal Immigration Reform and Control Act. A list of acceptable documents verifying identity and authorization to work will be provided to those who are offered employment. The city uses the E-Verify program.
Drug-Free Workplace – The City of Puyallup is a drug-free, tobacco-free workplace.
Note – The provisions of this job announcement do not constitute an expressed or implied contract. Any provisioncontained herein may be modified and/or revoked without notice.