Planner - Commission of Architectural Review

About the role

This is an exciting time to join the City of Richmond. We are committed to nurturing talent, fostering growth opportunities, and building strong connections within our workforce. The City of Richmond Department of Planning & Development Review is currently seeking a qualified candidate for the position of Planner - CAR.

Responsibilities

The selected individual will be responsible for establishing and applying high-quality historic preservation standards that influence the design of public and private projects. Duties include but are not limited to:

• Preparing reports and presenting findings to boards, commissions, and Council.
• Serving as Secretary to the Commission of Architectural Review (CAR)
• Reviewing plans, permits, and projects for compliance with historic preservation regulations and Commission decisions
• Providing technical assistance to clients, specifically on entitlement and permitting processes
• Leading project teams
• Supporting Section 106 reviews for public and private projects with federal funding.
• Preparing and administering programmatic agreements
• Updating City-wide survey of historic resources
• Organizing and facilitating public engagement activities
• Preparing mailings and public notices
• Creating publications, presentations, and content for website

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's degree in urban planning, historic preservation, architectural history, architecture, landscape architecture, or a related field, and three years of experience or an equivalent amount of graduate level training.

Skills

The candidate should have:

• Knowledge of the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation
• Clear understanding of architectural history, architectural terms, styles, and construction methods
• Knowledge of Commission of Architectural Review Guidelines
• General knowledge of: urban planning and design; federal preservation laws and regulations; preservation planning; zoning ordinances; historic preservation principles; master planning; traditional neighborhood development; transportation planning; ordinance preparation; land title surveying; and engineering principles.
• Skill in providing excellent customer service, including dealing with unhappy customers
• Negotiating and balancing the needs of citizens with economic demands, health and human service needs, goals of private corporations, and land use regulations.
• Ability to analyze information
• Communicating planning and local government policy issues to a range of audiences
• Interacting and working with different groups of people.

Preferred Qualifications

Preferred candidates will have:

• Bachelor's Degree in Historic Preservation or Architectural History
• At least three years of experience and a Master's degree in Planning, with course work or certifications Historic Preservation or Architectural History, or a related field
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Proficiency in Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Ability to work in a challenging, rewarding, and fast-paced environment
• Experience working for a local government in an urban setting.

Benefits

The City of Richmond offers various benefits, including:

• Virginia Retirement System (VRS)
• Language Incentive
• Referral Bonus
• Tuition Assistance Program