Senior Community Planner

About the role

Bolton & Menk is seeking a Senior Planner to join our growing Urban & Community Planning team. In this role, you'll help shape the future of communities by leading complex planning projects, serving as a trusted advisor to clients, and mentoring the next generation of planning professionals. Whether you're looking for greater responsibility and leadership opportunities or seeking more variety and multidisciplinary collaboration, this role offers the chance to expand your impact while helping advance our mission that all people should live in safe, sustainable, and beautiful communities.

As a Top Workplace, this is a unique opportunity to collaborate with a talented, supportive team and make a lasting difference in the communities we serve. With over 75 years of experience, Bolton & Menk specializes in providing community infrastructure solutions across the Midwest, Southeast, and beyond. This position is based out of our Milwaukee office.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a variety of planning initiatives, including land use planning, comprehensive planning, development review, entitlement support, policy development, community engagement, and other community planning efforts.
• Analyze complex planning issues, evaluate trends and regulations, and provide strategic recommendations that help clients make informed decisions.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to communities, developers, public officials, and stakeholders by leading presentations, facilitating meetings, and guiding public engagement efforts.
• Build consensus and move projects forward through community workshops, planning commission meetings, and client strategy sessions.
• Mentor staff, review technical work, contribute to business development efforts, and assist with proposals and client pursuits.
• Collaborate across disciplines with engineers and landscape architects on transformative community projects.
• Influence both project outcomes and the continued growth of the planning team.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Urban Planning, Public Policy, or a closely related field from an accredited college or university.
• Approximately 8–10+ years of progressive planning experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• AICP certification strongly preferred, but not required.
• Experience leading planning projects, client relationships, and stakeholder engagement efforts.
• Strong knowledge of land use planning, community development, zoning, entitlement processes, and planning best practices.
• Experience preparing planning studies, technical reports, development reviews, and public-facing documents.
• Strong communication, facilitation, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
• Valid driver's license and willingness to travel to project sites and client meetings as needed.
• Must be currently authorized to work in the United States for any employer without restriction; visa sponsorship is not provided.

About Bolton & Menk

Bolton & Menk, Inc. specializes in providing community infrastructure solutions. Since 1949, we have been committed to improving quality of life through engineering excellence and client satisfaction. From advocating for our communities to designing their dreams to finding funding, we take pride in our work because we live in these same communities. Today, Bolton & Menk has more than 1,000 employees throughout more than 35 locations in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Colorado, providing services to more than 400 communities and agencies.

Benefits

Perks of being a Bolton & Menk employee include peace of mind with our benefits package and competitive compensation plan, flexible schedules, and career development opportunities. Learn more at bolton-menk.com/careers.