Planning Technician

The Position

The City of Beaverton, recognized as one of the 100 best places to live in the United States, is seeking an entry-level current planner in the position of Planning Technician. This role provides community members with assistance over the city’s Planning Counter, answers general planning questions, processes minor permits and provides excellent customer service as part of the City’s Planning Permit Counter team. This position is part of the City’s Community Development Department as part of a team of 13 current and long range planners.

Beaverton is a diverse first-ring suburb with a growing population of more than 95,000 people. The city is committed to fostering an inclusive, welcoming environment and building community, creating a vibrant downtown and enhancing livability.

ABOUT THE JOB: The city is looking for a Planning Technician with experience delivering great customer service and an interest in and knowledge of planning and development review. This is an entry-level planning position responsible for providing accurate development code and land use process information to customers and processing ministerial applications, with some administrative duties. As a member of the Planning Division permit counter team, the Planning Technician works closely with other city staff in the Community Development Department, community members and developers by providing excellent customer service face to face, via email, phone, and video conference.

This is a non-exempt, SEIU-classified position. This position may require evening and weekend work. There is one vacancy.

Please note: Experience and skills will be reviewed via the main application submission only. Resumes will not be accepted in place of the completed application. Please ensure your supplemental question responses reflect how your skills and abilities meet the needs of this position.

Responsibilities

Depending upon assignment, the incumbent may perform a combination of some or all the following duties:

Serve as the first point of contact to the public for information pertaining to general planning questions and questions on the Beaverton Development Code.

Meet with and assist community members and developers to ensure satisfactory completion of the development review process. Respond to inquiries concerning planning projects or development projects and city standards.

Review building plans and evaluate consistency with land use approvals.

Processing of Type 1 land use applications and other ministerial applications.

Work closely with staff from Site Development (staff that permit and inspect public improvements built by developers), Building, Public Works (including engineering staff), and partner agencies to facilitate problem solving for simple development applications.

Perform administrative tasks, including but not limited to data entry, file management, copying, responding to emails, phone calls, and other correspondences.

Assist other staff in a variety of planning projects.

Provide excellent internal and external customer service, including working with diverse populations.

Prepare clear and effective staff reports, technical reports, and other written documents.

Research, analyze and evaluate land use applications and technical reports

Collect, read, and interpret data, maps and plans.

Explain complicated information in a simple manner for non-technical audiences, in person, on the phone and in writing.

May attend meetings and public hearings, some of which are outside regular working hours.

Use a computer and compose materials for publication related to land use issues and applications.

Ability to travel as necessary to perform inspection and field observations at construction sites.

Create a workplace that promotes the organizational values of workplace diversity, equity and inclusion.

Assist in creating a positive and supportive work environment with a culture of teamwork and communication.

Actively promote an environment respectful of living and working in a multicultural society.

Perform duties outlined in the Planning Technician classification and other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE IS:
Self-motivated and organized;

Detail-oriented, with experience guiding customers through regulations and procedures;

A thoughtful communicator verbally, visually, and in writing;

A problem solver that both gets the “big picture” and is attuned to technical details;

Interested in learning about the principles and practices of land use planning at the city, county, regional and state level;

Possesses strong interpersonal skills to work with a wide variety of people, including historically underrepresented communities.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Associate’s Degree

Experience and/or education that support the responsibilities listed above.

Or any combination of experience and education that support the responsibilities listed above.

Valid driver’s license and ability to meet the city’s driving standards.

Ability to pass reference checks, a degree verification check and satisfy the requirements of a background check.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelor’s degree in urban planning, geography, public administration, transportation planning, landscape architecture, urban design or related field.

One year of experience in current planning or other development related office experience.

Bilingual Competency in English and any of the following: Spanish or Arabic or Korean or Vietnamese or Chinese or Russian or Japanese, including speaking, reading and writing.

Beaverton is a diverse city, boasting a large population of qualified persons, including women, veterans, Black, Indigenous and people of color, persons with disabilities, generational groups, persons who speak many languages and are of diverse national origins.

It is widely stated—and supported by studies—that candidates, especially women, are less likely to apply for a job unless they believe they meet 100% of the hiring criteria. The city’s talent acquisition goals include hiring the candidate who is best able to meet the performance objectives of the role. We therefore encourage persons with non-traditional skill sets and experiences to apply, even if you believe you do not meet 100% of the qualifications and hiring criteria described.

Compensation

Wage Range: $21.17 – $28.36

Starting wage will be determined depending on relevant work experience as outlined in the Equal Pay Act. New hires who meet minimum requirements will start at step one. Higher steps may be offered to those who have additional years of directly related experience to the position.

The city pays the full retirement contribution to PERS; provides employees with an opportunity to participate in a deferred compensation retirement plan; makes available a public service loan forgiveness program and tuition reimbursement program; and offers excellent health, dental, vision and life insurance coverage.