Senior Planner

Choose Barrie

The City of Barrie is a vibrant, progressive, and growing community with deep connections to our heritage, to nature and to the opportunities surrounding us. Our community values quality of life; the ability to play year-round with 300 hectares of park space, our beautiful waterfront, our lively downtown core and the nearby hills, wetlands, and forests. We also value connections; to our neighbours and the community, to our road and rail network, and to the opportunity Barrie provides to enjoy life. Everything Barrie has to offer, from the water we drink to the roads we travel on, has one thing in common - municipal workers. Joining a municipality is one of the most rewarding, engaging, and exciting careers you could choose. It is a career you can take pride in knowing that every day you make a positive impact on an entire community. We are one team, with one goal and we all work together to continue making our community great. The Opportunity Development Services is comprised of several branches. The Department's mission is to guide the growth and development of Barrie towards a vibrant, livable and resilient community through development of a strong policy framework for land use decision making and development review services. The Branches work together to implement provincial policies, address corporate strategic objectives and apply best practices in land use planning, development review, technical design review, active transportation implementation and guide development and growth with full support from professional, technical and administrative support staff. Feedback and interaction with a variety of other Departments within the organization, and gained through public consultation, are key to realizing Council and corporate directions, many of which are initiated and commenced through the development process. The Senior Planner position is responsible for all matters pertaining to the use and development of land within the City of Barrie including all private development proposals and municipal operations, facilities, and strategic initiatives and ensures compliances with provincial and municipal legislation, policies, regulations and guidelines. Specifically, this position authors, presents and defends complex and multifaceted policy recommendations to City Council regarding land-use and planning issues that affect the use and development of land within the City, which involves developing and/or conducting studies regarding matters ranging from environmental protection, heritage conservation, downtown revitalization and economic development. Additionally, this position project manages and leads a portfolio of complex and multifaceted applications, which involves reviewing, processing, authoring, presenting and defending recommendations to City Council regarding applications for the development of land within the City. The Senior Planner is also responsible for overseeing and guiding planning staff and the assignment of workload, review of planning staff reports, memos and conditions of approval. Lastly, this position provides leadership, guidance and advice of a functional, technical, and professional nature to various internal and external stakeholders, which involves preparing, presenting, and defending professional planning evidence under cross-examination at quasi-judicial tribunals such as the Ontario Land Tribunal and/or tribunals or courts of law through the provision of testimony as an Expert Witness. Overall, this position plays an integral role in advocating for and acting in the public interest with respect to all land-use planning and development related matters, and promoting efficient land-use and development within the City to strategically meet the City of Barrie’s future growth needs and requirements. Our Culture and Qualifications of the Job Corporate Culture: Your workplace values align with our corporate values of Strive, Share and Care and you want to join us in providing exceptional services and programs to build a prosperous, growing and sustainable community Education (degree/diploma/certifications) Four (4) year University Degree in Urban Planning or a related discipline Eligibility for and willingness to become a Full Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) Eligibility for and willingness to become a Full Member of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) Don’t meet the education credentials as outlined above but have years of directly related experience? Please see the City’s  Education Equivalency Policy to determine if you may qualify for equivalency. Further information is available at www.barrie.ca/JobOpps. Position Equivalency Code: F Experience  Seven (7) years of experience performing duties related to the above mentioned major responsibilities within a land-use planning and development work environment, including: Three (3) years of leadership/supervisory experienceDemonstrated experience working with the Committee of AdjustmentDemonstrated experience preparing, presenting, and defending professional planning evidence under cross-examination at quasi-judicial tribunals through the provision of testimony as an Expert WitnessDemonstrated experience applying and interpreting planning documents and regulation instruments Knowledge/Skill/Ability  Working knowledge of the following applicable legislation and policy including but not limited to: Ontario Planning ActOntario Provincial Policy StatementProvincial Growth PlanCondominium ActEnvironmental Assessment ActDevelopment Charges ActOntario Heritage Act Working knowledge of current trends, policies, practices, technology, and information related to land-use planning and development, as well as working knowledge of the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) appeal processes Thorough knowledge of the application and interpretation of municipal planning policy documents and regulation instruments, including Official Plans, Zoning By-laws and Urban Design Guidelines, as well as thorough knowledge of the Committees of Adjustment process, including the role of the Planner in providing application review comments Demonstrated ability to: project manage, review, analyze and formulate policy on a broad variety of planning related issues, and develop and present solutionsproject manage, review, and analyze development applications of varying scales and significance, and develop and present solutionsread and interpret plans, maps, by-laws, and legal documentsapply a wide range of mathematical or statistical conceptsprioritize, set priorities, meet deadlines and deal with conflicting priorities and work demandscoordinate and manage the development application review processanalyze complex issues and problems, evaluate alternative solutions and develop sound conclusions, recommendations and courses of actionchampion the mission and values of the Cityconduct research, prepare reports, and deliver presentationsdevelop, promote and maintain effective and collaborative liaison with City employees, external agencies, government agencies, the general public, developers, consultants and other stakeholdersexercise discretion and judgment when handling confidential, controversial and or politically sensitive information and ensures the security of such information/fileslead, coach, mentor and support stafflead and inspire innovation and the adoption of best practicesmaintain a high standard of public relations at all timesthink and act strategically in a political and community service environmentwork independently with minimum supervision Excellent project/time management, analytical, report-writing, presentation, collaboration, facilitation, mediation, negotiation, and problem solving skills Excellent interpersonal, communication (verbal and written), organizational, research, analytical, public engagement and consultation, customer service, teamwork and leadership skills Computer literacy, utilizing the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint), GIS software and electronic tracking systems Availability to accommodate deadlines, meeting/event attendance and/or peak period workloads that may extend beyond the normal workday or occur on evenings/weekends Conditions of Employment Valid Ontario Class “G” Driver’s Licence in good standing with a reliable vehicle to use on corporate business Satisfactory Criminal Record Check* *Please note that this is a requirement of the position for any new employees to the City of Barrie in accordance with the  Police Record Check Procedure . Existing employees who have met this criteria will be exempt from this requirement.

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