Career Opportunity

Planner IV (5293) - Port of San Francisco (157059)

Recruitment: RTF0156650-01101422

Published: July 16, 2025

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A.

Specific information regarding this recruitment process is listed below:

• Application Opening: July16, 2025
• Application Deadline: August 6, 2025
• Annual Compensation Range: $150,384 - $182,702
• Appointment Type: Permanent Civil Service 
• Recruitment ID: PBT-5293-157059 

The Port of San Francisco is an enterprise agency of the City and County of San Francisco and is governed by a Commission of five members appointed by the Mayor. The Port Commission is responsible for overseeing a broad range of waterfront commercial, maritime, and public access facilities that are held in public trust for the people of California. The Port’s jurisdiction covers approximately 7.5 miles of waterfront land from Pier 98, near Hunter’s Point in the southern part of San Francisco, to Fisherman’s Wharf in the northern part of the City.

The Port’s diverse business portfolio includes over 550 ground, commercial, retail, office, industrial and maritime industrial leases including cargo shipping, layberthing, excursion boats, ferry boats, fishing and fish processing/distribution, tourism, filming, harbor services, and cruise operations. With some of the most flexible cargo handling facilities on the West Coast, as well as naturally deep water, the Port can handle various types of cargo such as, dry-bulk, neo-bulk, roll-on/roll-off, and project cargoes.

The Port of San Francisco has many internationally recognized landmarks such as Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, the Exploratorium, the Ferry Building and Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants baseball team. With its unique and historic properties, the Port is home to a variety of tenants and uses. The Port Commission over the last five decades has led a remarkable transformation of the Port; maintaining its industrial maritime heritage while developing new uses, including commercial and public activities, that have helped San Francisco remain one of the most visited and popular cities on the globe.

For more information about the Port of San Francisco, visit SFPort.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. 

Role description

Under direction, the Planner IV develops and implements difficult and complex planning studies and projects including urban design plans requiring balanced and fair analysis and judgement of diverse land use, urban design, historic preservation, transportation, general planning, environmental, community, regulatory and economic issues. This role requires sound judgment in addressing diverse planning and regulatory issues and involves coordination across multiple departments and external stakeholders. The Planner IV also supervises junior planning staff and oversees the work of consultants, in the performance of work related to assigned projects. 

The essential functions of this position include:

• Produces planning and urban design analyses and reports, including preparation of maps, charts, graphic representations for use by Port staff, applicants, and general public about waterfront design and development.
• Develops a waterfront design guideline work program that sets priorities, schedule and staff roles for producing design guidelines.
• Supervises and trains staff on Port land use, public review, design analysis to support effective and timely Port Planning & Environment review of project proposals and initiatives for Port property.
• Designs, studies, evaluates, and prepares analyses, recommendations and documents on complex planning, land use, and improvement projects and initiatives for Port Commission and senior staff review and action.
• Promotes internal Port division coordination and decision-making, integrating planning and design recommendations with Port business negotiations and requirements, regulatory requirements, and public comments/community objectives to advance successful projects with public support.
• Gathers, analyzes and interprets planning data.
• Produces written reports for public review, reviews projects for compliance with Port policies and other applicable regulatory requirements.
• Prepares recommendations to senior staff and the Port Commission.
• Coordinates interdepartmental project teams.
• As directed, manages major planning projects and initiatives which may include participation of multiple City departments and public agencies, requiring regular reporting and work programs, schedules and deliverables, and priority-setting.  Develop clearly defined teams with member roles and responsibility and project management reports and tools.
• Position requires substantial contact with the public, permit applicants, Port tenants, and numerous governmental agencies. Contact may include through commission or board meetings; public hearings and community meetings; meetings with regulatory agencies that have jurisdiction of Port lands or permits.

How to qualify

Education

Possession of bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university; AND

Experience

Six (6) years of experience in city, urban, and/or regional planning, and/or related planning environment (such as transportation planning, environmental planning, architecture, landscape architecture or urban design).

Substitution

Possession of master's degree from an accredited college or university in City, Regional or Urban Planning, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Geography, Urban Studies or Environmental Sciences may substitute for one (1) year of the required experience.

The Ideal Candidate (The stated desirable qualifications may be considered at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring):

The Ideal Candidate will:

• Have working knowledge and experience in waterfront planning and urban design, with particular emphasis on managing multiple historic properties as part of a diverse mix of maritime and industrial, commercial, recreational and neighborhood-friendly land uses. 
•  Have strong project management and time management skills to support timely planning and regulatory review processes and experience creating and administering design review and historic preservation standards and procedures to support ongoing real estate asset management, leasing and development projects.
• Have specific knowledge and experience in applying Secretary of Interior Standards for Historic Rehabilitation to repair and rehabilitation of historic resources in an urban setting is extremely important. 
• Have excellent verbal, written and technical communication skills with general public stakeholders and public agencies.
•  Have a degree in or be a licensed Architect or Landscape Architect
• Be a champion of Port’s efforts to be a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization and waterfront, and empower Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) in Port operations and opportunities through equitable policies and practices.

Important Note(s):

• Please make sure it is absolutely clear in your application exactly how you meet the minimum qualifications. Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process.
• One-year full-time employment is considered equivalent to 2000 hours (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.
• Applicants must meet minimum qualification requirements by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.
• Please be aware that any misrepresentation of this information may disqualify you from this recruitment or future job opportunities.

What else should I know?

Selection Procedures:
After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following: 

Supplemental Questionnaire Evaluation: (Weight: 100%)

Qualified candidates will be sent a link to complete Supplemental Questionnaire via email after the closing of this filing period. Applicants will be given a deadline to return the Supplemental Questionnaire. The Supplemental Questionnaire is designed to measure knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in job-related areas which have been identified as critical for positions in class 5293 Planner IV, Port of San Francisco.

Failure to complete these steps by the established deadlines will result in disqualification. All applicants’ responses to the Supplemental Questionnaire are subject to verification.

A passing score on the Supplemental Questionnaire Evaluation must be achieved in order to be placed/ranked on the Eligible List. Candidates will be placed on the eligible list in rank order according to their final score.

Eligible List/Score Report:

A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission. 

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be twelve (12) months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director. 

Certification Rule: 

The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of Three Scores, pending approval from the union for an expanded certification rule.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights:

Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.sf.gov/. 

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1. The standard for the review of such appeals is 'abuse of discretion' or 'no rational basis' for establishing the position description, the minimum qualifications and/or the certification rule. Appeals must include a written statement of the item(s) being contested and the specific reason(s) why the cited item(s) constitute(s) abuse of discretion by the Human Resources Director.  Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date. 

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.sf.gov/ and begin the application process. 

• Select the “Apply Now" button and follow instructions on the screen 

Recruitment Analyst Information:  If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact Sadia Afandi at sadia.afandi@sfport.com. 

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. 

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received. 

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams 
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.