Career Opportunity

Planner IV (5293)

Recruitment: RTF0138749-01110910

Published: August 23, 2023

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

About:

This is a Position Based Test conducted in accordance with Civil Service Rule 111A.

• Application Opening:  August 21, 2023
• Application Deadline:  September 5, 2023, 11:59 PM PST
• Recruitment ID:  RTF0138749-01110910
• Exam Type:  Combined, Promotive and Entrance
• Analyst:  Michael Eng

The Department
The San Francisco Planning Department (CPC) plays a central role in guiding the growth and development in our City. The Department works with other City agencies and the community to help achieve great planning for a great city.   

Our Mission
The mission of the San Francisco Planning Department, under the direction of the Planning Commission, shapes the future of San Francisco and the region by: generating an extraordinary vision for the General Plan and in neighborhood plans; fostering exemplary design through planning controls; improving our surroundings through environmental analysis; preserving our unique heritage; encouraging a broad range of housing and a diverse job base; and enforcing the Planning Code. 

Our Racial and Social Equity Vision 
The Department’s racial and social equity vision is:  

The SF Planning Department envisions inclusive neighborhoods that provide all with the opportunity to lead fulfilling, meaningful, and healthy lives. We envision a city where public life and public spaces reflect the past, present, and future of San Franciscans. We envision a city where a person’s race does not determine their lives’ prospects and success. 

We envision an inclusive Planning Department and Commissions that represent and engage the communities we serve. We envision a department that proactively infuses racial and social equity in both internal operations and external Planning work. Together, we are reimagining what the Planning field is and can be – inclusive, diverse and one that centers racial and social equity both as a practice and as an indicator of success. 

To achieve this broader city vision, we must do our part and address racial and social equity within the Planning Department’s policies and practices.

Role description

The San Francisco Planning Department is currently recruiting to fill one (1) 5293 Planner IV position to manage the Housing Implementation Team within the Current Planning Division.

The Division
The Current Planning Division is responsible for reviewing land use development applications, implementing the historic preservation program, enforcement of the Planning Code, management of the Short-Term Rental program and operating the Public Information Center (PIC) among other work. Every year, this division reviews and processes over 6,000 building permits and hundreds of land use applications.

The Opportunity
The Planner IV vacancy in this Division will serve as the manager for the Current Planning Division’s Housing Implementation Team. This position will supervise and manage a team of planners responsible for implementing and tracking State and local housing legislation, monitoring Development Agreement obligations, and executing various process improvements throughout the Division. This position will report to the Department’s Housing Coordinator. This team possesses approximately four-to-six staff members, who range in experience from assistant planner to senior planner.

The Housing Implementation Team are in-house consultants for the Current Planning Division’s development review staff and resources throughout the City Family on housing development. They are experts in the City’s inclusionary housing ordinance and various housing incentive programs, including local and state density bonus programs, as well as legal precedent. This position will also be responsible for training the Current Planning Division in new or modified housing legislation and in developing procedures and protocols for the newly adopted updates to the inclusionary housing ordinance. Lastly, this position will function as the Planning Department’s liaison with the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) on the inclusionary housing program.

The Housing Implementation Team Manager will also regularly coordinate with the other Current Planning managers, as well as Senior Management, Data, and Finance staff, to track housing production, gauge team backlogs and work collaboratively to implement the Division’s work program. The role includes tracking, reporting, and analyzing of key volume and backlog performance metrics; oversight, training, mentorship, and management of planners; as well as other duties as needed.

The successful candidates will possess strong values that align with the City's goals, which include being welcoming, having integrity, showing accountability, and demonstrating a commitment to service.  Additionally, the ideal candidates will have extensive knowledge about the City’s entitlement and permitting process, be knowledgeable about the San Francisco Planning Code and related housing legislation, and have experience reviewing architectural plans for a range of land use development projects. The successful candidates should also have demonstrated an initiative in taking on process improvements, and be a highly organized individual with strong analytical, written, and oral communication skills who can thrive in a fast-paced, high-pressure, deadline-driven work environment.

How to qualify

Minimum Qualifications

1. Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.
   
   AND
    
2. Six (6) years of experience in city, urban, and/or regional planning, and/or related planning environment (such as transportation planning, environmental planning, 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.

Desired Qualifications
The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

• Strong working knowledge and/or expertise in the San Francisco Planning Code and recently adopted statewide legislation related to housing and urban planning;
• Experience with San Francisco’s Inclusionary Affordable Housing Program;
• Experience reviewing architectural plans; and,
• Demonstrated experience in interagency coordination within a public agency.

Verification of Education and Experience:
Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

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:

1. Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ) - Qualifying
Candidates will be sent an MQSQ via email as part of the employment application. Applicants will be required to respond to the MQSQ in the time frame indicated, and submit their answers as directed. This MQSQ is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications (MQs) for this position. The MQSQ will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.

2. Supplemental Questionnaire Exam (SQ) - Weight 100%
Candidates who meet the minimum qualification for this position will be sent a Supplemental Questionnaire (SQ) via email to complete and return. Applicants will be required to respond to the SQ in the time frame indicated, and submit their answers as directed.

The Supplemental Questionnaire is designed to determine relative knowledge, skills and ability levels in job related areas which may include, but not be limited to:  knowledge of the principles, practices, purposes, scope and techniques of various phases of city planning; knowledge of land use, policy, land development and design techniques; project/time management ability; critical thinking/problem solving ability and written communication ability.

The SQ will account for 100% of the total weight of the final score.

A passing score must be achieved on all components of the selection procedures in order to be placed/ranked on the score report. The department may administer additional position-specific selection procedures to make final hiring decisions.

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.

Certification: The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of Three (3). Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be six (6) months, and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

Upon approval of the Human Resource Director (see Civil Service Rule 111A.26.5), the eligible list/score report resulting from this announcement may be used by other departments that also use this classification or a similar classification. To find other Departments which use this classification, please see:  Position-Counts-by-Job-Codes-and-Department-FY-2021-22.pdf (sfdhr.org).

Terms of Announcement:
This is a Position Based Test conducted in accordance with Civil Service Rule 111A. 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 and, if so, an amended note will be posted on this official job announcement.

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.

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

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

Questions:  If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, Michael Eng, by telephone at 628-652-7522, or by email at Michael.Eng@sfgov.org.

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.