City of Coquitlam

GENERAL MANAGER PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

Regular Full Time (Exempt)

One of BC’s Top Employers, the City of Coquitlam is the sixth largest city in BC, and we are home to more than 150,000 residents. Our diverse municipality is a great place to work as it continues to grow through innovative urban design, inspiring arts, culture and recreation programs, and state-of-the-art transportation systems. At the City of Coquitlam, we're looking for great people who want to make a real difference in our community.  Our brand is built on managing our resources in a responsible and sustainable manner, while supporting a vibrant, growing regional urban centre.  We envision a bright future in Coquitlam that we hope includes you!

As a result of an upcoming retirement, an exciting opportunity is available on our City’s senior leadership team as the General Manager of Planning and Development.  This is an unparalleled opportunity to join our talented team and be part of a forward thinking, innovative organization looking to build a great city! Coquitlam continues to experience one of the highest growth rates in the region, and we have earned a reputation as a progressive organization that manages growth while creating liveable, safe and complete neighbourhoods. At the City of Coquitlam, we are proud of our relationships with external partners and due to this, Coquitlam offers the most exciting and diverse professional challenges in City building.  This includes the development of new neighbourhoods on Burke Mountain and Fraser Mills, densification of our transit-supported neighbourhoods and those served by Skytrain (including our City Centre), as well as the incremental evolution taking place in our older, established neighbourhoods. We challenge you as an urban professional to find a more diverse portfolio of exciting work or a better opportunity to make a positive impact to your profession while advancing your career goals!

Reporting to the Deputy City Manager, the General Manager of the Planning and Development department is a critical role at the City of Coquitlam that will help shape the future of this City at a key time in our development and in making a mark in our history.  The successful applicant will be a strong and collaborative leader, and will be responsible for providing direction in community and social planning, development services, building permit inspections and approvals, business services as well as corporate leadership in a growing municipality. 

Superior leadership, technical, interpersonal, communication and financial planning skills are essential requirements complimented by a proven track record of success in building and maintaining strong relationships.  The ability to influence, innovate, adapt and drive change and the ability to showcase a strong voice to provide Council with balanced advice on complex municipal, regional, regulatory and policy matters is fundamental.  Building and establishing relationships with a variety of internal and external stakeholders such as our elected City Council, the public and community groups are key to this position. In addition to the above, the successful applicant will have the ability to lead and build highly effective teams and to ensure that the City’s values are reflected in departmental processes, practices, leadership style and culture.

Our ideal candidate would preferably possess a degree in Planning, Urban Studies, Business Administration, Public Administration or a related field. Education should be supplemented with 10 or more years in a progressive senior management role with a distinguished record of success and effective leadership, ideally within a municipal setting. We are keen to work with and support the best fit candidate in leading this important work and in career development as our new General Manager Planning and Development as we move forward!

OTHER REQUIREMENTS INCLUDE: 

• Excellent interpersonal skills to make effective presentations before Council and executive level staff; and to provide strategic advice, counsel and guidance on critical issues that have community impacts. 
• Diverse and varied experience leading and directing staff in preparing plans and studies on planning and development issues including the adoption of bylaws, policies and regulations.
• Demonstrated understanding and experience in implementing the technical and legislative framework that underpins regulatory and policy matters in municipal planning and development, including the Municipal Charger, Local Government Act and Land Title Act.
• Experience working within or alongside municipal planning teams, developers, consultants and the public to resolve planning and development related concerns.
• Strong financial acumen with proven experience in preparing and managing multimillion dollar operational budgets.
• A willingness to join and excel with a dynamic team and growing municipality that is full of opportunity. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to negotiate, influence, and liaise effectively with contractors, consultants, community groups, members of the public and external agencies.
• Advanced business acumen and critical thinking skills to identify risks and leverage opportunities that can be addressed through organizational planning, creative partnerships and/or communication solutions. 
• Excellent problem solving and conflict resolution abilities and the ability to respond quickly and decisively to emergency situations.
• An understanding of and desire to promote the strategic direction of the City. 

Good people make Coquitlam great, sign up for career alerts through our recruitment portal to stay up to date about opportunities within our team, or follow us on LinkedIn to learn more about how #YouCouldWorkHere too!

The high-level energy and the leadership demands of this position will be compensated with an attractive salary, excellent benefits and a great deal of job satisfaction. Applicants under consideration may be required to undergo a police security clearance evaluation. 

Please apply online at www.coquitlam.ca/careers by 11:55pm March 7, 2021.

The City of Coquitlam is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted