JOB OVERVIEW

The Planning Technician provides support to Local Trust Committees and community boards and committees within an assigned regional area of the Islands Trust. Acting under the direction of a Regional Planning Manager (RPM) thePlanning Technician is primarily responsible for responding to enquiries and referrals. This position will support allthree planning offices. Routine duties may include interaction with administrative staff in all three offices to ensurecommunication, reporting and facilitation of meetings and events.

ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Responds to public land use planning enquiries received in person, by telephone, by e-mail or in writtencorrespondence;
• liaises with applicants and affected parties to clarify the intent and impact of applications;
• administers and interprets land-use bylaws by providing information on regulations and policies;
• Examines building permit referrals, Crown Land referrals, Liquor and Cannabis Referrals and other referrals asdirected by the Regional Planning Manager or Island Planner.
  • provides information and guidance to the public in completing application documentation
  • seeks legal advice and considers opinions in preparation of responses
  • examines building permits, Crown lease applications, liquor and cannabis referral applications todetermine compliance with Islands Trust regulations
  • liaises with other government ministries and agencies to resolve issues with overlapping jurisdictions
  • drafts appropriate technical documentation and permits for authorizing signatures
• Assist planners with preparation of siting and use permits, development permit and temporary use permits.
• Undertakes technical research related to local trust committee projects as directed by the RegionalPlanning Manager.

OTHER JOB DUTIES AND TASKS:

• Supports the activities of the Regional Planning Manager, Director of Local Planning Services, and other staff asrequired.
• Liaison and cooperation with regional district building inspectors in relation to review of building permitapplications for compliance with local land use bylaws.
• Liaison and cooperation with provincial ministries in relation to review of Crown land referrals, and liquor andcannabis referrals.
• Provides assistance in the investigation and disposition of bylaw infractions.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Education and Experience:

• Minimum of a two-year diploma in land use planning, geography, urban studies or related field.
• At least one-year planning experience.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.

Preference may be given to candidates who have:

• Experience working in a BC local government planning office.
• Experience working with Indigenous communities.
• Experience working with rural communities.
• Extensive experience with visual communications/graphics (i.e. Adobe Creative Suite).
• At least 1 year experience applying the Local Government Act and other Provincial policies and legislationapplicable to land use planning in the Province of BC.
• At least 1 year experience applying common law principles and legislative conventions applicable to land useplanning.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment.
• Ability to establish and maintain respectful and diplomatic working relationships with applicants, trustees,staff, agencies and the public.
• Ability to be sensitive to political issues and impacts.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and manage and prioritize workload.
• Ability to maintain organized and complete files.

BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES

• Planning, Organizing and Coordinating involves proactively planning, establishing priorities and allocatingresources. It is expressed by developing and implementing increasingly complex plans. It also involves monitoringand adjusting work to accomplish goals and deliver to the organization's mandate.
• Information Seeking is driven by a desire to know more about things, people or issues. It implies going beyond the questions that are routine or required in the job. It may include "digging" or pressing for exact information;resolution of discrepancies by asking a series of questions; or less-focused environmental "scanning" for potentialopportunities or miscellaneous information that may be of future use.
• Concern for Order reflects an underlying drive to reduce uncertainty in the surrounding environment. It is expressed as monitoring and checking work or information, insisting on clarity of roles and functions,etc.
• Service Orientation is the desire to identify and serve customers/clients, who may include the public, co-workers, otherbranches/divisions, other ministries/agencies, other government organizations and non-government organizations. It meansfocusing one’s efforts on discovering and meeting the needs of the customer/client
• Teamwork and Co-operation the ability to work co-operatively within diverse teams, work groups and across theorganization to achieve group and organizational goals. It includes the desire and ability to understand and respondeffectively to other people from diverse backgrounds with diverse views.

INDIGENOUS RELATIONS BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES

• Empathy is the ability to recognize, understand and directly experience the emotion of another. It involves listeningwith heart, accepting their message and staying focused on their experience rather than reacting. It meansunderstanding that the behaviour may be connected to something outside of the immediate situation. (Sympathy isnot empathy. Sympathy means feeling pity and sorrow for someone's misfortune, or the tendency to want to helpthem with what you see as something negative. This can send a message that you believe that others cannot arrive at their own solutions.

Please APPLY here: https://islandstrust.bc.ca/whats-happening/islands-trust-careers/