City of Victoria

Senior Planner – Housing Development (Continuous)

Sustainable Planning and Community Development Department

Victoria is a vibrant, diverse and sustainably-focused city, renowned as a global tourist destination, hosting over 3.5 million visitors annually, and a place with excellent quality of life. Located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island and the capital of British Columbia, the City of Victoria is home to 92,000 people and is the economic and cultural hub for the region’s 350,000 residents.

The City of Victoria is recruiting for the position of Senior Planner, Housing Development, a new role that will help facilitate affordable housing development in the city.

Reporting to the Assistant Director of Community Planning, our ideal candidate will bring a passion for creating and delivering opportunities for a diversity of housing that will serve the needs of our current and future residents.

This is a unique opportunity that combines both current and long-range planning considerations, for a skilled and motivated professional who enjoys tackling complex challenges, collaborating across city departments and with housing providers, to effectively meet strategic objectives.

If you are passionate about what you do and want to contribute to how the City achieves its housing and liveability objectives, we want to hear from you!

POSITION FUNCTION

Perform functions related to facilitating delivery of affordable housing projects that meet the City’s strategic objectives by implementing City policies and programs, guiding City investments in land, encouraging partnerships, and liaising with a range of housing providers and developers.

KEY DUTIES

Develop strategies and analyses to enable the City to focus its policies, programs, regulatory tools and investments in land, to deliver affordable housing projects. Identify the segment of the housing market where public investment is most required. Enable the City to enter into partnerships with private, public and non-profit partners to initiate projects.

Develop effective grant and incentive programs enabled by legislation to catalyze housing development and achieve other desirable civic benefits through housing projects.

Support the City in the identification, assessment and progression of land opportunities to deliver affordable housing projects, and help determine appropriate level and scale of investment, housing type and form, and levels of financial support required.

Liaise and build relationships with a range of public and non-profit housing industry representatives to facilitate new housing projects that deliver affordable residential units in Victoria.

Support development negotiations involving affordable housing for consideration of bonus density. Regularly monitor and evaluate the City’s Inclusionary Housing policy as part of adaptive management. Update the policy annually to ensure rates and targets remain aligned with market conditions. Track and monitor affordable units created.

Oversee consultant selection processes, manage project budgets and guide project contractors.

Provide advice and recommendations to Council and make presentations. Represent the department at external meetings. Develop public education and communications on affordable housing need.

Perform related duties where qualified.

INDEPENDENCE

Work is generated by the City’s Strategic Plan, Victoria Housing Strategy implementation, departmental work programs, or assigned by supervisor.
Work is reviewed through discussions with supervisor and department meetings.
New initiatives, major projects and policies are discussed with supervisor with recommendations.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Physical Effort:

Normal.

Mental Effort:

Meet multiple deadlines. (occasional)
Short periods of intense concentration while preparing reports. (often) 

Visual/Auditory Effort:
Focus on a variety of source data and computer for short periods. (often) 

Work Environment:
Office.
Work irregular hours. (premium item)

KEY SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Organize and prioritize work.
Understand and apply the principles of development finance and investment.
Understand the range of public and non-profit housing providers in the housing market and their respective roles.
Understand and apply the principles of project management.
Working level operation of current City word processing, spreadsheet and related specialty software.
Compose and present proposals.
Deal effectively with the public and outside agencies.
Establish and maintain effective working relationships, including public and non-profit housing industry representatives.
Represent the City to the public and outside agencies.

QUALIFICATIONS
Formal Education, Training and Occupational Certification:
University degree in Urban Planning, Urban Land Economics or related discipline. (4 years)

Experience:

6 years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

OTHER:

May be requested to substitute in a more senior position.

Work schedule: Monday – Friday, 35 hrs/week

$54.16 per hour, Pay Grade 19 (under review)

Job Code # 4416
This is a CUPE Local 50 Position

To apply for this opportunity you will need to create an online profile or log back in to our career portal at www.victoria.ca/jobs - only online submission will be considered. All applications must be submitted online by 4:30 pm on the closing date noted on the posting. Please be prepared to provide proof of qualifications and supporting materials as outlined in your resume

City of Victoria is an equal opportunity employer committed to establishing an inclusive, equitable, and accessible environment for all. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status or any other basis protected by applicable law.

We are committed to ensuring that reasonable accommodations are made available to persons with disabilities during the recruitment cycle and will provide reasonable accommodations upon request. If you require assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at HR@victoria.ca