City of Vancouver

Planner II (City Design Studio)

Requisition ID: 12471 

The City of Vancouver is striving to become the greenest city in the world, and a city powered entirely by renewable energy before 2050. We are proud to be one of BC's Top Employers, Canada's Best Diversity Employers, and one of Canada's Greenest Employers. With employees that have helped Vancouver consistently rank as one of the world's most livable cities, the City values a diverse workforce which represents the vibrant community we so proudly serve.

Consider joining our committed team of staff and being part of an innovative, inclusive and rewarding workplace.

Main Purpose and Function 

The City Design Studio is a multi-disciplinary urban design group within the Department of Planning, Urban Design and Sustainability that provides direction, guidance and support in the physical design of Vancouver’s built environments. The successful candidate will become an integral part of the City Design Studio team and will help to shape the Studio’s direction in the coming years, particularly around the public realm.

This is a complex professional urban design position that will be responsible for leading and contributing to public realm projects involving complex problems and politically sensitive issues. These projects will involve the development, co-ordination and implementation of overall public realm plans and recommendations on major policy change as well as collaboration on large scale planning and urban design initiatives and contributing to on-going research and innovation related to the public realm. This role includes supervision of junior staff.

The City Design Studio is set up to foster collaboration within the Studio as well as with other groups and Departments at the City of Vancouver. The successful candidate will work in a collaborative team environment to both lead and support various City initiatives.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

• Conceptualization, development, testing and refinement of public realm plans
• Lead the exploration of public realm strategies to support urban design direction
• Leadership of junior staff engaged in public realm projects
• Report writing, meeting facilitation, and presentations to other staff, management and stakeholders
• Provide professional public realm input for selected major projects and area plans, as well as expertise on special projects involving city-building issues or projects of particular public interest
• Provide direction and guidance to professional urban design and landscape architecture consultants engaged by the City and/or development proponents.
• Liaise with the Parks Board and the Engineering Department to develop holistic public realm strategies on large scale area planning programs and streetscape designs.
• Apply skill and versatility in design, sound judgement and independent action within the parameters of work assignments, planning policies, by-laws and design guidelines
• Work collaboratively with other members of the City Design Studio, the Planning, Urban Design and Sustainability Department, and other City Departments
• Support and facilitate public consultation processes, including community events, workshops and meetings (including evenings, and weekends)

Qualifications

Education 

• University degree in Urban Design, Planning or Landscape Architecture.  Degree in Landscape Architecture preferred. 
• Membership or eligibility for membership in the British Columbia Society of Landscape Architects.
• Membership or eligibility for membership with the PIBC desirable.

Experience 

• 7 years’ professional experience in urban design preferred with demonstrated experience in landscape architecture, and the planning and design of the public realm
• Experience working in a design capacity, from concept through to detailed design, construction and implementation on a range of public realm typologies including streetscapes, parks, and plazas
• Experience integrating various layers of urban design (including built form, land use, open space, transportation and infrastructure) and working across scales
• Experience providing review, advice and comment on urban design and landscape architecture proposals and applications desired.

• Demonstrated design ability with an emphasis on public realm plans and design guidelines
• Strong graphic visualization and representation capabilities in a variety of mediums
• Considerable familiarity with the City’s process for planning and designing the public realm including the integration of Engineering, Parks and Planning considerations and requirements
• Considerable knowledge of public consultation, land use issues, site planning, urban design, transportation, and sustainable design practices is essential,
• Strong interpersonal, public engagement and communications skills while engaging with other planning staff and members of the community
• Ability to lead and collaborate on project teams and be accountable for developing work plans and completing deliverables on time in a  high pressure environment.
• Demonstrated project management and superior communications skills
• Considerable skill in collaborative decision making, negotiation, conflict resolution, interest-based problem solving.
• Ability to develop planning policies, regulations and guidelines
• Ability to facilitate public consultation processes
• Ability to clearly communicate complex issues through Council reports and presentations, or comparable documentation and presentations.
• Full working knowledge of GIS, AutoCAD, Sketchup, and the Adobe Creative Suite is desirable.  Experience in Revit, Dynamo, Rhino and Grasshopper is an asset

Business Unit/Department: Planning, Urban Design & Sustainability (1275) 

Affiliation: CUPE 15 Non Pks 

Employment Type: Regular Full Time 

Salary Information: Pay Grade GR-031: $48.78 to $57.70 per hour

Application Close: February 17th 

Please APPLY here: https://jobs.vancouver.ca/job/Vancouver-Planner-II-Brit/536538300/

We thank all applicants for their interest. However, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Learn more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion.