Economic Development Planner

Responsible for managing projects related to neighborhood planning, small businesses, real estate, and workforce development initiatives by providing technical assistance; coordination and development of new planning procedures; preparing written project analysis; developing and managing data collection tools; and managing consultant contracts including scopes-of-work and budgets. Employee will also be required to support associated Boards & Commissions under the Office of Planning & Economic Development.

Work is performed under the supervision of the Deputy Development Officer. No supervision is exercised over other employees.

• Provides technical assistance regarding urban planning and development activities.
• Manages complex neighborhood planning projects that advance the economic development goals of the City, from concept development and grant seeking to project launch and operations.
• Supervises consultants and monitors project progress,
• Produces and ensures project deliverables are timely.
• Navigates project development with internal and external partners.
• Collects and analyzes relevant quantitative and qualitative data, updates spreadsheets, databases and inventories with statistical, financial, and non-financial information.
• Coordinates associated community outreach and participation processes for economic development projects and initiatives. Community outreach work might include engaging with the local real estate industry and business leaders; developing marketing materials and strategies for various projects; and coordinating and preparing materials for a variety of Boards and Commissions.
• Serves as additional staff support for the Springfield Historical Commission. Regular attendance at such meetings, which occur after regular work hours, will be required.
• Provides staff support for the Planning Department including Plan Reviews, constituent services, administration of board and commission duties.
• Utilizes GIS mapping tools to produce maps for project related uses as well as for other department and public requests.
• Works in close cooperation with the other divisions that comprise the Development Division (e.g., Community Development, Neighborhoods, Housing, Building Department)
• Other duties as assigned by the Deputy Development Officer, Chief Development Officer, and Deputy Director of Planning.

• Considerable knowledge of economic development and planning, particularly planning for the redevelopment and growth of urban areas.
• Knowledge of community/neighborhood groups and business concerns. Considerable knowledge of economic, sociological and environmental aspects of planning.
• Working knowledge of personal computers, GIS applications, and tools for effective communication.
• Ability to communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders both orally and in writing, to organize and direct the preparation of comprehensive research studies, analyze problems and track details of multi-component projects, write and prepare technical reports and formulate recommendations;
• Must be a skilled coordinator;
• Must be able to provide excellent customer service,
• Must be able to create, interpret and convey data analytics.
• Must be detail oriented, self-motivated and able to handle multiple assignments at the same time.
• Knowledge of Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) preferred
• Knowledge of Historic Preservation preferred
• Knowledge of Urban Renewal preferred

• Bachelor's Degree in a related field and a minimum of three (3) years’ experience, particularly as it pertains to economic development, urban planning, analytics, historic preservation, or public administration.
• Master’s Degree in related field preferred
• Community outreach experience and experience managing complex neighborhood planning projects preferred.