Assistant Planner

Position Summary

The Assistant Planner assists in developing and updating the McLean County Regional Planning Commission’s (MCRPC) transportation and comprehensive planning processes. The Assistant Planner will help coordinate, prepare, and develop comprehensive plans, transportation programs and other projects under the direction of the Executive Director and other senior MCRPC staff. This position continually pursues, considers, and appropriately implements best practices within the role and maximizes on collaborative opportunities with municipalities and other partners.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Assists the Executive Director and other MCRPC staff in strategic, comprehensive planning, transportation planning, housing initiatives, rural planning and other efforts as needed, including public outreach, research, gathering and analysis of data, attending meetings and preparation of the documents.

Collects, develops, maintains, and analyzes data using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other software in support of all planning activities. Creates maps and other graphic representations for inclusion in the reports.

Coordinates the agencies outreach efforts to increase the community’s awareness of MCRPC and planning related issues, including updating and maintaining MCRPC and other project websites regularly with appropriate information, social media, coordination of the agency newsletters.

Will provide technical planning services related to transportation, land use planning, rural planning, and GIS to the planning staff, city and county departments, community organizations, governmental units in McLean County, and the general public.

Carries out assignments related to the implementation of various adopted plans

Attends and participates in meetings, conferences, workshops, and seminars to represent MCRPC and keep up to date with current/best planning practices

Other responsibilities as assigned

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Seeks to improve continuously, embraces change and is not afraid to challenge the status quo

Displays passion and optimism; Inspires respect and trust; mobilizes others to fulfill the vision; provides vision and inspiration to other employees

Delegates work assignments; matches the responsibility to the person; gives authority to work independently; sets expectations and monitors delegated activities; provides recognition for results

Manages difficult or emotional customer (external/internal) situations; responds promptly to customer needs; solicits customer feedback to improve service; responds to requests for service and assistance; meets commitments

Looks for ways to improve and promote quality; demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness; fosters quality focus in others; improves process, products, and services

Develops project plans; coordinates projects; communicates changes and progress; completes projects on time and within budget; manages project team activities

Understands business implications of decisions; demonstrates knowledge of the Commission's business and competition; aligns work with strategic goals

Works within approved budget; develops and implements cost saving measures; contributes to profits and revenue; conserves organizational resources

Speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations; listens and gets clarification; responds well to questions; demonstrates group presentation skills; writes clearly and concisely

Displays willingness to make decisions; exhibits sound and accurate judgment; supports and explains reasoning for decisions; includes appropriate people in decision-making process; makes timely decisions

Approaches others in a tactful manner; reacts well under pressure; treats others with respect and consideration regardless of their status or position

Proactively supports a safety-minded work environment

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning or a closely related field

Minimum of one (1) year of internship or professional experience in a planning agency or firm, or related profession

Experience with GIS and other planning and/or design software

Experience with MS Office programs (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Knowledge of contemporary planning concepts, principles, and skills developed by both educational training and work experience

Any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience that provides the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities for this position

Preferred Qualifications

Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning or closely related field

Minimum of one (1) to two (2) years of experience in a planning agency or firm, or related profession

Superior writing and presentation skills

Experience in one or more of the following areas: Transportation Planning, Urban and Regional Planning, Rural Planning, Public Administration, Environmental Planning, and data gathering and analysis.

Work Environment

MCRPC is a small team of high-performing individuals with diverse backgrounds committed to realizing the organizational vision as the leader for planning tomorrow's McLean County. Members of the team are permitted to challenge assumptions, given freedom to experiment, fail and learn from mistakes. MCRPC embraces individuals with an attitude of continual improvement, willingness to think differently, and ability to innovate.

Benefits Package

McLean County offers a comprehensive benefits package including:

Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance

Medical Member Rewards Program

Health Savings Account (HSA)

Flex Spending Account (FSA)

Dependent Spending Account (DSA)

Supplemental Insurance: Life, Critical Illness and Accident

County provided Life Insurance

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF Pension)

Paid time off: vacation days, personal days, sick days, holidays

Identity Protection

Employee Assistance Program

Full salary range: $52,878.38 to $81,210.67 annually (upper limit based on a long-term career with MCRPC)

About McLean Regional Planning Commission

MCRPC was created in 1968, when Bloomington-Normal’s joint population exceeded fifty thousand people. We are the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the long-range planning arm for Bloomington, Normal and McLean County. A MPO is a transportation policy-making body composed of representatives from local governments and transportation implementers. As an MPO, we do comprehensive, cooperative, and continuing transportation planning, including inclusive outreach for public input. Our planning work qualifies our communities to obtain federal transportation funding for projects in our community.

We lead the comprehensive planning projects and other long-range planning projects for our public sector partners periodically. The recent comprehensive plans completed by MCRPC for

Bloomington and Normal are recognized with the Daniel Burnham Awards from the Illinois chapter of American Planning Association. But most importantly we pride ourselves in our ability to engage public, private, institutional and not- for-profit partners continuously to foster regional collaborations. In recent years, MCRPC has expanded its service offerings in the areas of housing, transit planning, data analysis, and smart cities planning. Visit www.mcplan.org for more information about MCRPC.