A planning director oversees a planning department responsible for development in a region or county, developing and implementing a master plan, managing staff, and meeting with political leaders. They review development requests, hold meetings, and communicate with developers and politicians. Experience in planning and a degree are usually required, and salaries vary based on qualifications and region.
A planning director oversees a planning department, a government agency responsible for overseeing development in a region or county. Planning departments can also be included in non-profit organizations working to advance specific development agendas, such as groups interested in making more walking and biking trails available in a city. In both cases, the director of planning is responsible for developing and implementing a master plan, an overall goal for development, and also manages department staff, sets a schedule for meetings and other events, and meets with political leaders in the region. . .
Planning departments are tasked with reviewing development requests, large and small, to determine whether they meet the city’s needs and objectives. The director of planning oversees a group of planners responsible for reviewing planning applications, holding meetings to allow the public to speak about proposed activities, and making decisions on whether or not to approve proposals. The director of planning may be involved in talking to developers about ways to tweak their proposals to make them more acceptable, and also meets with politicians to talk about planning-related legislation with the aim of maintaining a consistent vision for planning. in the area.
This work requires excellent people skills, as planning directors typically hire and fire staff from their departments and need to ensure that people are properly trained and supervised for the job. Additionally, they must be able to work with other city agencies as well as authorities, from the public works department to the mayor. A planning director needs to be able to communicate clearly and effectively to meet planning schedules.
Experience in the planning field is usually required and a degree can be helpful. Degrees in some area of urban planning or a related field are generally more useful, and most planning directors have three to five years of experience in various aspects of planning before applying for directorial jobs. Some are recruited from within a department when the head of planning retires, and others may apply from outside the area, relocating, if offered, to an attractive position.
Salaries for planning directors depend on qualifications, experience and the region in which the person works. Typically, the salary comes with benefits from the city, including access to retirement accounts, health care and other services. People can negotiate better pay by comparing job offers or by arguing that their qualifications give them more than what is currently offered.
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