Job Description

TOMPKINS COUNTY CIVIL SERVICE VACANCY

Inclusion Through Diversity

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Tompkins County Department of Human Resources Office 125 E. Court Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

(607) 274-5526

Tompkins County is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply TITLE: Senior Planner – Tompkins County

SALARY: Hire rate: $27.89/hour; Working rate (after 9 months): $30.27/hour

TYPE OF EMPLOYMENT: Full time

ISSUE DATE:  02/12/21

THE FINAL DATE TO FILE APPLICATIONS: 03/17/21

DATE THAT THIS ANNOUNCEMENT SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM POSTING: 03/17/21

RESIDENCY WAIVED

TWO (2) POSITIONS AVAILABLE RESIDENCY WAIVED

The Tompkins County Department of Planning and Sustainability is actively recruiting for two Senior Planners. These are

mid-level positions that work on planning as well as policy and program development and implementation. One of the positions will primarily focus on sustainability, energy, and climate change. The other position will focus on affordable housing and community development. The successful candidates will be excellent thinkers and implementers who can oversee and administer complex projects and programs. These are fully benefits-eligible, 40-hour per week positions in a department with six other FTE planners as well as support staff. The positions will be filled on a provisional basis pending examination.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Master’s degree AND two (2) years of professional experience working for municipal governments, community organizations, regional/state entities, or businesses to address community planning issues such as housing, energy and climate change, comprehensive planning, natural resources, water resources or transportation; OR

• Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Bachelor’s degree AND four (4) years of professional experience working for municipal governments, community organizations, regional/state entities, or businesses to address community planning issues such as housing, energy and climate change, comprehensive planning, natural resources, water resources or transportation; OR

• Any equivalent combination of training and experience equal to or greater than that defined in (a) and (b) above.

Tompkins County is Committed to Equity and Inclusion. We encourage those with similar values to apply. SPECIAL REQUIREMENT:

Candidates chosen for employment must possess a valid New York State driver’s license within thirty days of appointment and maintain such license for the duration of employment.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS:

The incumbent in this position prepares detailed planning reports, conducts planning studies, proposes policies, plans and projects, and identifies the probable impacts to the physical development and management of the County that will result from proposals.

This is a mid-level professional level position and may be assigned to specialty program areas such as land use, housing, tourism, energy, community development/sustainability, rural development, water resources, land conservation or the environment. The incumbent is responsible for leading teams on complex studies that require the coordination of efforts by other members of the Department. The incumbent prepares grant applications and manages moderately complex grant projects and programs. The incumbent is also responsible for providing professional planning assistance to boards and committees. The work will be performed under the general supervision of senior staff with allowances for a high degree of independent judgment and autonomy in executing assigned tasks. Supervision of professional staff is not a responsibility of this title although supervision of student interns and support staff may be required on a project or programmatic basis. The incumbent will perform all related duties as required.

TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES:

• Develops and manages County planning-related programs, such as land use, housing, transportation, tourism, energy, community development/sustainability, rural development, water resources, land conservation or environmental
• Conducts complex analytical reports and planning studies related to comprehensive planning.
• Develops proposals for policies, plans and projects.
• Provides professional support to advisory boards and committees.
• Manages grant funds from federal and state agencies and/or local sources often involving selection and oversight of professional consultants, multiple community partners and substantial budgets.
• Prepares applications for grant funds for the department, local governments, and interested agencies.
• Drafts and oversees contracts that advance planning efforts;
• Conducts training sessions to meet the needs and interests of advisory boards and local communities.
• Develops and assists with citizen education programs for public input and participation at the municipal and countywide
• Evaluates and provides advice on development projects consistent with local and state policies, including General

Municipal Law §239-l and –m, the State Environmental Quality Review Act, and site plan review.

• Serves as a contact person for the Planning and Sustainability Department by responding to requests for information and complaints about problems from the public, community organizations, and County and municipal government
• Makes formal and informal presentations to inform and advise citizen advisory boards, legislative bodies, and public

officials on planning projects.

• Writes, or assists in writing, a variety of ordinances and regulations relating to development controls
• Participates in studies with other groups in the County, providing data and other resources as appropriate.
• Assists in directing the work activities and program accomplishments of interns, department technicians, and consultants, as assigned.
• Attends and, in turn, organizes periodic staff meetings.
• Attends external training programs, as needed.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES, AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS:

• Thorough knowledge of the purpose, principles, terminology and practices employed in planning;
• Thorough knowledge of the legal, sociological, economic, environmental, infrastructure, and legislative facets of planning;
• Thorough knowledge of one or more planning specialization, such as land use planning, housing, transportation, tourism,

energy, community development, water resources, or environmental protection;

• Good knowledge of current methods for collecting, analyzing and interpreting statistical data;
• Good knowledge of research methods and techniques involved in planning;
• Good knowledge of governmental decision-making processes;
• Ability to deal with tight deadlines and competing requests;
• Ability to work on several projects or issues simultaneously;
• Ability to work independently or in a team environment, as needed;
• Ability to attend to details while keeping big-picture goals in mind;

• Ability to prepare concise, well-constructed oral and written communications and reports that convey complex planning topics to the public; Skillful application of spreadsheet, database, desktop publishing, geographic information systems, and word processing software;
• Creative problem-solving skills to gather relevant information to solve vaguely defined practical problems;
• Ability to function on and lead teams of department staff, other County staff, representatives from other agencies, and/or interested citizens;
• Good knowledge of group facilitation skills to gather public comment at meetings;
• Ability to manage departmental and grant resources on a project or programmatic basis;
• Ability to understand and to give complex oral and written instructions;
• Initiative, resourcefulness, tact, and good judgment;
• Ability to communicate and deal effectively with department heads, local officials, legislators, consultants, and residents and to advise, persuade, or influence them in adverse and tense conditions;
• Ability to travel, as required to fulfill the demands of the position in Tompkins County; and
• The employee’s physical and mental condition shall be commensurate with the demands of the position, either with or without reasonable accommodations.

PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEMANDS:

The employee must be able to sit for extended periods of time within a standard eight-hour work day. Other types of physical effort are minimal with the exception of the occasional requirement to lift boxes of office supplies and paper goods up to twenty pounds. The incumbent’s visual acuity must be sufficient to enable him or her to see and accurately work with information on a computer screen. The employee’s hearing must be sufficiently acute to enable him or her to hear, understand and carry out verbal instructions. The employee must have the physical ability to manipulate a computer keyboard and other types of office equipment. These fine motor skills include adequate hand/eye coordination and the full use of fingers, hands and arms to perform the essential functions of this job. Environmental factors include the ability to work closely and cooperatively in close physical proximity with others. He or she may occasionally be required to work alone. Almost all work is performed indoors in a temperature controlled environment, so excessive heat, cold, humidity, noise, etc., are not factors that are significant to this job. There may be minimal exposure to disagreeable conditions. The employee may at times be asked to drive to get to remote locations, or otherwise demonstrate the ability to meet the limited transportation requirements of this job. If an individual has limitations, the employee has the right to request reasonable accommodations in accordance with the ADA and as amended.

Originally Created 09/2001 S31

FURTHER INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

Falsification of any part of the “Application for Employment” will result in disqualification.

Accepted candidates will be notified when and where to appear for the examination. If you do not receive your notice to appear at least three days before the date of the written examination, call Tompkins County Department of Human Resources at 274-5526. If an application is disapproved, due notice will be sent. This department does not make formal acknowledgment of the receipt of an application or take responsibility for non-delivery or postal delay.

Applicants must answer every question on the application form and make sure that the application is complete in all respects. Incomplete applications will be disapproved.

ACTIVE MILITARY PERSONNEL, VETERANS OR DISABLED VETERANS desiring to claim additional credit will request the Veterans Credits application form, at any time between the date of application for examination(s) and the date of the establishment of the resulting eligible list. You must meet the requirements set by NYS for these credits and they may be used only once. YOU MAY NOT CLAIM ADDITIONAL CREDITS AFTER THE ELIGIBLE LIST HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED. IT IS THE CANDIDATE’S RESPONSIBILITY TO REQUEST THE VETERANS CREDIT APPLICATION FORMS AND TO SUBMIT THESE FORMS AND ANY SUPPORTING PAPERWORK BEFORE THE ELIGIBLE LIST IS ESTABLISHED.

Tompkins County’s written examinations are prepared and rated by the New York State Department of Civil Service in accordance with Section 23-2 of Civil Service Law. The provisions of the New York State Civil Service Rules and Regulations, which deal with the rating and review of the examinations apply.

The duration of the eligible lists may be fixed for a minimum of one and a maximum of four years and may be extended beyond four years if there has been a restriction against the filling of vacancies in that title.

The candidates must complete a separate “Application for Employment” for each open-competitive and/or promotional examination that the candidate is eligible to take.

All experience required meeting the acceptable training and experience is full-time experience. (Part-time experience will be credited on a prorated basis). Appointment from an eligible list must be made from the top three candidates willing to accept the appointment.

Tompkins County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. As part of its efforts to provide employment opportunities to the physically handicapped, Tompkins County Civil Service has adopted a rule permitting the employment of qualified physically handicapped persons without competitive examination (pursuant to Section 55 of Civil Service Law). If you meet the minimum qualifications for this position and wish to know more about this rule, please contact the Tompkins County Department of Human Resources Office.

Unless otherwise notified, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand-held, and solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with Typewriter Keyboards, Spell Checkers, Personal Digital Assistants, Address Books, Language Translators, Dictionaries or any similar devices are prohibited. You may not bring books or other reference materials.

CROSS-FILING – APPLYING FOR CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS WHEN EXAMINATIONS ARE

SCHEDULED ON THE SAME DATE: When applying for examinations across multiple jurisdictions – all of which are scheduled on the same day – you must submit a Tompkins County Cross-Filing Form. This form must be submitted no later than 4:30 PM on the final filing date of the examination. On this form, list each examination that you are taking and then tell us where you would like to sit. The purpose is to ensure that all of the test materials for the various examinations that you are taking will be available in one location. If you do not provide the cross-filing form to us by the final filing date, we cannot ensure that we can accommodate your desire to cross-file. If any of the examinations are State level examinations, you must sit at the State test center. You will still need to complete the Tompkins County cross-filing form. If sitting at the State site, the State will notify you of when and where to report for your examination(s) and you should bring all admittance letters to the State site. If you are not taking a State examination, bring all admittance letters to your chosen testing site. If you have any question please call Tompkins County Department of Human Resources Department (607) 274-5526. The Cross File form is located at http://www.tompkins-co.org/personnel/CivilSrvForms/index.html

FOR RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION AND HANDICAPPED PERSONS: If special arrangements for testing are required, please indicate this on your application.

ALL CANDIDATES FOR EMPLOYMENT FOR POSITIONS IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND BOCES GOVERNED BY TOMPKINS COUNTY CIVIL SERVICE MAY HAVE THE FOLLOWING SPECIAL REQUIREMENT. PER CHAPTER 180 OF THE LAWS OF 2000, AND BY REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION, TO BE EMPLOYED IN A POSITION DESIGNATED BY A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR BOCES AS INVOLVING DIRECT CONTACT WITH STUDENTS, A CLEARANCE FOR EMPLOYMENT FROM THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT IS REQUIRED.

In conformance with Section 85-a of the Civil Service Law, children of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duties shall be entitled to receive an additional ten points in a competitive examination for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent has served. If you are qualified to participate in this examination and are a child of firefighter or police officer killed in the line of duties in this municipality, please inform this office of this matter when you submit your application for examination. A candidate claiming such credit has a minimum of two months from the application deadline to provide the necessary documentation to verify additional credit eligibility. However, no credit may be added after the eligible list has been established.â’

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: Applicants may be required to undergo a State and national criminal history background investigation, which will include a fingerprint check, to determine suitability for appointment. Failure to meet the standards for the background investigation may result in disqualification.

How to Apply

Job Categories: Equal Opportunities. Job Types: Full-Time. Salaries: 60,000 - 80,000.

470 total views, 0 today

Apply for this Job