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Job Description
Description
To view complete job announcement, click HERE .
Exciting Opportunity! The City of Palo Alto’s Planning and Development Services Department is recruiting for enthusiastic and passionate individuals to support and provide leadership to the City's long range planning, policy, and housing program at the Principal Planner level. This team is responsible for advancing City Council land use policy priorities and initiatives, Housing Element implementation, area plan development, Comprehensive Plan amendments; and managing the City’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, Below Market Rate (BMR) housing program, and Rental Registry program. Housing production is of critical importance to the City and a key focus of the Planning and Development Services Department and Long Range Planning team. Candidates that have familiarity with State mandated housing requirements, experience coordinating housing programs, and awareness of the complexities surrounding housing production in the Bay Area would be a welcome addition to our team. This program will explore solutions to incentivize more housing units, and innovative strategies to preserve and protect the City's existing housing stock.
Principal Planner:
This Principal Planner is responsible for leading high profile and complex projects and ensuring progress toward the goals and objectives for the Long Range Planning team, advancing City Council policy and priorities. The position will serve as a leader and manager on the Long Range Planning team; supervising staff, assigning tasks, and providing clear direction to team members. Supervisory experience and skills at building a strong team, fostering growth and learning among staff is highly desirable. As a 'working manager' the Principal Planner will pitch-in where needed and may also be a project manager to some projects.
To view full job description, please click HERE .
Ideal Candidates: The ideal candidate will have a passion for public service and a strong desire to contribute to a dynamic team in a fast-paced work environment. Successful candidates will:- Enjoy creating and sustaining strong partnerships with the local community
- Possess superior writing and public speaking skills
- Be able to independently prioritize and complete a broad range of assignments with competing deadlines be flexible and responsive to changing priorities and conditions
- Quickly formulate responses to challenging questions in a thoughtful and diplomatic manner
The ideal candidate must have a customer service focus and strong interpersonal skills with the ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with co-workers, management, elected officials, community members, and representatives of public and regulatory agencies.
More than one position(s) may be filled from this posting.
Supplemental Information
Application and Selection Process:
The closing date for this recruitment is Sunday, July 13, 2025.
First round of interviews will take place the week of August 18, 2025.
For additional information, please contact:
Evonne Ojeda, Human Resources Technician
650-329-2578 ext. 2578
evonne.ojeda@paloalto.gov
The City of Palo Alto is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.
For more details visit our Careers Page, by clicking HERE.
Learn more about our Compensation Plan HERE.
Closing Date/Time: 7/13/2025 11:59 PM Pacific -
ABOUT THE COMPANY
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City of Palo Alto
Show morePalo Alto is located about 35 miles south of San Francisco; and 14 miles north of San Jose. Palo Alto, known as the “Birthplace of Silicon Valley” and global center of technology and innovation, is the corporate headquarters for many world-class companies and research facilities such as VMWare, Hewlett-Packard, IDEO, Tesla, and Skype. Home to Stanford University and a top-ranked public school system, Palo Alto also features beautiful and historic residential neighborhoods, vibrant shopping and retail districts.
Palo Alto has a highly educated and culturally sophisticated citizenry that is actively engaged in making a difference both locally and globally. Unique among city organizations, Palo Alto operates a full-array of services including its own gas, electric, water, sewer, refuse and storm drainage provided at very competitive rates for its customers.
The birthplace of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, is a community of approximately 68,000 residents and nearly 100,000 jobs. Located on the mid-Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose, Palo Alto is recognized worldwide as a leader in cutting-edge technology, medicine, and green innovation. Many world-class businesses maintained or started offices here, including Amazon, Tesla, Hewlett Packard, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Rivian, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, SAP Ariba, Houzz, Varian Medical Systems, and VMware. Numerous start-ups are also at home in Palo Alto, arguably making it the startup capital of the world.
Stanford University is foundational to the history and prestige of Palo Alto, reflected in the community’s dedication to life-long learning. Stanford’s cultural and educational offerings are integral to the vibrancy and charm of Palo Alto, while the City’s exceptional K-12 school district ranks among the top public school systems in the country. With more than 50% of adult residents holding a graduate degree or higher, Palo Alto is frequently listed as one of the most educated cities in the nation.
Home to picturesque tree-lined streets, bike lanes, and historic buildings that reflect its California heritage, Palo Alto boasts a genuine sense of community and an active citizenry with strong environmental values. Beautiful neighborhoods are complemented by vibrant commercial corridors and a bustling economy with premium shopping and dining options. Excellent health care facilities, performing arts, and diverse recreational opportunities are just some of this incredibly desirable community’s cherished amenities.
Join an Award Winning Team
Palo Alto is an award-winning City recognized nationwide as innovative and well-managed. Palo Alto is one of a small number of California cities with a AAA bond rating. Recently, Palo Alto became one of the most livable cities in the U.S. by Livability.com. It's the only city to receive the Platinum Beacon Award in sustainability best practices by California’s Institute for Local Government.
We offer a variety of career paths that relate to building and improving communities. The City has fourteen departments employing 1,000 full-time staff. Police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and building inspectors keep us safe. Engineers and public works staff build and re-build the physical infrastructure. City planners help envision and shape future community growth. Recreation, arts and library professionals enhance community life. Utilities provides electric, gas, water, sewer and other services. Internal services departments help manage, staff, and protect the City.
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