Associate Regional Planner

Position: Associate Regional Planner (Multiple Departments)

Join the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) as an Associate Regional Planner! If you’re looking for an opportunity to shape the future of regional transportation, housing policy, and resiliency, then our organization may be the right place for you! The Planning Division is seeking journey-level professionals interested in working in a collaborative environment with abundant opportunities to learn and contribute to various planning departments.
 
The Associate Regional Planner position offers an opportunity to be at the forefront of policy development, data tools and exchange, and technical assistance. Individuals in these roles will support programs and projects by gathering data, conducting intermediate analyses, preparing staff reports, developing communications, and coordinating meetings. The Associate Regional Planner position provides technical, administrative, and/or staff support to committees, task forces, and workshops as assigned. This position also offers the opportunity to assist with drafting the scope of work for professional services support, conducting technical research, coordinating agency, stakeholder, cross-department/division workshops and meetings, supporting all stages of business unit-related surveys, compiling data using Geographic Information Mapping (GIS) dataset and other GIS products, and organizing presentation materials.

This recruitment will result in the establishment of an eligible list that will be used to fill future vacancies in SCAG’s Planning departments, including Housing & Economic Empowerment, Inclusive Economic Growth, Integrated Planning & Programming, Mobility Planning and Management, Modeling & Forecasting, Partnerships for Innovative Deployment, Planning Strategy, and Sustainable and Resilient Development.

In addition to establishing an eligible list for this classification, SCAG has an immediate need to fill the two positions below in our Planning Division:

Planning Strategy Department – Environmental Analysis (One position) 

The Associate Regional Planner in the Environmental Analysis business unit of our Planning Strategy department is primarily responsible for supporting the Air Quality and Conformity (AQC) Program and the CEQA Compliance Program within the business unit. The AQC Program oversees and performs regional transportation conformity determinations and related air quality planning, analysis, documentation, policy implementation, and interagency consultation in the SCAG region. The CEQA Compliance Program oversees and develops environmental documentation to ensure regulatory compliance with applicable provisions of CEQA, monitors changes in federal and state environmental compliance requirements and practices to relate back to CEQA, supports and provides tools and services related to CEQA and CEQA streamlining efforts to support local jurisdictions within the SCAG region, and review of regionally significant projects through SCAG’s Intergovernmental Review (IGR) Program.

The Planning Strategy Department (PSD) consists of 16 full-time staff and plays a critical role in aligning SCAG’s plans, programs, and regional policies toward a common vision through leading the process for implementing the 2020-2045 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (2020 RTP/SCS or Connect SoCal 2020) and developing the 2024 RTP/SCS (Connect SoCal 2024). PSD staff work collaboratively across the Planning Division as well as with staff from the Legal Services Division and the Governmental and Public Affairs Division to produce innovative regional solutions that improve the quality of life for Southern Californians, provide information and value-added services to enhance member agencies’ planning and operations, promote regional collaboration and advocacy, and advance SCAG’s role as Southern California’s catalyst for a brighter future.

Sustainability & Resilient Development Department - Resilient Communities and Resource Conservation (One position)

The Resilient Communities and Resource Conservation Associate Regional Planner in the Sustainable and Resilient Development department will help to strengthen climate adaptation and regional resilience in the built environment, as well as social, economic, and natural systems. This position will directly support work related to the conservation of natural and agricultural lands, water, energy, and other natural resources necessary to support Southern California’s future housing & population growth. The candidate will perform or assist with project management, technical writing, data analysis, and policy research for climate adaptation, conservation, and resilience strategies for Connect SoCal 2024, as well as engage with stakeholders for policy development and implementation efforts.

The Sustainable and Resilient Development Department focuses on advancing and implementing strategies and tools in support of Connect SoCal, the region’s adopted Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy. The Department is organized into business units and program areas with work focused on three areas: Resilient Communities and Resource Conservation, Sustainable and Connected Communities, and Regional Demographics and Growth Vision.

WHO WE ARE
 
As a mission-driven organization, SCAG is committed to attracting and retaining talent who embody SCAG’s values. SCAG's workforce is passionate and committed to innovation that improves the quality of life for all Southern Californians. When you join SCAG, you can expect a culture where collaboration and teamwork is fostered.
 
SCAG operates as a hybrid organization because we recognize that work can be successfully performed in various locations. Designing a work environment and culture where SCAG’s mission, effectiveness, and collaboration can be more flexibly served demonstrates our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) by supporting work-life balance for our employees, retaining our existing dedicated staff, and increasing access to new talent pools.
 
As part of our [email protected] hybrid approach, employees’ eligibility in the three work models (office, hybrid, remote) will depend on the department, position, responsibilities, and duties. All work models require employees to work from a location based within the SCAG region.
 
WHAT WE BELIEVE

MISSION
To foster innovative regional solutions that improve the lives of Southern Californians through inclusive collaboration, visionary planning, regional advocacy, information sharing, and promoting best practices.

VISION
Southern California's Catalyst for a Brighter Future.

SCAG CORE VALUES

• Be Open: Be accessible, candid, collaborative and transparent in the work we do.
• Lead by Example: Commit to integrity and equity in working to meet the diverse needs of all people and communities in our region.
• Make an Impact: In all endeavors, effect positive and sustained outcomes that make our region thrive.
• Be Courageous: Have confidence that taking deliberate, bold and purposeful risks can yield new and valuable benefits.

In this role you can expect to:

• Draft sections or whole project reports, staff reports, memos, grant applications, and communications, for presentation within the agency or outside groups
• Draft scopes of work for professional services support (consultants, academics, etc.), support coordinating the procurement process and resultant contracts, including reviewing deliverables and invoices for approval 
• Coordinate project tasks, data collection, meetings and communications, and occasionally instruct and coordinate with interns or entry level staff within the job family
• Propose research methods, review and synthesize source materials and data, draft summaries, conduct socio-economic and financial data analysis, research planning policies and best practices, and draft literature reviews
• Coordinate education and engagement efforts, develop stakeholder lists and analysis, and coordinate and support communications and meetings
• Attend federal, state, regional and local meetings, take notes, synthesize pertinent details, and represent the agency at lower-level staff working groups.
• Strategize, design, draft, deploy, and conduct surveys, including formatting the survey instrument in the chosen deployment platform, compiling, and reporting results
• Depending on assignment, compile data into Dashboards, Geographic Information Mapping (GIS) datasets and conduct intermediate geo-spatial analysis, create maps and other GIS products
• Perform other duties as assigned

What you'll bring to this role:

A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be with 3 years of experience in urban planning and design, project management, planning regulations, or related fields and a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
 
Any combination of training, education, and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities may also be considered.
 
We’ll be a great match if you also have: 

• Knowledge of planning theories, principles, practices, research methodologies, quantitative and qualitative data and policy analysis related to transportation and land use planning 
• Knowledge of federal Clean Air Act, US EPA’s Transportation Conformity Regulations and related policy guidance, regional emissions analyses and modeling, project-level PM hot-spot analyses, and CEQA requirements
• Knowledge of or experience in resilience and climate adaptation, natural and working lands conservation, water conservation and water systems resilience.
• General knowledge related to transportation programs at the federal, state, and local level
• Knowledge of principles and practices of project management and engagement best practices
• The ability to utilize data analysis and data visualization systems to create databases and summarize data analyses
• Effective written and oral communication skills and the ability to organize, synthesize, and analyze information to prepare recommendations
• Support project tasks and meeting scheduling and maintain a professional demeanor in stakeholder and working group meetings
• The ability to design survey instruments and deploy platforms
• The ability to use basic to intermediate features of Microsoft Office Suite
• The ability to contribute to a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging