Principal Planner (Housing and Grants)

Salary : $145,163.20 - $174,969.60 Annually
Location : San Rafael, CA
Job Type: Full Time, Regular
Remote Employment: Flexible/Hybrid
Job Number: 0606-26-09
Department: Community Development Agency
Opening Date: 10/12/2026
Closing Date: 10/26/2026 11:59 PM Pacific
Vacancies: 1
Weekly Schedule: 40 hours

ABOUT THE POSITION

There is currently one (1) full-time, regular hire Principal Planner vacancy in the Housing & Grants Division.

Under direction from the Deputy Director of Housing and Grants, the Principal Planner will oversee several Countywide housing and planning efforts which involve a high degree of sensitivity, technical expertise, and communication skills as well as oversight of other staff and consultants. These efforts include working with the cities and towns to lead the Housing Working Group, community members and stakeholders on major initiatives, such as supporting complex affordable housing developments and implementing housing element programs.

The Principal Planner supervises and evaluates the work of staff engaged in housing and planning activities and provides in depth technical expertise in their assigned program area. They conduct research, analysis, and conflict resolution on projects and issues having a high degree of complexity and public interest; makes recommendations for changes in housing policies and procedures; and regularly represents the department at meetings and hearings before City Councils, Board of Supervisors, various public agencies, collaboratives, community organizations, and interest groups.

Hybrid schedule:

The Community Development Agency has embraced a hybrid work schedule that considers that some duties of this position may be performed remotely. However, the successful candidate must be able to report to County facilities for meetings, work assignments, and/or disaster service work upon short notice, as needed and deemed appropriate. During the initial probationary period, the successful candidate may be required to work primarily onsite before establishing a hybrid work schedule.
ABOUT YOU

The ideal candidate will be an innovative, strategic thinker who can help build compromise. The ideal candidate has a deep understanding of housing and planning complexities and equity with the ability to focus on collaboration, policy implementation and housing projects. They will be a service and solution-oriented person who is highly skilled in both housing and planning functions. An innovative leader who understands how collaborative efforts enhance the ability to provide the best outcomes will do well in this position. The successful candidate will have a record of straightforward and open communication and a willingness to find common ground when working with diverse stakeholders, as well as the ability to effectively manage conflicting perspectives and priorities. The ideal candidate will also have a strong background in project management, program administration, and extensive knowledge of affordable housing finances. A candidate with a strong record of collaborative work with internal and external stakeholders would be highly valued, as the Principal must be able to develop positive relationships with staff, other departments, cities and towns, the public, and many external agencies.

Our Highly Qualified Candidate has considerable:

Knowledge of:

• Affordable housing finance, including loan documents, grants and regulatory agreements.
• Housing strategies and solutions to increase housing supply affordable to the local workforce and special needs populations.
• State and regional planning grant requirements and applications.
• Implementation strategies for removing barriers to housing.

Ability to:

• Supervise consultant(s) on highly complex projects with a budget of over $1,000,000.
• Master techniques to involve a wide range of people in making decisions.
• Function as a mediator or facilitator when community interests conflict.

QUALIFICATIONS

Knowledge of:

• Principles, practices and trends in one or more fields of planning, such as current or advanced planning, affordable housing, parks planning, environmental programs, transportation, regional and/or sustainable development.
• Intensive practices and trends in planning policy development and analysis.
• Environmental and land use analysis, principles of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and land use and site planning.
• Legislative developments affecting local government including federal, state and local laws and ordinances; and applicable laws, codes, regulations, ordinances and permit requirements of regulatory agencies.
• Complex research, analytical and statistical methods, and comprehensive cost analysis techniques, including methods as applied to the collection, tabulation and analysis of data essential to planning studies.
• Techniques of map and plan reading and reproduction.
• The physical, social and economic factors involved in urban and regional planning.
• Principles of ecology and environmental sciences and sustainability; regional planning concepts and the processes of local governmental planning.

Ability to:

• Supervise, train, coach, motivate and evaluate staff.
• Plan, organize, determine work priorities and coordinate necessary resources to accomplish planning tasks.
• Prepare or supervise the preparation of difficult, complex and specialized studies and projects, including the preparation of drawings and other graphic representations.
• Act as a liaison with a variety of concerned groups; clarify and resolve problems or conflicts of a sensitive nature.
• Understand the operation and organization of local government and jurisdictions and the function and processes of related Boards and commissions.
• Think critically and conduct strategic planning.
• Communicate effectively both verbally and in written form and be able to develop a quick understanding of technical issues, develop options as appropriate, and explain issues to the public.
• Effectively manage complex and/or controversial projects and apply technical, social, and political skills to solve problems in a timely manner.
• Work collaboratively with other departments and divisions to assure the provision of comprehensive and coordinated related services; and work effectively as a member of a County management team.
• Monitor and promote excellent customer service techniques.
• Utilize a variety of computer software programs to prepare reports, maps, diagrams, graphs and other material related to planning studies.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Any combination of education and experience that would provide the knowledge and skills listed. Typically, graduation from college with a major in planning, geography, environmental studies, architecture, landscape architecture, biological sciences or a field closely related to the work, and four years of increasingly responsible planning experience. For supervisory assignments, one year must have included lead or supervisory experience.

NOTE: Additional graduate level courses in planning or a closely related field may be substituted for up to one year of the experience requirement at the rate of twelve semester units (or 18 quarter units) for six months of experience.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION

For any questions concerning this position announcement, please contact Stephen Schoengarth, Human Resources Analyst, at 415-473-6946.
All applicants will receive email notifications regarding their status in the recruitment process. Please be sure to check your spam settings to allow our emails to reach you. You may also log into your account to view these emails.

Testing and Eligible List: Depending on the number of qualified applications received, the examination may consist of a highly qualified review, application screening, online assessment, written examination, oral examination, performance examination, or any combination to determine which candidates' names will be placed on the eligible list. The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill the current vacancy, and any future vacancies for open, fixed-term, full-time or part-time positions which may occur while the list remains active.

Disaster Service Workers: All County of Marin employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law (California Government Code Section 3100-3109). Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect. Employees are required to complete all Disaster Service Worker-related training as assigned, and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

PLEASE NOTE: The benefits described herein do not apply to temporary (contingent) or to part-time employees that work less than 50%.

COUNTY OF MARIN BENEFITS: GENERAL
Below are some of the excellent benefits the County offers. More information about our benefits can be found on the

Paid Time Off: Competitive vacation accrual; 12 holidays per year; and generous sick leave accruals. Additional types of paid leaves are available for some bargaining units.

Health Plan: Choice of four health plans (two Kaiser HMOs, Western Health Advantage HMO, and an Anthem Blue Cross PPO) along with dental through Delta Dental PPO, and vision through Vision Service Plan (VSP). There is a County contribution toward the premiums (the contribution amount varies depending on coverage tier elected such as employee only, employee + 1, employee + family). Plus, the County offers excellent Life Insurance, Disability, Flexible Spending Plans, a Dependent Care Assistance Program, professional development and more.

Retirement: Defined benefit plan under the County Employees Retirement Act of 1937. More information can be found online at www.mcera.org.

IRS 457 Plan: Choice of pre-tax or post-tax (Roth) employee contribution up to the IRS annual maximum.

Retiree Medical: The County provides access to group health plan coverage to eligible retirees.

For specific questions regarding the employment process, please contact Human Resources at (415) 473-6104. For additional details about the benefits or retirement, please contact the Benefits Division at (415) 473-2197.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice.
01

QUALIFYING EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE QUESTIONS 1-2

Your qualifying experience, including that in a lead or supervisory capacity, is listed in the Work Experience section of the standard application.

• Yes
• No

02

Your degree and major are listed in the Education section of the standard application, along with all relevant documentation attached to your submission.

• Yes
• No

03

NARRATIVE QUESTIONS 3-5 (Please answer all questions below in their entirety within the space provided. If you do not possess any experience, please state "No Experience" in the space provided.)

Please describe how your experience and education make you an ideal candidate for this position, please provide specific examples of work you have done that are directly applicable to the Principal Planner position in Marin County.
04

Please describe your experience supervising teams. Include examples of both supporting high performers and staff who need extra support to thrive.
05

Please describe some of the current challenges facing the development of affordable housing in Marin and three innovative ways you would address these challenges.
Required Question