Planning Manager

The City of San Mateo Community Development Department is Looking for a Planning Manager

Why Join our Department?

The Community Development Department (CDD) has a staff of 57 FTEs and is organized into five divisions — Planning, Building, Code Enforcement, Housing and Neighborhood Services, and Business and Administrative Services. The Department’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, long-range planning, processing of new development applications, construction permitting and inspection, administration of the General Plan and Housing Element, and implementation of the City’s housing and code enforcement programs. You will be joining a talented team in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment dedicated to serving the San Mateo community. The Community Development Department’s core function is to ensure a quality-built environment, healthy neighborhoods, and a strong economic base in the City. Collaboration, innovation, respect, accountability, creativity, transparency, thoughtfulness, and informed risk-taking are attributes and competencies that we are seeking in the candidate.

With the recent adoption of a new General Plan and an updated Housing Element, the Planning Division is poised to lead multiple exciting initiatives in the coming years. These include a comprehensive Zoning Code Update, the implementation of over 100 Housing Element policies and programs, a historic policy update, and a full update to the City’s Downtown Area Plan. Additionally, a variety of significant planning projects, including multi-family and mixed-use developments around the City’s Caltrain stations and Downtown, are currently in the pipeline. If you are a planner eager to lead impactful projects and policy initiatives, San Mateo offers the ideal environment to make a meaningful difference.

Look to some of the reasons why the City of San Mateo is a great place to work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GTIzeSpc_g

The Position

The Planning Manager oversees the operations of CDD’s Planning Division, which includes supervision of a team of 10 planners and management of all current and long-range planning functions of the City. The ideal candidate is a team player; is experienced and effective in all aspects of professional planning practices; has proven leadership, negotiation, and communication skills; works well with a variety of interest groups, individuals, and stakeholders. The Planning Manager serves as staff liaison to the Planning Commission and supervises preparation of the Commission’s agenda and compilation of required reports and documents, and acts as Zoning Administrator and performs all duties required thereof by the Zoning Code. The position exercises direct supervision over professional staff in the Planning Division, receives general direction from the Community Development Director and/or Deputy Community Development Director, and works collaboratively with other division managers within CDD.

For a complete list of duties, reference our job specifications at https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/DocumentCenter/Home/Index/86

The Ideal Candidate will:

• Be adaptable.
• Be a strategic thinker.
• Have the ability to simplify complex issues.
• Know when to exercise decision-making and risk-taking and when to stop and ask questions.
• Be a problem-solver, basing solutions on thoughtful analysis, a collaborative approach, and reasoned conclusions, and be able to present solutions, alternatives, and implications for recommendations and actions.
• Have effective communication skills, both orally and in writing.
• Possess the ability to identify and respond to stakeholders, residents, Commissioners, Councilmembers with tact and build strong and positive relationships and trust throughout the community and between conflicting interests.
• Have the emotional intelligence necessary to supervise, train, motivate, and evaluate professional and technical staff.
• Value the importance of accountability, quality assurance, and continuous improvement.
• Desire to contribute to a positive work environment that fosters motivation, collaboration, coaching, and staff engagement.
• Be passionate about community engagement and providing the highest quality of customer service.
• Enjoy serving in a culture where the CDD leadership team is empowered to achieve goals and work together amongst divisions to address issues and priorities.
• Have knowledge of principles and practices of land use and urban planning, including environmental review, urban design, housing and zoning.
• Be conversant on Federal, state, and local laws applicable to general plans, discretionary permits, environmental matters, zoning, housing and land use

What You Need

Any combination of experience and training that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

• You possess at least five years of increasingly responsible experience performing varied and complex municipal planning work, at least one year of which has included supervising professional staff.
• You have the equivalent to a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in Planning, Architecture, Public Administration, Urban Studies, or a closely related field.

License or Certificate:

• Possession of, or ability to possess, a valid, driver’s license.

Bonus Points (highly desirable)

• Master’s Degree in Planning or a related field
• American Institute of Certified Planners certificate

What We Offer

• Comprehensive benefits package including generous paid leave and health benefits
• CalPERS retirement (2% @ 55 for classic members; 2% @ 62 for new members). Classic employees contribute 8.34% to CalPERS and New members contribute 7.50% to CalPERS
• Participation in the Social Security Program
• The City contributes 1.5% of base salary, and matches up to 1% of the employee’s voluntary contribution to a 457 Deferred Compensation Plan
• The City contributes 0.25% of base salary to a Retiree Health Savings Account
• Bilingual Differential: $90 bi-weekly (if applicable)
• Employees receive a housing allowance of $200 per month.
• Vacation Leave of 20-25 days per year based on years of service; Executive Leave of 48 hours per year; and the City provides 14 Holidays per year (includes 3 floating holidays)
• For more information please refer to the Management Association’s Benefits Summary effective September 2024.
• This classification is represented by the San Mateo Management Association

Are You Ready? Apply.

Submit an online application, résumé, cover letter (required) and supplemental questionnaire at www.calopps.org or to the Human Resources Department, City of San Mateo, 330 W. 20th Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94403, (650) 522-7260.

Application Deadline

Recruitment will close on Sunday, May 4, at 11:59 p.m.

Examination Process

All applications, résumés, cover letter (required) and responses to supplemental questions received will be reviewed for minimum qualifications. A fully completed application is required; a resume does not replace the information required on the employment application, including work history. Applications with "see résumé" as a substitution for the work experience description, those with none or unclear current/past employment information, or those with insufficient information to evaluate possession of minimum qualifications will not be considered; missing information cannot be assumed. A limited number of the most highly qualified applicants will be invited to participate in the examination process, which may consist of an oral panel interview, written exercise, or in the form of a practical demonstration of skill and ability, or any combination of these; a Zoom oral panel interview is tentatively scheduled for May 19th, 2025.

An employment list will be established from those who pass the examination process. Current and future vacancies may be filled from this list. The list will remain in effect for at least six months with the possibility of an extension for an additional six months. Once placed on an employment list, and at the time a vacancy occurs, eligible candidates may be contacted by the hiring department and scheduled for additional department interviews.



Note: The City of San Mateo reserves the right, at its discretion, to limit the number of qualified candidates invited to the selection process. ALL RESPONSES WILL BE CONDUCTED VIA THE EMAIL ADDRESS PROVIDED IN YOUR ONLINE APPLICATION. Therefore, it is imperative that you provide an email address to which you have access, and it is recommended that you frequently check your email for notices from: [email protected]

Fine Print

Prior to hire, candidates will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment process, including a driving record review, reference check, and Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) background checks. A conviction history will not necessarily disqualify an applicant from appointment.

The policy of the City of San Mateo is to grant equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons without regard to race, color, sex, age, religion, ancestry, physical or mental disability, sexual preference, marital status, or national origin. It is the intent and desire of the City of San Mateo that equal employment opportunity will be provided in recruiting, hiring, training, promoting, wages, benefits, and all other privileges, terms and conditions of employment.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, applicants requiring accommodations for any part of the testing or recruitment process must notify [email protected] or (650) 522-7264 seven (7) days in advance of the deadline for the part of the process requiring accommodations. Do not upload any documents related to your request for accommodation in CalOpps. The City of San Mateo complies with employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.