Our mission is to conserve the natural environment, support agriculture and connect people to nature by protecting open spaces, natural areas, and working farms and ranches for future generations. We have protected 25,000 acres of natural and agricultural lands in Santa Clara County. Our agency operates a network of open space lands to manage and conserve natural resources and provide compatible opportunities for hiking, biking, and equestrian uses.

We know our continued success depends on our employees and the work they do. We are committed to providing a collaborative and inclusive work environment that encourages growth and development and acknowledges individual and team achievements.

The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority seeks a Senior Open Space Planner to connect people and communities to nature through open space public access planning. We are looking for a nimble, enthusiastic, and creative open space planning professional to execute a variety of open space planning and capital improvement projects.

The Ideal Candidate

You are a detail oriented and experienced planner with passion and enthusiasm for land conservation, your personal drive will be enhanced by a mission and values focused work environment. We are seeking a resourceful self-starter to plan, design and deliver capital improvement projects, including environmental compliance; to analyze and synthesize data to support the development of conservation policy and master plans; and to ensure project compliance with regulatory agencies and statutes.  You are confident to lead project teams and work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders, partners, political boards and committees, and colleagues. 

You are a highly skilled and discerning professional looking for a unique opportunity to contribute to the quality of life in the Santa Clara Valley by engaging in the planning for new open space preserves, creating public access facilities, and designing ecological restoration projects. You have outstanding written and verbal communication skills; additionally, you have the ability to visually relay information using your critical thinking, creativity, and software, such as the Adobe Creative Suite, and ESRI products.

You have earned a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental/Land Use Planning, Conservation Planning, Natural Resources Management, Landscape Architecture, or a closely related field. You bring a minimum of five years’ professional experience, where you have broadened your skills and knowledge in the areas of land planning, design, resource management and project delivery for public open space and parks.

You possess demonstrated experience with project delivery including all phases of project design, CEQA compliance, permitting requirements, and the regulatory agency approvals process. Leadership of teams and project definition including data gathering and analysis are critical functions that allow your work style to support the conservation initiatives of the Open Space Authority. Your outstanding project management skills facilitate completion of high-quality projects that connect people to nature. 

Please review the complete position classification here: https://bit.ly/2V85l8S

The ideal candidate will possess the skills, education, and experience needed to be successful in this position.  This is defined as:

·         Equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in urban or regional planning, environmental design, landscape architecture, architecture, natural resource management, or a related field and five (5) years of increasingly responsible experience in land use planning and/or project management preferably in parks, open space, or a related field, including three (3) years of supervisory or managerial experience;

·         Strong written, oral and graphic presentation skills;

·         Strong knowledge and familiarity with Microsoft Office 365, ESRI products and Adobe Creative Suite.

·         Experience or interest in planning and design for climate resilience and adaptation useful.

• This position is required to take and pass a pre-employment background check.

Compensation & Benefits

The salary range for this full-time, exempt position is $48.56 to $59.02 hourly, depending on experience and qualifications. To complement this salary, we offer a robust benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their dependents – we cover 100% of the cost for these premiums. We participate in CalPERS retirement programs as well as offering a separate 457 Plan for tax deferred retirement savings. A basic life insurance policy is provided to all eligible employees with the option to purchase additional personal insurance benefits. The Authority is supportive of flexible work schedules for our staff.

Application and Selection

This recruitment is open until filled, the first application review will occur on June 3, 2019. Application window may close at any time without further notice, qualified candidates are encouraged to apply early. To be considered for this opportunity, submit your application materials including cover letter and resume. Resume should reflect years and months of employment.

The Open Space Authority strives to engage a workforce reflective of the community it serves. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, gender, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation or physical disability. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply.