Job Opening: Planning Director for Onondaga County

The Onondaga County Executive is accepting applications for a Planning Director to oversee a dedicated staff of planners and GIS Specialists in the Department of Planning to support implementation of Plan Onondaga, the countywide comprehensive plan (http://plan.ongov.net). Plan Onondaga (Plan ON) was unanimously adopted in July 2023 and has over $30M in financial support for implementation. Plan ON forms the foundation of our projects and programs. Everything we do is grounded in furthering the plan. The planning department also administers agricultural plans and programs in support of the recently adopted Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan.

What We Do

Projects the department is currently working on:

·         The first comprehensive Housing Study in Onondaga County

·         10+ grants to local municipalities for comprehensive plan and zoning projects

·         1 Local Waterfront Revitalization Plans

·         2 Urban Master Plan projects

·         A comprehensive Blueway Program Strategy

·         A comprehensive Greenway Program Strategy

·         Multiple trail feasibility studies

·         A countywide Safe Streets For All Action Plan

·         Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan Update

·         Multiple agriculture programs including conservation easements, local land use planning, and locally grown and food system projects.

The department is also responsible for building and maintaining the county’s Geographic Information System (GIS), which is an essential tool that helps maximize effectiveness and efficiency and improve decision making throughout county and local government.  GIS staff create, acquire, and maintain a wide array of spatial datasets, provide direct spatial analysis and mapping assistance, integrate spatial data into critical applications, maintain a publicly available GIS website, administer the county’s aerial photography program, and provide addressing services to support the county’s 911 system.  The GIS supports department initiatives, county departments, municipalities and government entities, and the public.

Who We Need

Our growing and demanding workload increasingly relies on consulting contracts and grants to local government. A critical aspect of being the Director is to work closely with all 35 municipalities and most county department heads to maintain a strong working relationship, steer initiative in a productive direction, deliver resources to help them attain their goals and be the day to day go to person for everything related to planning. This role leads the effort at county level systematic planning, especially with regard to transportation, greenways and blueways and housing. The Department’s intermunicipal view allows the ability to see how these municipalities can move forward and develop planning and other projects in line with multiple interests. The Director’s job is to be able to lead the entire county forward in these efforts.

We need a proactive, internally motivated planner to lead the department and the County toward a unified vision. Someone who goes beyond the management of staff and projects to take on the responsibility of seeing the next step and beyond, and laying the groundwork to bring everyone with them. Ideally the Director thinks and operates outside the department and above, between and within the municipalities, agencies and departments to see how it all needs to come together. A Director is both dynamic in ideas and project generation, and linear in getting the job done. 

All of our planning positions require passion, leadership, inspiration, creativity and knowledge in order to fulfill our challenging mission. This requirement has a high potential for rewarding outcomes at the highest levels. Onondaga County is currently experiencing investment in jobs, housing and transportation. Combined with the introduction of a completely new technology and manufacturing activity around semiconductor microchips, we have the opportunity to truly shape and improve upon how a region can modernize and better function on multiple levels now and in the future.

With adoption of our award winning Plan Onondaga, robust implementation resources, and unprecedented and wide ranging support, now is the perfect time for the right person to take planning in Central New York to the highest levels of success. In addition to financial support, the county is hiring multiple high level planners within the department. This will give the Director a diverse and robust staff to carry out initiatives.

Salary Range: $105,022 - $139,224

If you believe you are the right person, please submit a cover letter and resume to the following:

Onondaga County Commissioner of Personnel at peweb1@ongov.net

or

Onondaga County Personnel | 421 Montgomery St., 11th Floor | Syracuse, NY  13202 

Onondaga County residency is required within 90 days of appointment.

Please refer to the County Personnel job specification for additional detail (https://employment.ongov.net/default/show_jobdesc/25031).

"Onondaga County is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer"