Details
02/19/2025
Principal Planner
McKenna
Pay Range: 75,000-95,000
Principal Planner (Detroit, Northville, Ohio)
MCKENNA
McKenna’s team of talented planning, design, and building professionals help municipal leaders develop and maintain communities for real life. From downtowns, neighborhood parks, and storefronts, to parking spots, coffee shops, and farmers’ markets, we want your community to thrive. McKenna provides planning, zoning, building, landscape architecture, community and economic development, and urban design assistance to cities, villages, townships, counties, and regional agencies, as well as select private clients, based on skilled and effective public engagement.
PRINCIPAL PLANNER
McKenna’s Principal Planners are passionate, talented, and creative professionals who want to make a difference and see their work efforts result in tangible, inspirational outcomes. Our work is purposeful and impacts people by influencing the state of the environment; ultimately, we take pride in helping to improve quality of life in our great Midwestern communities. McKenna’s team members enjoy the benefits of our practice, from the diversity of projects in a diverse range of communities, to our fast-paced, creative, and collaborative team culture.
MCKENNA TEAM
McKenna team-members inspire those around them by displaying their positive individual approaches to solving difficult problems. Our Principal Planners collaborate with Senior Planners and Project Managers in producing creative work products of the highest technical and graphic excellence and are responsible for demonstrating continuous professional development. McKenna Principal Planners effectively communicate work progress to McKenna Project Managers, whom they also support preparing for and during public meetings.
POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES
The Principal Planner is committed to assisting Senior Planners and Project Managers in providing on-time, on-budget planning and design work that is of the highest technical and creative quality. This position will be to support new and ongoing business in Michigan and Ohio. The ideal candidate will be able to work a hybrid schedule from either Detroit, Northville or the greater Columbus area.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
• Serve as Principal Planner on a multitude of projects, helping to deliver creative solutions to our clients throughout the Midwest, primarily local units of government. Projects range from providing ongoing and continuing service in the areas of zoning, form-based coding, master planning, economic development, and placemaking, to special projects in planning, design, economic development, transportation, etc.
• Serve as primary client representative without supervision in front of municipal boards and commissions, concerned and engaged stakeholder groups, and professional peer organizations.
• Share knowledge and experience with other planners and collaborate with staff to efficiently solve problems and assist with professional development of team members.
• Successfully serve as Project Manager and manage project team, while maintaining orderly workflow, ensuring quality and on-time performance.
• Undertake projects or tasks beyond the routine, contributing to the long-term success and viability of the company.
• Prepare and monitor project budgets and provide written and oral project status reports to management.
• Take the lead in conducting potential client interviews and take the lead in drafting proposals in generating new client work.
• Achieve confidence and credibility with clients and deliver graphically rich work products, regardless of individual graphic skills
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
Members of McKenna’s professional planning and design team are evaluated on specific performance standards, as follows:
1. Ability to effectively collaborate with clients and other McKenna professionals
2. Capability to multi-task and set priorities
3. Work Habits
4. Initiative
5. Billable Rate Achievement
6. Profitability
7. Achievement of key measurable “vital signs”:
a. Client Satisfaction
b. Career Development
c. Giving Back
d. Innovation
e. New Work
f. Productivity
g. Project Manager Billings
h. Project Variance
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
The successful Principal Planner will possess the following knowledge and skills:
1. Five (5) to seven (7) years of experience in municipal consulting, or compelling and directly relatable experience (planning for a municipal government or private-sector organization)
2. A master’s degree or equivalent experience in Urban Planning, Urban Design, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, or related field
3. Advanced zoning skills and experience
4. Project and budget management experience
5. Ability to multi-task in ever changing, client-focused environment
6. Public engagement experience and excellent public speaking skills
7. AICP, NCI and/or other complimentary professional certifications a plus.
8. Ability to respectfully function as a productive and enthusiastic member of a team, under remote direction of McKenna’s Leadership Team, Project Directors, and Project Managers.
9. Superior communication skills supported by interpersonal connections, speaking, and writing
10. Proficiency and experience in utilizing Microsoft Office Apps and TEAMS
HOW TO APPLY
To apply for this position, send your resume in confidence to the attention of Human Resources at hr@mcka.com . Please specify the location in which you are interested in working from.
McKenna is an Equal Opportunity Employer and celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion and strives to create a dignified work environment where team members can thrive. Candidates with non-traditional backgrounds and transferable experience are encouraged to apply.
