Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District Planner
The Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District permanently protects the diverse agricultural, natural resources, and scenic open space lands of Sonoma County for future generations. Ag + Open Space is responsible for stewarding land protected by conservation easements, as well as, lands held in fee. Learn more about the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District at http://www.sonomaopenspace.org
About the Position
The Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District is currently recruiting to fill a five year, time-limited Planner position through September 1, 2025. The position is assigned to the Stewardship Program but may be assigned to other Program areas in the future as needed. For the Stewardship Program, duties consist of:
- Coordinating with landowners, partner organizations, and agencies to steward both easement and fee lands
- Completing easement monitoring site visits and related documentation, and conservation easement baseline documents
- Reviewing and processing easement permitted use and amendment requests
- Coordinating natural resource management, infrastructure maintenance, and capital improvement projects on District-held fee lands, including service contract initiation and management
- Preparing and presenting staff reports and PowerPoint presentations at public meetings of the Citizen's Advisory Committee, the Fiscal Oversight Commission, and the Board of Directors
The ideal candidate for Planner will possess:
- A passion for conserving land and natural resources for the benefit of future generations
- Experience working with public agencies and non-profit organizations in land-use planning and/or land and natural resource conservation
- Knowledge of basic principles and practices of land conservation, real estate, and land-use planning, regulations, and zoning
- Experience with grant funding programs and/or contract management
- A demonstrated ability to exercise effective leadership in furtherance of program goals, objectives, and strategic initiatives
- The ability to build and maintain effective relationships with co-workers, government officials, federal, state and local agencies, community groups, and the general public
- Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to exercise initiative, good judgment, and tact
- An understanding of emerging public policy issues affecting land-use and land preservation, including habitat protection, water resources and watershed management, and climate change
- Effective written and verbal communication skills
- A proven ability to make presentations before boards, committees, and citizen's groups
This position is in the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, which is a separate entity from the County of Sonoma, and not within the County of Sonoma Civil Service System. This employment list may also be used to fill future full-time, part-time, or extra-help (temporary) positions as they occur during the active status of the list. The employment agreement for this position is the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 Memorandum Of Understanding (SEIU MOU).
APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS REQUIRE THE SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE BE COMPLETED.
Minimum Qualifications
License: Possession of a valid driver's license at the appropriate level including special endorsements, as required by the State of California, may be required depending upon assignment to perform the essential job functions of the position.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Knowledge of: the principles and practices of natural resource management, land use, site, and environmental planning; pertinent federal, state and local laws and ordinances related to land use, planning, zoning, and natural resource protection; principles of research and statistics pertaining to planning, data, site planning, and architectural design principles; use of GIS, GPS, and related software and hardware to collect data, perform analyses, and prepare maps and reports; principles and practices of digitizing, data conversion, data management, and cartography; applications related to database management, report generation, and desktop publishing.
Ability to: manage conservation and stewardship planning projects and initiatives; understand and interpret various title reports, maps, contracts, legal descriptions, deed restrictions, and other planning and stewardship documents; research and analyze data, and develop effective courses of action; present ideas and concepts graphically and visually; establish and maintain effective relationships with people encountered in the course of work; perform analytical work carefully and accurately; communicate effectively both orally and in writing; make presentations before a variety of audiences, including boards and citizens' groups; use tact, initiative, prudence, and independent judgment within general policy, procedural, and legal guidelines; use GIS, GPS, and related software and hardware to collect data, perform analyses, and prepare maps and reports; use computers and software.