Senior Planner - Office of Planning

POSTING TYPE: Open-competitive
DEPARTMENT: Office of Planning
HOURS: Full-time
SALARY RANGE: $82,337 - $128,651/year (109 grade Level)
LOCATION: Western Service Center, Apple Valley
UNION: None
CLOSE DATE: 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 29, 2026

What You'll Do
A Senior Planner serves as a lead role in the design and development of policies and plans related to the Office of Planning. The Senior Planner serves on a multitude of team projects providing the technical expertise needed to develop and implement planning projects. This position will have a lead role in the 2050 Dakota County Comprehensive Plan update. Other project work may include park and greenway long-range plans, active living, pedestrian and bicycle planning, environmental planning (e.g. natural systems plan, solid waste plan, ground and surface water plans, and sustainability planning), and others.

Who We Are
Dakota County is Minnesota's third largest county and home to more than 400,000 residents. We strive every day to achieve excellence in public service, with a focus on four values: Service, Integrity, People, and Innovation.

Dakota County aims to create an environment that is welcoming and inclusive of diverse people, backgrounds, and experiences. Our goal is to have a workforce that is reflective of the communities and individuals we serve. We promote an equitable and culturally aware work environment where everyone can be their authentic selves.

• Bachelor's Degree AND two years' experience in Geography, Urban Planning, Public Administration, GIS, Landscape Architecture, or a related field.
  OR

• An equivalent combination of education and experience to equal or exceed 6 years professional land use or community planning experience.

PREFERRED EDUCATION BEYOND MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's Degree in Geography, Urban Planning, Public Administration, GIS, or Landscape Architecture or a related field.

• Grant writing or capital improvement planning experience.

• Knowledge of GIS applications and planning software.

• Comprehensive planning experience.

These examples do not include all possible tasks in this work and do not limit the assignment of related tasks in any position of this classification. Regular attendance according to the position's management approved work schedule is required for all positions.

1. Manage a range of Physical Development Division and inter-divisional planning initiatives, including formal plans, policies, and studies, by developing project teams, roles, desired outcomes, interim milestones, stakeholder engagement, advisory committee participation, and Board presentations.
2. Effectively manage consultants in the preparation of plans and studies. Oversee the process of soliciting and selecting consultants. Ensure on-time, on-budget delivery.
3. Provide planning expertise to inter departmental teams.
4. Write clear, concise plans to document policies, visions, goals, objectives, priorities, phasing, and budget needs. Oversee plan approval process with external agencies and County officials.
5. Lead the design, preparation, and implementation of research and analysis. Conduct quantitative and qualitative research and analysis to synthesize findings that can inform policy and plans. Develop and implement a range of studies (e.g., precedents, best practices, benchmarking, or legal requirements) to inform plan development.
6. Develop and execute public engagement plans that gather community input representative of Dakota County's demographics.
7. Update and maintain technical expertise in mapping, engagement, analysis, and presentation. Recommend software and hardware resources as needed.
8. Manage and coordinate contractor selection and contract administration.
9. Identify and pursue grant opportunities to support planning efforts and implementation.
10. Identify, research, and track emerging issues with potential impacts to County programs, plans, and services.
11. Respond to information requests from staff, elected officials, and the public in a timely manner.
12. Prepare and manage grants for external funding.

• Ability to manage planning project teams from multiple disciplines, including staff and consultant teams.
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
• Strong skills with Microsoft Office 365 (e.g. Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel), ArcGIS Pro, Adobe, and commonly-used software for word processing, graphic design, presentations, database management and analysis, mapping and spatial analysis, and surveys/audience participation.
• Ability to manage projects to meet deadlines with high-quality results.
• Ability to facilitate meetings, discussions, strategic planning sessions with staff, elected officials, other agencies, and the public.
• Public speaking and presentation skills.
• Ability to write and manage grants.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and skill in database design, database management and GIS database optimization. Additional expertise in specialized data analysis and modeling tools, such as statistical summaries, travel demand modeling.
• Demonstrated knowledge of principles and practices relating to planning and program development.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of Dakota County and the roles and responsibilities of federal, state, metro, municipal, and other agencies.
• The ability to develop cooperative relationships with both technical and policy staff in Dakota County, state and local government officials, and private entities and citizens.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and be adaptable to a variety of disciplines and requests.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to reason through projects.

• Comprehensive and affordable medical, dental, vision, and other benefits
• Excellent work-life balance
• Generous paid time off (accrual rate starts at four weeks per year)
• Eleven paid holidays and one floating holiday each year
• Pension with a generous employer contribution
• Ability to work from home some of the time

Selection Process

• You submit an online application that includes supplemental questions
• We assign you a score based on your qualifications
• Top scoring candidates are referred to the hiring manager for interview consideration
• We conduct interviews and reference checks before extending an offer
• We extend an offer and conduct background checks