Senior Urban Planner - Community Planning & Business Development

Senior Urban Planner - Community Planning & Business Development

Do you love shaping the future of the built environment and thrive in a dynamic, equity-centered workplace? Are you passionate about driving business and team growth while managing impactful community planning, revitalization, and resilience projects? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you!

ESA seeks a highly motivated Senior Urban Planner - Community Planning & Business Development to join us in one of our Bay Area offices in California. We are seeking a proactive individual with 10+ years of experience in planning or a related field(8 years with a master's degree) who is intellectually curious and eager to advance our established team of community planners, climate planners, and environmental consultants. This role emphasizes project management and delivery, internal cross-collaboration, and business development.

Who You Are

Experienced and Innovative Project Leader: You have a proven track record of managing complex, multi-disciplinary projects. You have a strong grasp of policy planning, land use permitting, community revitalization and resilience, the relationship between the built and natural environments, and relevant regulatory and environmental processes. You excel at facilitating in-house networking, community engagement, exploring new technologies, and contributing to innovation initiatives that seek creative solutions to complex challenges.

Detail-Oriented Communicator and Collaborator: You excel in fostering internal cross-collaboration by improving communication and coordination across business lines and regions. You ensure high standards in project deliverables through quality control, align diverse teams toward common goals, and maintain excellence in execution.

Client-Centric Business Development Leader: You are skilled at building and maintaining strong client and teaming partner relationships and proactive in identifying new business opportunities. You drive revenue growth through market understanding, lead generation, and forming strategic partnerships that support business lines and practices.

Mentor, Team Builder, and Inclusive Culture Advocate: You are dedicated to developing and mentoring junior staff and actively contribute to creating an inclusive work environment by supporting JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) initiatives. You play an active role in recruitment, onboarding, and fostering a culture of continuous learning.

Education/Experience: Bachelor's degree in Urban planning, Urban Design, Environmental Studies, or a related field with a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience, or a master's degree with 8 years of relevant experience.

What You Will Do for ESA

As ESA's Senior Urban Planner - Community Planning & Business Development you will focus on managing projects, directing select project efforts, fostering internal collaboration, and driving business development. Your role will include overseeing project delivery, enhancing interdepartmental coordination, and expanding business opportunities while ensuring high standards and client satisfaction.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Project Management and Delivery:




• Lead and manage community, climate and resilience planning projects, such as Specific Plans, Master Plans, Area Plans, Neighborhood Plans, General Plan Updates, Coastal Plans, due diligence, entitlement permits, Climate Adaptation Plans, Sustainability Plans, zoning and design standards, environmental justice, community engagement, and related work.
• Oversee project schedules, logistics, budget tracking, invoicing, and team communications to ensure timely and successful project delivery.
• Apply critical thinking to adapt techniques and procedures in the development of work products for clients.
• Manage multi-disciplinary project teams and subconsultants, ensuring high-quality deliverables and regulatory compliance.
• Contribute to the organization's innovation program by exploring and integrating new technologies to improve workflows.




• Internal Cross-Collaboration:




• Leverage communication, coordination, and teamwork among ESA's business lines and regions to achieve organizational goals.
• Organize and lead interdepartmental meetings and initiatives to align strategies and share information.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing, identify interdepartmental opportunities, and develop processes to enhance efficiency and streamline workflows.
• Support internal cross-pollination opportunities, particularly with community planning services.
• Facilitate in-house networking opportunities to encourage collaboration among practice groups.




• Business Development:




• Drive revenue growth by nurturing client relationships, acquiring new clients, and supporting ESA's market initiatives.
• Analyze market trends, customer needs, and competitive landscapes to identify opportunities.
• Identify and pursue new business opportunities, including seeking leads and prepositioning for opportunities.
• Form and maintain strategic partnerships and alliances with potential clients, partners, and industry influencers.
• Lead proposal efforts, including scope preparation and budget development, and implement strategies for future workload growth.

Other Responsibilities:

• Inclusive Culture:




• Foster an inclusive work environment, actively supporting JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) initiatives to ensure employees feel valued and empowered.




• Team Management:




• Participate in recruitment, hiring, and onboarding to ensure the team is adequately staffed.
• Identify employee skill needs and assist in organizing relevant training sessions and workshops.
• Develop mentoring relationships with junior staff, providing guidance and support for their professional growth. Provide supervision and support to team members as needed.

What's Special About Our Community Development Team

This position will sit within ESA's Northern California Community Development business group. Our Community Development team has built a legacy of success providing planning services, environmental compliance and clearance, and advancement. We combine our firm's technical depth in natural resources science and environmental planning with deep knowledge of local regulatory practices and procedures, including the most current legislation and case law, to create value-added, cost-effective, and legally defensible solutions for our clients.

ESA is unique in that we have a deep scientific, technical, and regulatory expertise, which we apply to our planning and environmental review projects. We keep project approval and implementation at the forefront, balancing long-term planning, community attributes, stakeholder objectives, and cost. Our focus is on comprehensiveness and clarity, and the result is that our planning, CEQA, and NEPA documents are frequently recognized by professional organizations with awards for creative approach and quality.