Community Development Director
Community Development Department
City of Sonoma, California
Salary: $162,076 - $197,004 (DOQ/DOE)

See the full recruitment brochure here

The City of Sonoma, California, is seeking a Community Development Director (Director) to lead the City’s brand-new Community Development Department (Department). This newly formed Department is the result of a merger between the Planning & Community Services and the Development Services & Building Departments. The goal is to improve communication with employees and establish a unified voice, resulting in more streamlined services for the public and development community. The Director will oversee a team of eight full-time staff and an approximate budget of $1.8 million. This engaged and motivational leader will oversee all planning, building, housing, sustainability, and code enforcement operations, requiring candidates to have the unique ability to lead a cross-functional and diverse team, with a particularly strong background in planning. The ideal candidate will be collaborative, communicative, and politically savvy, with a focus on permit process streamlining and building professional relationships with staff, developers, commissions, community members, and other key stakeholders. They will have exemplary project management skills, ensuring their team is meeting important objectives and deadlines. The Director will have an open-door style of leadership and provide a hands-on presence to their team. If you are eager to build your own team while providing next-level community development services to the Sonoma community, apply today!

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
The ideal candidate should bring several years of experience in city planning, along with public and business administration. This candidate will have the ability to understand current planning and building processes and the nuances of meeting community and developers’ needs. The candidate will interpret local, state, and federal building and zoning codes, regulations, and laws and make effective decisions. They will be a professional, dedicated, and enthusiastic leader, seeing challenges as opportunities for improvement and have an organizational development mindset. The Director will put in place cutting-edge planning strategies, work with experts in the field, and create an inclusive and collaborative Department culture. The Director will also ensure their team builds trust with the community, inspires creative thinking, and makes planning decisions that are fair, educated, and well-informed.