Planning Supervisor

Job Description Summary

The Planning Supervisor is responsible for leading day-to-day planning operations and ensuring high-quality, timely, and coordinated delivery of current planning services. Manages workflow, assigns and prioritizes projects, and monitors performance to consistently meet established service standards and deliver an excellent customer experience. Serves as the owner of the day-to-day execution of the Planning & Scheduling system, ensuring effective coordination of plan review activities across divisions and departments. Provides direction and quality control to ensure reviews are clear, consistent, well-cited, and integrated into a single, coordinated response for applicants and stakeholders. Supervises and develops planning staff through coaching, feedback, and performance management to build competency in complex case analysis and customer communication. Establishes and reinforces best practices in plan review, customer service, and interdepartmental coordination. Identifies process improvements and implements operational enhancements to increase efficiency, transparency, and reliability in development review services.

The ideal candidate will be a self-motivated, respectful, high-performing individual who possesses a bachelors degree in Planning (or a closely related field). The ideal candidate will also have at least five years of experience in a municipal environment or equivalent, including conducting plan review, writing professional reports, and making public presentations. Because Goodyear is a fast-growing community, the Development Services Department is committed to continuously improving the way we work to achieve the highest-quality results.

The ideal candidate will have the ability to learn and demonstrate strong leadership abilities, including the capacity to oversee major planning projects, guide teams, make strategic decisions, develop policy, and mentor and coach junior-level planners. The candidate will also bring operational strengths commonly found in successful Planning Supervisors, such as experience managing daily development review workflows, ensuring coordinated and timely plan reviews, establishing review quality standards, facilitating interdepartmental collaboration, and supporting staff performance and skill development.

The ideal candidate will exhibit the values of empathy, optimism, integrity, innovation, adaptability, and initiative. A masters degree in Planning or a related field and American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification are desirable but not required.

At the City of Goodyear, you will be a part of an organization that values its employees as its greatest asset. You will become part of a dedicated team of professionals that will be challenged to learn and grow in an environment that values employee development and career-building. You will thrive in a culture of innovation. We believe that successful employees are those that possess six core values:

Integrity - Initiative - Empathy - Optimism - Innovation - Adaptability

EXAMINATION PROCESS

Only a limited number of the most highly qualified applicants meeting the City's requirements will be invited for an interview. The examination process for this position will include a panel interview and may include a written assessment.

All communication regarding application status and interview notifications will be sent via email- please monitor your junk/spam email for communication as messages will come from a system generated source.

Essential Functions

This information is intended to be descriptive of the key responsibilities of the position. The following functions do not identify all duties performed by the incumbent. Other duties and responsibilities will be performed as assigned.

• Manages day-to-day planning operations by prioritizing workloads, assigning projects, and ensuring timely and consistent case evaluation and processing according with performance standards. Tracks and manages daily and weekly performance metrics to ensure team output meets established standards.
• Coaches and mentors planners by facilitating development plans, delivering constructive feedback, holding regular 1:1s and conducting formal performance evaluations to build advanced competencies.
• Ensures regulatory consistency by guiding staff on application of the General Plan, Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision Regulations, and Design Guidelines to produce defensible recommendations.
• Coordinates stakeholder engagement by overseeing pre application and community meetings, aligning cross department inputs, and resolving issues with applicants and community members.
• Reviews and approves staff reports and presentations for quality, completeness, and alignment with established policies prior to advancing for Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council consideration.
• Improves processes and service quality by managing the Planning & Scheduling system for the plan review function by standardizing procedures, monitoring workload and performance indicators, and reinforcing customer service standards.
• Develops staff capability for complex cases by modeling best practices, facilitating peer reviews, and providing targeted training on evolving policies and review procedures.

Requirements

• Formal Education/Knowledge: Work requires broad knowledge in a general professional or technical field. Knowledge is normally acquired through four years of college resulting in a Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
• Experience: Minimum five years of experience in a related field.
• Certifications and Other Requirements: Valid Driver's License
• Reading: Ability to interpret and synthesize technical, operational, and policy documents, including laws, ordinances, performance data, and executive reports, to provide actionable recommendations at a college level.
• Math: Ability to perform advanced quantitative analyses.
• Writing: Ability to prepare complex correspondence, executive summaries, reports, memorandums, and performance documentation for leadership and elected officials at a college level.
• Managerial: Semi-complex - Work requires supervising and monitoring performance for a regular group of employees including providing input on hiring/disciplinary actions and work objectives/effectiveness, performance evaluations, and realigning work as needed.
• Policy/Decision Making: Moderate - The employee normally performs the job by following established standard operating procedures and/or policies. There is a choice of the appropriate procedure or policy to apply to duties. More complex work as well as decisions with more significant impacts are typically reviewed prior to being finalized.
• Technical Skills: Comprehensive Application - Work requires a comprehensive, practical knowledge of a technical field with use of analytical judgment and decision-making abilities appropriate to the work environment of the organization.
• Interpersonal/Human Relations Skills: Moderate Interactions at this level usually impact the implementation of policies. Contacts may involve interpretation of how policies are implemented and may require discussion and the support of controversial positions or the negotiation of sensitive issues or important presentations. During interactions on policy implementation, contacts may also involve stressful, negative interactions requiring high levels of tact and the ability to respond to aggressive interpersonal interactions.

12 Month Objectives

PLANNING SUPERVISOR

12-MONTH OBJECTIVES

First 3 Months

Establish baseline metrics for review timelines, workload distribution, planner performance, and common quality issues.

Fully stabilize ownership of the Planning & Scheduling system for daily operations.

Begin routine coaching and quality control cycles with staff.

Collaborate with the Planning Manager to establish calendar standard work for the Planning Supervisor position.

First 6 Months

Provide structured coaching, feedback, and development plans to strengthen planner competency in complex case analysis, customer communication, zoning interpretation, and interdepartmental coordination.

Implement two process improvements that enhance workflow transparency or reduce turnaround time.

Complete two file audits and translate findings into staff development actions.

Strengthen interdepartmental coordination practices so reviews flow seamlessly and predictably.

Identify and implement at least three operational improvements to increase efficiency, reduce bottlenecks, or strengthen review consistency.

First 12 Months

Demonstrate measurable improvement in timeliness, quality, and consistency of planning reviews.

Deliver documented improvements in customer experience, staff capability, and operational efficiency.

Benefits

The City of Goodyear offers a highly competitive benefits package including:

• Vacation Leave: 14 days per year, increasing with longevity. Goodyear offers an enhanced vacation benefit of recognizing total years of service under all Arizona public retirement systems for accruing vacation.
• Sick Leave: 12 days per year
• Holidays: 12 paid holidays per year, including one floating holiday the first full pay period of January
• Flexible Holiday: 24 hours per calendar year (prorated based on hire date)
• Health Insurance: Three health plans available to select from at a group rate
• Dental Insurance: Two dental plans available to select from at a group rate
• Vision Insurance: Available at a group rate
• Flexible Spending Accounts: Health Care and Dependent Care accounts available
• Short Term Disability Insurance: City-paid coverage
• Cancer Benefit: City-paid coverage
• Life Insurance: City-paid insurance valued at twice the annual salary ($400,