Senior Housing and Land Use Planner

Description
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) seeks candidates for the position Senior Housing + Land Use Planner to join the agency’s Housing Working Group within the Land Use Department. The ideal candidate has a passion for housing as a tool to advance equity and create great places; knowledge of a range of federal and state housing programs and Massachusetts zoning; understanding of displacement risk and mitigation tools; familiarity with Affordable Housing development; and experience working independently and collaboratively. This individual will work to expand housing choice, opportunity, and stability in the Metro Boston region through analysis of housing challenges, development of specific recommendations pertaining to housing funding and programming opportunities, or establishment of new municipal or regional entities to deploy housing strategies and meet need, and drafting of inclusionary development policies and other zoning initiatives. The Planner will also work from time to time on efforts to develop or improve state and federal policies that will advance MAPC’s housing goals. The Planner will report to the Chief of Housing + Neighborhood Development.

This is an opportunity to work as part of a dynamic, interdisciplinary, and innovative team of professionals who are committed to building a more sustainable and equitable future for Metro Boston.

About MAPC
MAPC is the Regional Planning Agency (RPA) serving the people who live and work in metropolitan Boston.  Our mission is to promote smart growth and regional collaboration. We are guided by MetroFuture: Making a Greater Boston Region, our regional policy plan for a more sustainable and equitable future, which was adopted in 2008.  We are currently working on a successor regional plan, MetroCommon2050: Shaping the Region Together, which we expect to complete by mid-2021. MAPC's staff includes approximately 100 full-time employees located in downtown Boston in a transit-accessible and bike-friendly office.

We encourage all staff to develop new ideas to make MAPC's planning and policy work more relevant and impactful, and to adapt to changing times.  We strongly support the professional development of each and every staff person, believing their growth to be consistent with the best interests of MAPC and the region.  For more information about MAPC, MetroFuture, and MetroCommon, please visit www.mapc.org.

During the COVID emergency, almost all MAPC staff are working from home. MAPC is deeply committed to on-boarding new staff in ways that integrate them fully into our team of professionals, and maintaining close contact among existing staff, new staff, and external stakeholders.
 
Examples of Duties
Responsibilities

• Prepare local Housing Production Plans, housing elements of Master Plans, town center or village plans, equitable transit-oriented development (ETOD) plans, and other plans focused on Affordable Housing production, preservation, and protections for those at risk of displacement.
• Draft zoning, permitting procedures, and design guidelines to create more and better housing or mixed-use development, with a particular emphasis on Affordable Housing.
• Help communities develop inclusionary zoning strategies, conduct pre-development analysis, and facilitate housing re/development through the procurement process (RFI, RFQ, RFP); familiarity with pro formas to test inclusionary and other zoning and development scenarios a plus.
• Develop mechanisms to effectively utilize public resources for housing purposes (such as program development, a Regional Housing Services Office, or an Office of Housing Stability).
• Conduct research and data analysis, such as housing market analyses, assessment of housing needs, and audits of local tools to meet housing need.
• Research and prepare reports, studies, and presentations on best practices pertaining to housing, housing market trends, public policies and programs, housing impacts, development barriers, and the like.
• Design, organize, and facilitate public forums, workshops, and other community engagement events.
• Develop housing communications campaigns to raise awareness, educate the public, and build support for housing initiatives.
• Attend evening and occasional weekend meetings, travel locally.    

Typical Qualifications
Candidates for this position must have either a Master’s degree in urban/regional planning, real estate development, public policy/management, urban design/architecture, or a closely related field and at least 2 years of relevant job experience, or a Bachelor’s degree plus 3 years of relevant job experience.
 
Successful candidates for this position will demonstrate all or most of the following:

• Experience + Knowledge
  1. Experience leading and contributing to housing planning and zoning efforts
  2. Knowledge of federal, state, and local housing and land use policies, laws, regulations, and programs, such as M.G.L. Chapter 40B and 40R, the Community Preservation Act, HOME, CDBG, and Fair Housing
  3. Strong research skills and ability to work with large quantitative data sets to discern trends in demography, real estate, etc.
  4. Knowledge of municipal governance structures
  5. Understanding of Affordable Housing finance and development and the state’s capital sources for Affordable Housing production are a plus 

• Communications + Interpersonal Skills
  1. Ability to write coherent documents ranging from technical reports to summary memos
  2. Ability to think creatively about how to message housing issues and efforts and build support for housing strategies
  3. Ability to conduct community outreach and engagement with diverse populations
  4. Strong verbal communication and facilitation skills, including the ability to achieve consensus and resolve disputes in community engagement 
  5. Ability to design visual communications materials, including presentations, boards, and handouts 
• Organization + Time Management
  1. Ability to manage a workload consisting of multiple and varied driven projects
  2. Ability to project manage, including budgets and interdisciplinary project teams comprised of staff with varying degrees of expertise; ability to delegate and conduct quality control
  3. Ability to work on a team and collaborate on project work
  4. Ability to work independently, self start, and follow through on assigned tasks

Supplemental Information
 
Compensation and Benefits
This is a full-time, exempt position with an excellent state employee benefits package. Starting salary will range from $65,000 to $75,000 depending on qualifications and experience. MAPC offers excellent Massachusetts state employee benefits as well as a flexible, supportive, and family friendly work environment.
 
How to Apply
Apply online at www.mapc.org. The position is open until filled, and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume. Candidates selected to interview will be asked to submit three (3) references plus a sample of relevant writing or work product (an example of your design skills, flyer, rendering, presentation, site plan, model, rendering, or other visual materials). Candidates must have legal authorization to work in the USA and a valid driver's license and/or the ability to arrange transportation to meetings in different parts of the region. MAPC participates in E-Verify, which is a federal program that helps us to determine work eligibility in the United States.
 
MAPC is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. We believe that a staff with a range of perspectives, experiences, and skillsets strengthens our work. We are committed to building a more equitable workplace that allows staff with diverse backgrounds and identities to thrive, grow, and lead. For more information on MAPC’s culture of equity, see our Equity at MAPC page.