About the Department

The City of Highland Park is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Planning Intern / Management Analyst (Part-Time) to support a wide range of planning, research, and operational initiatives within the Community Development Department. This position offers a valuable opportunity for college students, recent graduates, or individuals nearing graduation to gain hands-on experience in local government, land use planning, and public administration.

Primary Purpose: Performs a variety of entry-level professional planning and management analyst tasks involving land use regulation and program and development services administration.

Supervision Received:  Receives direction from Deputy Director and other Senior Mgt.

Projected schedule: 20 hours per week.

Projected hiring range: $21.69 - $27.11 DOQ

Full range: $21.69 - $32.53

Position Duties

Assists management and other staff with various research projects, report writing and presentations as assigned. Performs research, data collection and analysis, prepares memorandum and reports and creates presentations related to regulatory, operations and long-term planning initiatives.  Researches, compiles and analyzes data from multiple sources to provide information to address a number of current and long-range planning, development service and program matters.  

Prepares narrative reports regarding various land use, operations, strategic planning and program considerations.  Assists other staff in delivery and analysis of programmatic services related to affordable housing, permit services, regulatory board / commission, long-term planning, or other special projects / programs. Assist management in the monitoring and analysis of operations and the development and implementation of new systems, procedures, or practices for the delivery of services. Make recommendations to management through presentations or written reports.

Other tasks include preforming routine office tasks, including data entry, electronic file management, copying and answering telephone. Assists with other administrative functions as needed. May conducts site visits to properties and collects information about field conditions.  May assists staff representatives during public participation events or public meetings. Performs other related work as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Required Minimum Qualifications:  To perform this job successfully, an individual must be willing and able to perform all essential duties satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Education: A Bachelor’s Degree in architecture, business or public administration, public policy, geography, urban planning, urban studies, environmental studies or related field.

Preferred:  Enrollment in a Master’s Degree program with one year (may be non-consecutive) of previous paid employment experience. 

Certification or license:  Valid Driver License

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Proficiencies:  

• Knowledge of public administration and planning principles and practices
• Understanding of basic budgetary principles and techniques as they relate to development services, programs and objectives.
• Knowledge of principles and practices of research and data collection, organization and synthesis. 
• Skills in fact-finding and investigative techniques; and development of presentations and reports.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; 
• Willingness and ability to interact with the public in a polite and effective manner to provide excellent customer service.  
• Consistently exercise good judgment, maintain confidentiality, and complete work in accordance with established policies and procedures; 
• Knowledge of office productivity software Microsoft Office and familiarity with database, graphics (Adobe Creative Suite), web, and GIS applications.
• Performance of all work in a professional manner with the highest level of integrity and in accordance with the City’s conflict of interest policies and practices.   

Other Qualifications

Work Environment: Fast-paced, customer-service-oriented environment with a high degree of independent work and one-on-one interaction with customers. The office frequently has a moderate noise level due to an open office configuration with office equipment running and numerous telephone calls; property inspections may be required to be performed in elevated heights and may experience loud noises.  Some fieldwork around the city will be required, most often in residential, commercial, and/or park environments.

Tools and Equipment Used:  The position requires the ability to operate/use the following equipment and software, including but not limited to:  a motor vehicle, “smartphone” cellular telephone, and a digital camera, personal computer (Windows 10 Operating System, Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Acrobat, and permit database and mapping software (Tyler Munis and EnerGov); photocopying machines; fax machine; calculators; telephones; and miscellaneous other office equipment.