Description

ABOUT FAIRFIELD
Fairfield, the heart of Solano County, is a diverse and growing community located halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento, close to Napa and Sonoma. With 24 parks, numerous bike trails and two championship golf courses, Fairfield is a great family community with just over 119,000 residents. It is a thriving business hub with notable international companies such as Jelly Belly, Anheuser-Busch, Clorox, Ball Metal, and Meyer Corporation. It is home to a 1.0M sq. ft. regional shopping center, a large auto center, and Travis Air Force Base. Bordered by farms and vineyards, the City’s well-developed infrastructure and business-friendly attitude provide the foundation for strong growth and an enhanced quality of life.

ABOUT THE POSITION
The City seeks a talented and creative professional who is inspired by the opportunity to shape an exciting future for the Community Development Department and community. The Community Development Department consists of 27 FTEs whose primary focus is on expanding the economy in Fairfield and ensuring that the built environment is safe, aesthetically appealing, and logically planned. The Director oversees the Building and Safety Division, the Economic Development Division, and the Planning Division. The next Director must be a global thinker who brings bold new ideas, while also possessing the technical skills to administer policies and procedures. The successful candidate will be someone who can see the vision for the future of Fairfield as a thriving destination for residents and business alike, and deliver on the vision.

Minimum Qualifications

EXPERIENCE
Seven years of increasingly responsible professional planning experience, including four years of administrative and management responsibility is required.

EDUCATION
A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in urban planning, business or public administration or a related field is required. Candidates with an advanced degree highly desired.

LICENSE AND/OR CERTIFICATE
Possession of a valid Class C California Driver's License is required.

Examples of Duties

To achieve Fairfield’s vision, there are numerous major initiatives in the Community Development Department that the successful candidate will oversee:

• 
  Coordinating the first comprehensive update to the General Plan since 1992. The process has identified a community desire to see more urban density in place of suburban sprawl, more emphasis on multi-modal transportation, ensuring environmental stewardship, and supporting a burgeoning agritourism industry in the nearby Suisun Valley.
• Modernizing the development permitting process by reviewing internal workflows, improving interdepartmental coordination, and implementing a new Energov Land Management System.
• Advancing the vision of the Heart of Fairfield Specific Plan, with a focus on revitalizing Downtown Fairfield as a Food and Arts District and increasing the amount of multi-family and mixed-use housing.
• Managing the development of multiple master planned communities, including substantial expansion of the regional serving transportation network, in the Northeast part of town.
• Seeking out and attracting new businesses, with a particular focus on advanced manufacturing and food and beverage technologies, to fill available space in any one of Fairfield’s six business parks.

The Community & Economic Development Director reports to the City Manager and is a member of the Senior Leadership Team, comprised of the City’s department heads. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the Community & Economic Development Director will assist in making critical organizational decisions and game-planning the approach to delivering on City Council priorities. The successful candidate should be someone who participates in outside professional organizations, brings new ideas to the table, and seeks out best practices for the organization.

Knowledge & Abilities

THE SELECTION PROCESS:
Based on the information provided in the application documents, the best-qualified applicants will be invited for further examination. All applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through any subsequent phase of the examination. Depending upon the number of applications received, the examination may consist of an application screening, written and/or practical exam, oral interview, or any combination.

If you feel you will need a reasonable accommodation for any portion of the testing/interview process, please contact Human Resources at (707) 428-7394 at least 1 week prior to the application deadline or examination date.