POSITION TITLE: Planning Technician (Hourly)
REQUISITION #: req5822
DEPARTMENT: Natural Areas
LOCATION: NIX SITE OFFICE BLDG
BENEFIT CATEGORY: Variable Hourly View Classifications & Benefits
EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Seasonal Hourly
HOURLY RATE: $19.00 - 23.00 per hour (based on relevant experience)
SELECTION PROCESS: Application deadline is Open until filled.

The City of Fort Collins is a bias-conscious employer. We ask that you please avoid the use of photos when submitting a resume and/or an application for employment. You will receive an email acknowledgment when you have successfully submitted an application. Your completed application will be forwarded to the hiring manager. You will be notified if you are selected for further testing or interviews. Please keep your contact information up-to-date. The status of your application will be updated in your applicant profile. Post-offer background check, Motor Vehicle Report, and drug test required within four calendar days (96 hours) of offer.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they can perform every job description task. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may come from a less traditional background. The City may consider an equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education, and experience to meet minimum qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.

The Community: The City of Fort Collins sits nestled against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains alongside the banks of the Cache La Poudre River. At 5,000 feet in elevation, residents enjoy a moderate, four-season climate, with an average of 300 days of sunshine per year. With 174,800 residents, Fort Collins is Colorado’s fourth-largest city and spans 57 square miles. With the 20 year growth projection, the City of Fort Collins is expected to reach 255,000 residents.

The first people who hunted in this region arrived approximately 11,000 years ago, and Northern Colorado remains an integral part of the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute Nations. European-American trappers and traders arrived by the early 1800s but rarely established permanent settlements. Gold and silver discoveries in the Colorado mountains in the mid-1800s and the prospect of land for farming and ranching attracted people from eastern cities and across the globe to the Colorado Territory, including what would become the town of Fort Collins; an agricultural colony that emerged from its founding days as a military fort. The expansion included the sugar beet industry's growth, which brought new residents whose descendants still live here today, including Mexican-American families from southern Colorado, New Mexico, and northern Mexico, as well as Germans from Russia. Since 1879, Fort Collins has been the home of the state’s land grant institution, Colorado State University, which currently enrolls 34,000 students. Along with the university, the city’s major high-tech and manufacturing companies and breweries attract new residents from all over the country and world. The community’s overall social diversity continues to grow.

There are abundant outdoor recreation opportunities available to the many residents who enjoy healthy lifestyles. The nearby Horsetooth Reservoir is a key attraction, as is the Cache La Poudre-North Park Scenic Byway. The Downtown district provides many venues for live music, shopping, dining, and nightlife within the city. Fort Collins is widely considered the Craft Beer Capital of Colorado. The City has a strong appreciation for arts, culture, and entertainment. Various national organizations and magazines recognize Fort Collins as one of the best places to live in the nation.

The City’s long list of acknowledgements includes:

• No. 2 Best Tasting Drinking Water in North America: American Water Works – June 2021
• No. 5 Best Remote-Ready Cities: Livability.com Jan 2021
• Top 30 Creative Small Cities: CVSuite – May 2020
• No. 18 Safest Cities in America: SafeWise – April 2020
• No. 1 Best Place to Live: Livability.com March 2020
• No. 9 Most Fitness Friendly Places: SmartAsset – Dec 2019
• No. 7 Safest Driving Cities: Allstate – June 2019
• No. 4 Best U.S. Cities to Raise a Family: MarketWatch – April 2019
• No. 9 Best Performing Cities: Milken Institute – Jan 2019
• No. 3 U.S. Cities with Highest Economic Confidence: Yahoo – Nov 2018
• No. 2 Brain Concentration Index: Bloomberg – Nov 2018
• No. 1 City in America for Cycling: PeopleForBikes-May 2018
• Outstanding Achievement in Local Government Innovation Award: Alliance for Innovation-April 2018
• The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award-Nov 2017
• 18th Best City for Career Opportunities: SmartAsset – Sep 2017
• 3rd Best College Town to Live in Forever: College Ranker – July 2017
• 25 Best Towns Ever: Where to Live Now: Outside Magazine – June 2017
• No. 1 Stable and Growing Housing Market: Realtor.com-June 2017
• 11th Happiest City in America: Yahoo! Finance - March 2017
• No. 9 Top 150 Cities for Millennials Report: Millennial Personal Finance - Feb 2017
• No. 2 Best Cities for Small Business Owners: ValuePenguin – Feb 2017

Why Work For the City of Fort Collins?

• Potential for paid personal leave and paid holidays

- Employee Assistance Program: counseling, legal, and financial assistance

- Wellness program, workout facilities

- Personal & professional learning opportunities plus potential for career mobility

- Collaborative work environment

SUMMARY: The City of Fort Collins Natural Areas is seeking to add a Planning Technician to our dynamic and community-focused Planning and Special Projects (PSP) team. The PSP team leads the development of complex and long-range plans for a portfolio of more than 35,000 acres of City-owned natural areas that provide the community with valuable natural and cultural resources, as well as recreation and educational opportunities. The team’s approach to open space planning is inclusive and interdisciplinary with a focus on working collaboratively with partners to help co-create, articulate, and implement the department’s goals and mission.

The hourly, temporary (Mid-May through Mid-August) Planning Technician (PT) will complete a variety of planning support tasks to assist the Nature in the City team within PSP with both office and field duties during the summer season. These duties will include initiatives in the four areas of the Nature in the City program: Projects, Resources, Partnerships, and Stewardship. The PT will be able to specialize in one or two of these areas with further tasks, based on their experience or interests. This position will be well suited to an individual who is interested in urban conservation, community engagement, and restoration.

The PT will also complete shadow opportunities with other branches of the Natural Areas Department including, but not limited to, Resource Management, Public Engagement, Rangers, and Trails and Visitor Amenities. These opportunities will be designed to introduce the assistant to the wide variety of career opportunities that can be found within the natural resources field at a local governmental agency. This position is 70% in the office, 30% in the field. The office is located at the Natural Areas buildings at Nix Farm in Fort Collins.

The City of Fort Collins is an organization that supports equity for all. We acknowledge the role of local government in helping create systems of oppression and racism and are committed to dismantling those same systems in pursuit of racial justice.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The following duties and responsibilities are illustrative of the potential primary functions based on the specialization of this position and are not intended to be all inclusive.

• Develops program content for outreach materials such as handouts, postcards, enews, social media, and website.

• Meets with City staff from other departments to research best native vegetation establishment and maintenance practices and develop a report on findings.

• Supports planning and delivering outreach activities and events for diverse audiences including presentations, events, workshops, classes, and business outreach.

• Works with Nature in the City grant recipients to check on status of projects and assist as needed.

• Assists with wildlife surveys for birds, butterflies, bees, amphibians, and elk.

• Compiles and reports program data and survey results.

• Supports training, management, and communication with volunteers participating in Biodiversity Monitoring.

• Performs GIS mapping, if interested.

• Attends and contributes to various staff meetings.

• Is an ambassador for the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Department by communicating the City’s goals, management philosophies, and key messages.

• Uses appropriate safety practices.

• Maintains equipment and inventory and prepares supplies for events.

• Meets deadlines and uses time, materials, and resources efficiently and cost-effectively.

• Assists with work planning and record-keeping.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: This position does not have supervisory responsibilities.

City Competencies

• Demonstrated cultural competence to effectively interact, work, and develop meaningful relationships with people of diverse identities, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds.
• Strong learning orientation. Leverages all resources and is creative in ways of learning for self to continue adapting to changing issues and trends.
• A desire and ability to understand the diverse needs of internal and external customers, and to create experiences and deliver services that exceed their expectations.
• A desire and ability to utilize digital tools for organizational information, individual, and teamwork.

QUALIFICATIONS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required or preferred.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Demonstrated knowledge of the natural resources or environmental field.

• Capable of working as a member of a team, as well as independently.

• Ability to effectively communicate, both orally and in writing.

• Ability to deal with stressful situations and deadlines.

• Ability to interact with members of City staff, other agencies, and general public.

• Competent in use of web page editing, Excel, presentation, social networking, volunteer management, and word processing software.

• Excellent customer service, presentation, communication and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive internal and external relationships.

• Ability to work with volunteers, manage groups, communicate effectively, and accept and give feedback.

• Knowledge of local flora and fauna, preferred.

• Knowledge of principles of public outreach, preferred.

TRAINING PROVIDED: Individuals are not expected to come into the position with all knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the essential duties and responsibilities. If needed, training on the follow can be provided. List is not meant to be all inclusive.

• Scientific writing and writing for the public
• GIS
• Wildlife survey methods
• Native plant identification and establishment
• Grant administration
• Public outreach methods

EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE: Associate’s or bachelor’s degree from an accredited two or four-year college or university in environmental science, landscape architecture, urban planning, GIS, forestry, wildlife biology, natural resources, or related field preferred. College level juniors or seniors will be considered who demonstrate work or volunteer experience related to the natural resources field.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:

• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, best management practices, management plans, educational lesson plans, as well as procedure manuals.
• Ability to prepare and deliver effective correspondence.
• Ability to speak effectively before different groups.
• Knowledge of a second language other than English preferred.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS: Valid driver’s license is required.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to walk, sometimes on uneven or varied terrain; lift, carry, move, or position items up to 25 lbs.; work outside in a variety of weather conditions including moderate cold or moderate heat; sit; use hands to, handle, or feel; and talk or hear.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Work will occur both indoors and out. The outdoor component will occur in varying weather conditions. Conditions may, at times, be severe. This position may work outside of normal business hours.

The City of Fort Collins will make reasonable accommodations for access to City services, programs and activities and will make special communication arrangements for persons with disabilities. Please call (970) 221-6535 for assistance.

Notice Regarding Medical and/or Recreational Marijuana Use:
Because the possession and use of marijuana, whether for medical use or otherwise, constitutes a federal offense and because the City is a drug free workplace, the City will not accommodate the medical use of marijuana and enforces written policy prohibiting working for the City while marijuana is in the body. The fact that state law recognizes medical marijuana as a prescribed, or otherwise permitted, medication does not alter or otherwise change this policy.

The City of Fort Collins is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants are considered for positions for which they have applied without regard to gender (regardless of gender identity or gender expression), race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, age 40 years or older, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy or other characteristics protected by law. For the purpose of this City policy “sexual orientation” means a person’s actual or perceived orientation toward heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality.

POST OFFER BACKGROUND CHECK, MOTOR VEHICLE REPORT, AND DRUG TEST REQUIRED WITHIN FOUR CALENDAR DAYS/96 HOURS OF OFFER.

Note: Some information in your application may be public information under the Colorado Open Records Act.