Project Officer Development PF&R in Toronto

Reporting to the Manager and/or the Senior Project Manager, the Project Officer will take a leading role in the coordination and delivery of complex projects to plan for and deliver recreation facilities, new parkland and park improvements, helping to achieve the City's parkland objectives and enhance the liveability of the City of Toronto's neighbourhoods and communities. The successful candidate will support the Parks and Recreation Facilities Plan implementation including the 2027 plan update.

Major Responsibilities:

• Lead, assess and co-ordinate complex parks and facilities plans and strategies, in accordance with City Council direction and City legislation and policies.
• Work with the Manager or Senior Project Manager to initiate and advance studies, projects and legal agreements that are consistent with the vision of Council, implement the Official Plan, the Parkland Strategy, Parks and Facilities Plan, and Ravine Strategy to address local and city-wide parkland and recreational priorities.
• Lead, review, evaluate and/or implement local parks plans and area studies to ensure that P&R’s interests are addressed, including the identification of parkland and facility needs, and opportunities for improvement.
• Coordinate with partners within the branch, across P&R and in other City Divisions (e.g. City Planning, Corporate Real Estate Management, Transportation Services) and agencies (e.g. CreateTO) and beyond to align planning and implementation activities.
• Manage multi-stakeholder parks planning, design and implementation projects from inception through to implementation, including project scoping, procurement, and leading project teams, including external consultants.
• Contribute to ongoing strategic planning and development of city-wide service direction, policies and procedures to ensure that City Council parkland and recreation objectives are achieved.
• Negotiate solutions and strategies that achieve the Division's parkland and recreational facility objectives in collaboration with stakeholders.
• Engage the public and other stakeholders in the parks planning process and represent the City's interests in a variety of public forums as a champion of parks planning initiatives.
• Depending on position, prepare for and serve as an expert witness at tribunals or judicial proceedings for matters related to the Official Plan, Municipal Code By-law and the Planning Act as it relates to parkland and recreation facilities planning.
• Represent the Division at Community Councils, Standing Committees and meetings with Members of Council, community groups and other stakeholders (e.g. landowners, developers) by providing leadership and technical expertise.
• Provide input to the development of the division/branch/unit's capital budget for plan and project implementation and assist in managing the assigned budget and ensuring that expenditures are controlled and maintained within approved budget allocations.
• Lead a variety of land use planning analysis to support evidence-based decision-making and due diligence, including but not limited to geospatial analysis, Official Plan policies and zoning/land use designations, plans of survey and parcel information, demographic information, environmental and physical conditions, growth patterns and parkland and facility use and condition.
• Advise and report on planning and implementation issues related to parkland and recreation, including assessing demographic and societal trends which impact long range planning, and coordinating research and analysis activities and surveys.
• Develop briefing notes, reports, and correspondence for senior management, Councillors and others as requested to support strategic decision making related to parkland and recreational matters.
• Establish and maintain effective partnerships with City Divisions, Agencies, Boards and Commissions and serve as the Division's representative to consult with Members of Council, their staff and stakeholders.
• Contribute to a culture of teamwork, innovation, excellence, and continuous learning.
• Demonstrate a high level of ethics and professionalism.
• Ensure work is undertaken in a manner that meets corporate and divisional standards and relevant legislative requirements, such as the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), Ontario Building Code, Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA), etc.

Key Qualifications:

• Post-secondary education in planning, landscape architecture, urban geography, environmental studies or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Extensive experience with park and open space planning and design, recreation planning, and land use planning delivering complex projects with minimal direction while balancing political, community and other stakeholder interests.
• Considerable project management experience, a high level of critical judgement and analytical thinking and demonstrated ability to coordinate or manage multiple diverse projects involving multi-disciplinary staff teams and a range of stakeholders.
• Considerable experience applying planning methodologies, report writing, data analysis, plan review, and use of scientific and technical information, such as geospatial data.
• A focus on Parks, Recreation, and natural environment planning initiatives is preferred.
• Considerable experience applying public consultation principles and techniques and negotiation skills, acting as an effective liaison between stakeholders (e.g. elected officials, internal and external clients, members of the public).
• Must be a member, or eligible for membership in the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects (OALA), Ontario Professional Planners Institute (RPP) and/or the Canadian Institute of Planners (MCIP).
• Excellent presentation, communication and interpersonal skills, to communicate effectively at a professional level both orally (e.g. presentations and team meetings) and in writing (e.g. staff reports, briefing notes).
• Advanced political acuity, consulting, conflict resolution and negotiating skills to interact with the community, developers and landowners, City divisions and public and private agencies in complex development, planning and realty situations.
• Advanced knowledge of relevant municipal and provincial policies, legislation and regulations as they may relate to the available positions, such as City's Official Plan, Municipal Code, Provincial Policies and Legislation related to land use planning and the use of land for parks and recreation purposes including the Planning Act, and Parks and Recreation Strategic Documents considered an asset.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The City is an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to creating a workplace culture of inclusiveness that reflects the diverse residents that we serve.