Planning & Zoning Clerk
Jefferson County, West Virginia, Department of Engineering, Planning & Zoning is seeking to fill the position of Planning & Zoning Clerk. The primary responsibility is to perform high-level office administrative and clerical functions, including but not limited to: preparing meeting agendas, meeting minutes, correspondence, and reports; providing support during public meetings; data entry and research; scanning and filing documents; providing excellent customer service by interacting with the public, answering phones, and responding to emails; facilitating plan review processes through a digital content management system; and providing general support to the County Planner and Zoning Administrator.
Requirements: High School Diploma with one-year related work experience. Coursework or proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) and Adobe Pro. Candidates should have excellent time management skills with an ability to multi-task and prioritize, as well as an ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
Candidates must have excellent verbal and written communication skills and possess the ability to perform detail-oriented tasks. Must be available to work evening meetings.
Satisfactory background check may be required as a condition of employment.
Excellent employee benefits package includes West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System plan; health, vision and dental insurance plans; paid vacation leave, paid sick leave, and up to thirteen paid holidays per year. Normal work hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., with occasional evening meetings.
Deadline for applications is Monday, July 8, 2024 by 5:00 pm. Position to remain open until filled.
Send resume to:
Ms. Jessica James, Assistant Deputy County Administrator
Jefferson County Commission
124 E Washington Street
P.O. Box 250
Charles Town, WV 25414
Or Email: jjames@jeffersoncountywv.org and note “Planning & Zoning Clerk Position” in the subject line.
Planning and Zoning Clerk - Job Description
Position Title: Planning and Zoning Clerk
Grade Level: IV
Department Department of Engineering, Planning, & Zoning
Date: 07/01/2024
Reports to: Deputy Director
FLSA Status Non-Exempt
Statement of Duties: The employee performs administrative support including research and data collection; as well as provides high-level clerical services in support of the daily operations of the Office of Planning within the Department of Engineering, Planning, and Zoning. The employee interacts with professional and administrative staff on a daily basis to manage workflow and ensure deadlines are met. Employee is required to perform all similar or related duties as assigned.
Supervision Required: Under general supervision of the County Planner, the employee is familiar with the work routine and uses initiative in carrying out recurring assignments independently with specific instruction. The County Planner provides instruction for new or unusual assignments. The County Planner reviews work to remain aware of progress, work methods, and technical accuracy. In many cases, the work is self-checking, for example, managing Planning Commission applications and preparing draft meeting documents including agendas, staff reports, and meeting minutes. This employee is also responsible for coordinating workflow among department employees to ensure plan reviews involving multiple employees are completed within the allotted timeframes established by the Director and/or the County’s regulations. The employee is expected to monitor workflow and manage projects from start to finish independently. Technical and policy problems or changes in procedures are discussed with supervisor, but ordinarily, the employee is expected to independently monitor workflow and manage projects through completion.
Supervisory Responsibility: Employee, as a regular continuing part of the job, does not regularly supervise other employees.
Confidentiality: Employee has access to some confidential information obtained during performance of essential functions, where the effect of any disclosure would probably be negligible or where the full significance of the overall confidential matter would not be apparent in the work performed.
Accountability: Consequences of errors, missed deadlines or poor judgment may include time loss, adverse public relations, monetary loss, labor/material loss, jeopardize programs and legal repercussions.
Judgment: Numerous standardized practices, procedures, or general instructions govern the work and in some cases, may require additional interpretation. Judgment is needed to locate, select, and apply the most pertinent practice, procedure, regulation or guideline. Often, creative judgment is required to determine how best to secure results to satisfy the objectives established by the Director and/or supervisor.
Complexity: The work consists of a variety of duties which generally follow standardized practices, procedures, regulations or guidelines. The sequence of work and/or the procedures followed vary according to the nature of the transaction and/or the information involved, or sought, in a particular situation.
Work Environment: Typical indoor environment/office setting. Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant. Employee will be required to work beyond normal business hours to attend evening meetings.
Nature and Purpose of Personal Contact: Relationships are primarily with co-workers and the public involving frequent explanation, discussion or interpretation of practices, procedures, regulations or guidelines in order to render service, plan or coordinate work efforts, or resolve operating problems. Other regular contacts are with service recipients and employees of outside organizations such as vendors, banks and/or developers/ contractors. More than ordinary courtesy, tact, and diplomacy may be required to resolve complaints or deal with uncooperative or uninformed persons. Employee may furnish news media with routine information such as meeting agendas, press releases or departmental procedures.
Occupational Risk: Duties of the job present little potential for injury. Risk exposure is similar to that found in typical office settings.
Essential Functions:
The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various type of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.
1. Assist with administrative functions in support of the Office of Planning and Zoning including research and data gathering through the utilization and management of an online content management program (MyPermitNow) and an excel database.
2. Serve as the primary customer service personnel interacting with members of the public and applicants addressing questions concerning the Subdivision Regulations and Zoning Ordinance.
3. Support the County Planner and Zoning Administrator by conducting data collection and analysis functions for planning related projects, as well as managing project deadlines. Strong time management skills is critical.
4. Prepare meeting documents including agendas and staff reports. Assemble and distribute agenda packets. Additional duties include preparing correspondence with the public as well as developers (e.g. land surveyors, engineers, and consultants) regarding application process and meeting procedures
5. Provide Clerical support to the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals with duties to include but not limited to attending evening meetings, setting up meeting room, managing audio/video recordings of meetings, managing virtual meeting room (e.g. ZOOM and/or GoTo Meeting), take meeting notes and draft meeting minutes.
6. Prepare Legal Advertisements for each project file in accordance with State Law, Subdivision Regulations, Zoning Ordinance, and/or policy standards; prepare and post Notice of Public Hearings to County’s website, distribute through the County’s email alerts system, and send to additional Governmental Agencies as needed.
7. Accept and process new applications into a digital content management software program (including fee collection). Manage application submissions and plan review workflow for residential and non-residential development.
8. Manage digital workflow including distribution of project data and tasks to pertinent review staff, collection of review comments, and generation of summary review reports for distribution to applicants within prescribed time frames.
9. Provide primary telephone coverage and public inquiries, referring calls to professional staff as necessary.
10. Complete professional development training to improve skills.
11. Willingness to cross-train as a temporary fill-in for other positions in the office when deemed necessary by the Director, Deputy Director or the County Planner.
12. Willingness to take on additional duties as needed in support of Departmental and County goals and objectives.
Recommended Minimum Qualifications:
Education and Experience: High School degree with one to three (1-3) years related work experience
; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job.
Special Requirements: Driver’s license may be required.
Knowledge, Abilities and Skill
Knowledge: Common policies, practices and procedures of the department and office operations; laws and regulations pertinent to position functions.
Abilities: Use good judgment and decision making abilities, prioritize tasks and work independently with minimum supervision, and follow established office policies. Ability to communicate professionally with people of diverse backgrounds and levels of education is required. Ability to conceptualize ideas, analyze technical documents, and compile complex information in concise writing.
Skills: Proficiency in utilizing Microsoft Office Programs including Word, Outlook Email, Excel, and PowerPoint. Proficiency in Adobe Pro (e.g. ability to prepare and assemble PDF documents). Basic computer literacy, including working knowledge of how to navigate the World Wide Web and strong typing skills. Must possess excellent written and verbal communication skills; strong organizational skills including record keeping and time management; and effective customer service skills.
Physical and Mental Requirements
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. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions.
Physical Demands: Little or no physical demands are required to perform the work. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform work tasks, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. There may also be some occasional lifting of objects such as books, office equipment and computer paper (up to 30lbs).
Motor Skills: Duties are largely mental rather than physical, but the job may occasionally require minimal motor skills for activities such as moving objects, operating a telephone system, computer and/or most other office equipment, typing and/or word processing, filing, and sorting.
Visual Demands: Visual demands require the employee to constantly read documents for general understanding and for analytical purposes.
