Permit Coordinators (Development Officer) - Planning, Building & Code Enforcement Dept

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About the Department

The Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) leads the City’s mission to guide the physical change of San José to create and maintain a safe, healthy, attractive and vital place to live and work. The Director’s Office leads operational improvements and coordination throughout the department and liaisons with other teams to advance the goals of the City. The Department includes approximately 300 staff members responsible for issuing over 40,000 permits, conducting 100,000 inspections, and closing over 3,000 code cases per year. The Department plays a crucial role in advancing over 4,000 housing units and 20 Data Centers in the development pipeline.
The Permit Coordinator serves in the Director’s office of PBCE as part of the Development Facilitation Team, whose goal is to support the development of key real estate development projects in the City. Each member of the team works to help transform the City’s permit process and help implement a new model of project facilitation that makes San Jose the primer jurisdiction for new development.

Position Duties

Salary Information
The salary range for the classification of Development Officer is: $118,460.16 - $144,318.72 annually.

This salary range includes an approximate five percent (5%) ongoing non-pensionable compensation. Actual salary shall be determined by the final candidates’ qualifications and experience.
The Department is seeking highly capable applicants for the Development Officer classification to fill two (2) Permit Coordinator positions: Housing Development (full-time, regular) and Data Center Development (full-time, temporary). The Data Center Development position is anticipated to be funded through June 30 , 2030, subject to further extension as appropriate .

Housing Permit Coordinator

This Housing Permit Coordinator will support developer s who seek to build affordable housing in San José by providing coordination and project management including problem solving in the entitlement and post-entitl e ment permit t ing process es . The Housing Permit Coordinator will serve as the primary point of contact for project applicants from the point of submittal of an entitlement application through the issuance of construction permits. The purpose is to ensure that major affordable housing applications ( generally 2 0 + units) are processed efficiently and expeditiously through the San Jose entitlement and post-entit le ment permitting process es , resulting in the rapid delivery of completed housing units.

This involves hosting reoccurring meetings to discuss all active housing developments in the City to advance them through City permitting processes. This role also coordinates closely with the Housing Department, working at times as an extension of their staff to properly prioritize and guide the coordinated efforts of all the involved departments . This will involve coordinating finance deadlines and tracking the funding/financing conditions for affordable housing projects to ensure all requirements are met.

Data Center Permit Coordinator
The Permit Coordinator for Data Centers will support developers seeking to build critical digital infrastructure in San José by providing coordination and project management support while addressing issues that arise during the entitlement and post-entitlement permitting processes. This position aims to ensure that major data center applications are processed efficiently and expeditiously through the entire San Jose permitting processes, resulting in the rapid delivery of completed data center facilities. This involves participating in and supporting recurring meetings to discuss all active data center developments in the City including managing data as it relates to the Data Center development pipeline to share with internal stakeholders.

This role will coordinate closely with the Large-Load Energy Customer Development Lead (Assistant to the City Manager), in the Office of Economic Development, who is the primary coordinator for the City’s agreement with PG&E for electrical infrastructure. The Data Center Permit Coordinator works with the Large-Load Energy Customer Development Lead to properly prioritize and guide the coordinated efforts of all the involved departments toward delivery of data center facilities with timeline constraints associated with economic development priorities and private investment commitments. This role will assist with coordinating external agencies including utility providers and regional agencies. Additional responsibilities for both Permit Coordinators are below.

Responsibilities for the Permit Coordinator roles include but are not limited to:

• Coordinate and facilitate development projects through the entitlement and permit approval process from submittal of entitlement application through issuance of construction permits.
• Serve as the permit applicant's single point of contact in the City to work with internal reviews to coordinate requirements, conditions of approval and next steps.
• Lead project management responsibilities for permit process including process/task management and maintaining overall schedule.
• Work with the applicant to ensure all conditions of approval are implemented.
• Outline the process steps between the entitlement and permitting process to prepare applicants for the next steps.
• Work with the various development partners (e.g. Building, Public Works, and Fire Prevention) to develop a permit review schedule based on applicant resubmittal timeframes.
• Serve as a facilitator between the applicant and plan reviewers if/when there are communication breakdowns or misunderstands during the permitting process.
• Support projects through the entitlement process and coordinate with the lead planner on requirements, conditions of approval and next steps.
• Assist with external agency coordination related to the City’s development review process.
• Troubleshooting delays in the inspection process by working with internal managers.
• Serve as a point of contact for prospective applicants contemplating building in San José.
• Work with City stakeholders to identify and implement process improvements that aid the permit process in San José.
• Lead cross-functional project teams and coordinate a variety of complex projects or programs related to real estate development.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university in Planning, Housing, Geography, Economics, Business Administration, Public Administration, Political Science, Sociology or related field.

Experience: Four (4) years of increasingly responsible directly related work experience to housing, mixed use housing, real estate development, neighborhood development, state and federal grant management, homelessness interventions and solutions, housing policy development, or housing program development, rehabilitation, or construction of housing economic and community development projects , including one (1) year performing work of a similar nature and level as Development Specialist with the City of San José.

Acceptable Substitution
Additional related experience may be substituted for the education requirement on a year-for-year basis.

Form 700 requirement: This position requires a disclosure of outside investments, real property interest, income, and business positions. You must complete and file an “Assuming Office Form 700” with the City Clerk’s Office within the first 30 days of employment with the office.

Other Qualifications

Job Competencies

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history. Desirable competencies for this position include:

Job Expertise - Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations.

• Knowledge of urban renewal, neighborhood preservation, low-income housing programs or affordable housing development.
  

Analytical Thinking - Approaching a problem or situation by using a logical, systematic, sequential approach.

Collaboration - Develops networks and builds alliances; engages in cross-functional activities.

Decision Making - Identifies and understands issues, problems, and opportunities. Uses effective approaches for choosing a course of action or developing appropriate solutions .

Initiative - Exhibits resourceful behaviors toward meeting job objectives ; anticipates problems; is proactive and avoids difficulties by planning ahead ; displays willingness to assume extra responsibility and challenges; pursues continuing education opportunities that promotes job performance.

Problem Solving - Approaches a situation or problem by defining the problem or issue. Determines the significance of problem(s). Collects information. Uses logic and intuition to arrive at decisions or solutions to problems that achieve the desired outcome.

Project Management - Ensures support for projects and implements agency goals and strategic objectives .

Teamwork & Interpersonal Skills - Develops effective relationships with co-workers and supervisors by helping others accomplish tasks and using collaboration and conflict resolution skills.

Communication Skills - Effectively conveys information and expresses thoughts and facts clearly, orally and in writing; demonstrates effective use of listening skills; displays openness to other people's ideas and thoughts.

SELECTION PROCESS

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to all the job specific questions. Only those candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews. You must answer all job specific questions to be considered, your application may be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration.

If you have questions about the duties of the positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Jennifer Macias at Jennifer.Macias1@sanjoseca.gov .

Additional Information:

Employment Eligibility: Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses. Please be advised that use of AI content in your responses may result in your removal from the hiring process.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application. If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov and we will research the status of your application.

The City of San Jose offers a wide range of core health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Disability, and Savings Plans. Please visit the City's benefits pagefor detailed information on coverage, cost, and dependent coverage.

For information on the City’s Retirement Plan(pension for full-time employees), please visit the Office of Retirement Services website. You will be able to view information based on different Sworn/Federated job classification.

In additional to the benefits above, there is an additional perks siteto explore further benefits of working for the City of San Jose like paid leave, educational reimbursements, and holiday pay are specific to the job classification and union membership.

Closing Date/Time: 10/14/2025 11:59 PM Pacific

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• City of San Jose

• 408-535-1285

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