Parks Planner - Four Year Limited Term

Parks Planner - Four Year Limited Term

Salary

$101,753.60 - $123,801.60 Annually

Location

Carlsbad, CA

Job Type

Full-Time

Job Number

072126

Department

Parks & Recreation

Opening Date

07/21/2026

• Description
• Benefits
• Questions

The Position

THIS RECRUITMENT WILL REMAIN OPEN UNTIL FILLED

First application review will be held on August 10, 2026

First round of interviews will be held the week of August 24, 2026, exact date to be determined

The Community

This nearly 40 square mile City is ideally situated in north San Diego County with an approximate population of 115,000. It offers a great climate, beautiful beaches, lagoons and abundant natural open space. World class resorts, family attractions, well-planned neighborhoods, a diverse business sector and a charming village atmosphere combine to create the ideal California experience.

The Branch

The Community Services Branch is responsible for providing general strategic and administrative direction for the Parks & Recreation, Community Development, Housing & Homeless Services, Library & Cultural Arts Departments, and Real Estate Division.

The Department

The Parks & Recreation Department of the Community Services Branch provides leadership, planning, and administrative services to help develop and sustain quality parks and recreation programs. The department offers a wide range of programs and services for youth and adult sports, instructional classes, camps, aquatics, preschool, teens, seniors and special events. The department operates and maintains four community centers, a senior center, two aquatic centers, two historic sites, 14 community parks, two dog parks, two skate parks, 28 special use areas/neighborhood parks, 12 facility landscapes, 9 beach accesses, 43 miles of trails, 715 acres of habitat preserves and natural open space, all city-wide street trees, 27 acres of future parkland, 68 acres of street median planters and 9 acres of street parkways. In addition, the department administers the management and operations agreement for The Crossings at Carlsbad, an 18-hole championship municipal golf course and event facility. The Crossings at Carlsbad is a 6,835 yard par 72 municipal golf course that includes a clubhouse complete with a golf shop, players lounge, banquet facilities, spacious fireplace-lit dining room, full-service kitchen, outdoor deck with ocean views and three miles of hiking trails.

Parks Planning

The departments current Capital Improvement Program projects (in various stages of planning, design and development) include the Veterans Memorial Park, Robertson Ranch Park, Stagecoach Community Park Pickleball Courts, Calavera Hills Community Park Pickleball Courts. Future or pending Capital Improvement Program projects include Hosp Grove Park Improvements, Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park Phase III, Zone 5 Park Phase II, Northwest Quadrant Park Refurbishments, and interdepartmental review of various other city improvement projects.

Under general supervision, the Parks Planner will perform park and trails planning and landscape architectural work; prepare construction plans and details; assist in the generation of exhibits for various public meetings; manage consultants work on projects, including open space management contracts, and other related work as required.

You Belong in Carlsbad

The City of Carlsbad embraces and recognizes the vital relationship of an inclusive, engaged work environment and innovative excellence. An equitable and inclusive work climate comprises personal experiences, values, and views shaped from differences of culture and circumstance. Our organization appreciates belonging, creativity, recognition and retention of its employees and is committed to hiring and developing motivated, productive and talented employees who provide services and enhance our quality of life. We work to embrace open and equitable access to opportunities for learning and development as our responsibility and goal.

Key Responsibilities

• Day-to-day management of multiple park improvement projects of varying size
• Coordinate and manage project development team on larger projects
• Coordinate and managing outside consulting firms associated with park design and development projects
• Develop designs, specifications, cost estimates for landscaping, parks improvements and trails projects
• Prepare staff reports, specifications, drawings, exhibits and necessary documents related to parks development and landscape architectural capital projects
• Review parks and trails plans for conformance to city policies and program desires
• Conduct site observation visits on parks improvements and trails projects
• Monitor performance of outside consultants and contractors
• Prepare environmental statements, conditional use permits and other planning documents for parks and trails projects
• Make presentations to the Parks & Recreation, Environmental Sustainability, and Planning Commissions and City Council
• Act as liaison and coordinate activities with other city departments, commissions, outside adjacent agencies, and various groups related to parks projects
• Conduct public workshops with various neighborhood communities in development of parks and trails projects
• Interact and organize community volunteers related to parks and trails projects
• Write grant proposals and research opportunities for funding of parks and trails projects
• Perform other related duties as necessary

Qualifications

To perform a job in this classification, an individual must be able to perform the essential duties as generally described in the specification. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties in a specific job.

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required:

Knowledge of:

• Principles, practices, techniques and terminology of landscape architecture, parks and trails planning, design and site development
• Principles of parks and recreational planning
• Principles of land use, environmental and site planning
• Relationships among federal, state and local planning programs
• Computer programs related to landscape design and parks and trails development, e.g., CAD, GIS
• Practices of contract preparation and administration

Ability to:

• Prepare sketches, concepts, plans, details, specifications and cost estimates of landscape
• Research, collect, analyze and interpret data pertaining to landscape architecture, parks and trails development and maintenance
• Operate and use computer programs to produce necessary work, such as mapping and CAD design
• Make public presentations
• Communicate effectively both orally and in writing
• Organize work, set priorities, meet critical deadlines
• Perform work with minimum supervision
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work

Experience & Education

Any combination equivalent to the experience and education that could likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university with major work in landscape architecture, urban planning or closely related field and;

Two years professional or paraprofessional parks and trails development planning or landscape architecture or related planning experience

• 5 years professional experience preferred

Highly Desirable:

• Experience in managing capital improvement projects

• Possession of a Landscape Architect License (California or other)

• Experience in public open space, and coastal resources management

Special Requirements:

• Possession of a valid California Drivers License

• Medical Insurance

• Dental Insurance

• Vision Insurance

• Flexible Spending Account

• Life Insurance

• Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance

• Retirement under the CalPERS program, 2% @ 62 formula, Classic Members (those who are enrolled in CalPERS at another local agency) have the 2% @ 60 formula

• Bilingual Pay

• Holidays - 11 scheduled

• Floating Holiday- 2

• Paid vacation

• Computer purchase loan

• Tuition reimbursement

A detailed list of our benefits can be found here: Carlsbad Benefits

Additional CalPERS information can be found here: CalPERS

01

Initial in the box below that you acknowledge "see application" and "see resume" are not valid responses to the questions below.

02

What is your highest level of education?

• High School
• Some College
• Associates Degree
• Bachelors Degree
• Masters Degree

03

If you indicated Bachelors Degree or higher, please indicate your area(s) of study. If not, type "N/A" in the space below.

04

How many years of professional or paraprofessional park development planning or landscape architecture or related planning experience do you have?

• No Experience
• Less than 2 years
• 2 years but less than 3
• 3 years but less than 4
• 4 years but less than 5
• 5 years or more

05

Do you have a Landscape Architect License?

• Yes
• No

06

Please describe your experience working in (or with) the public sector. If you have no experience, type N/A.

07

Please describe your proficiency in comprehending construction drawings, details and other construction documents including quality insurance and quality control of the construction drawings.

08

Please describe your proficiency in preparing RFQs, RFPs, Professional Services Agreement and Contracts. If you have no experience, type N/A.

09

Please describe your experience relating to drawings and construction document production. If you have no experience, type N/A.

10

Please describe your proficiency with the following software including but not limited to: AutoCAD, Adobe Suite, Office Suite, GIS, Sketch-up or other 3D modeling. If you have no experience, type N/A.

11

Please describe your experience with project budgeting and scheduling. If you have no experience, type N/A.

Required Question

Employer Carlsbad, City of (CA)