Director, Planning and Design Job at Chicago Public Schools in Chicago

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is a district on the rise, serving over 320,000 students in 500+ schools and employing over 44,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments - student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

The Department of Capital Planning and Construction is committed to providing CPS students with a building that is safe, warm, and dry. The department's mission is to make students and staff proud of their school so that they can concentrate on their studies and core missions, by investing in its physical assets (i.e. buildings, sites, and equipment) to ensure children have a safe and quality learning environment.

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Executive Director of Capital Planning and Construction, the Director of Planning and Design is responsible for the planning and design of all new construction and renovation. This role provides oversight establishing processes and procedures that reduce cost and increase the reliability of the delivery of the projects and the implementation of these initiatives.

The Director of Planning and Design ensures that projects are formulated correctly, designed to perform consistent with the facility requirements, and constructed within time and budgetary targets. This role will concentrate on the capital program projects, but will also be responsible for working with and advising operation teams on small capital and maintenance projects. Capital program projects range from $35,000 to over $20,000,000 and span a wide range of project types: new construction, additions, annexes, large complex renovation projects, selective renovation projects for educational program initiatives, facility upgrades, playgrounds etc.

The Director of Planning and Design will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Maintain and manage the contracts for the Architects and Engineer of Records pool from selection through onboarding as CPS vendors.
• Manage the work of all planning and design staff, including contracted consultants, through all stages of design and planning through closeout, which includes Construction administration, requests for information, change orders, and as-built drawings, ensuring all specification and technical standards are met.
• Provide leadership in program, planning, and design aspects of capital and related projects, including formulating procedures and methods to improve quality, budget, schedules, and other aspects of capital program and project delivery.
• Represent CPS Department of Capital Planning and Construction Capital Construction in Department of Buildings and Zoning, and City Council matters, including special presentations and communications meetings.
• In collaboration with the PMO, recruit, onboard, supervise, and provide direction, guidance, and strong leadership to the Capital Planning and Construction team, including but not limited to Architects and Engineers of Record, to ensure robust learning and career development consistent with the CPS values and mission; foster collaboration and effective integration of efforts with division-wide initiatives.
• Serve as primary contact for ADA-related inquiries, projects, and management.
• Provide management and oversight for CPS Design Standards to ensure all construction specifications and technical standards are maintained and updated on an annual basis.
• Overseeing specialty design consultants, such as Survey, Geotech, Roofing, Civil Engineers, etc; including the review and approval of consultant invoices.
• Supervise all aspects of the furniture contracts; development of specifications, ordering and installation.
• Provide design assistance to the Director of New Construction with the Public Building Commission projects on the development of all programs for new schools, annexes, etc.
• Supervise all the project-related internal communications with various CPS departments, such as the Office of Public Policy/Intergovernmental Affairs and with external stakeholders; school staff, network staff, governmental officials etc., including acting as a direct liaison with the CPS Office of Public Policy / Intergovernmental Affairs.
• Work with Department of Capital Planning and Construction designees to implement and maintain capital project-related Department data systems and the implementation of programmatic software.
• Assist in the development and implementation of design-related project management as needed for CPS's project management software "e builder."
• Lead and or coordinate special projects development.
• Manage and supervise vendors and consultants, including training and performance evaluations.
• Actively apprise Capital Planning and Construction leadership of all aspects of capital projects from initialization through the life of the project.
• Work with the Facilities Department's asset management team to provide project advice and to better integrate the efforts of the asset and capital teams.
• Assume the responsibility for his/her own professional development and for keeping current with the profession.
• Other duties and workstreams as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Director of Planning and Design must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Business, Engineering, General Construction, or Architecture.
• Registered Architect, preferred.

Experience Required:

• A minimum of ten (10) years of experience in architecture or related field, including a wide range of project types, including school or educational institutions.
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience in a supervisory/management position responsible for leading teams of direct reports in the architecture or capital planning field.
• Experience with CPS design or construction preferred.
• Experience in the management of multiple large-scale projects.
• Experience in project management for building planning, design, and construction.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Demonstrated strong leadership and project management skills.
• Solid knowledge of programming, design, construction management, and financial reporting.
• Strong Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access, etc.) skills.
• Strong knowledge of design, construction project, and financial applications, including Oracle Primavera, AutoCAD, BIM, and others.
• Willingness to work long hours and weekends, especially during construction season.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships with all stakeholder groups.
• High level of initiative and leadership, commitment to drive exceptional level of collaboration with all direct reports, interdepartmental staff, and external organizations.
• Proactive approach to problem solving, strong analytical acumen; ability to quickly process complex information and present it clearly and simply to varied stakeholders.
• Superior oral and written communication skills, including strong presentation skills.
• Self-starter, structured, and creative.
• Ability to quickly analyze a problem/question and decide the level of importance and necessary higher-level intervention.

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 - Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. "Up-to-date" on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters.