planning coordinator

Job Title: Planning Coordinator
Organization: Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI)
Location: Coachella, CA
Start Date: Immediately
Closing date: When Filled

Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) is a team of diverse urbanists—landscape architects, urban planners, community organizers, and engineers—united by our shared commitment to building equity, justice, and resilience in communities through design. A BIPOC- and woman-led firm that was founded in 2006, KDI comprises 50 professionals working from four offices: Los Angeles, Eastern Coachella Valley, Nairobi, and Stockholm.

Job Description
KDI is seeking a Planning Coordinator to join our growing team of 20+ staff in Southern California, based out of the Coachella office. This is a great opportunity for a creative, highly motivated recent graduate or early career professional to work directly with people in the Eastern Coachella Valley (ECV) and other under-served communities to advance equity and support community-driven development. KDI has been working with residents, government partners, local tribes and other key stakeholders in the ECV since 2011 to build parks, develop mobility plans, parks master plans, and advance environmental equity through the design of the first rural shade master plan.

The position may involve travel to our projects in Los Angeles, or other areas of California. The Planning Coordinator will work closely with our Planning, Design, and Community teams, low-income communities of color, government officials, and other stakeholders to support a wide range of projects and topics, such as:

• Equity-focused site development and neighborhood, citywide, and regional master plans   
• Planning and design projects to add more shade to the region, from new shade structure prototypes to implementation of a regional shade plan
• Design and temporary activation of public spaces, from vacant lots to large parks
• Participatory community engagement focused on people and communities excluded or harmed by past planning processes, including predominantly monolingual Spanish speaking residents and tribal communities
• Leadership development / capacity building for residents in under-resourced communities to shape  their built environment  
• Research and project development on topics such as green schoolyards and climate change adaptation in low-income communities of color
• Economic and social development programs
• Gender equity in planning and design

Responsibilities
With the support and guidance of project teams, the Planning Coordinator will be responsible for tasks such as:

• Work closely with the Oasis Leadership Committee, a women-led, intergenerational group of 20 local resident leaders who have worked with KDI on every ECV project for more than a decade, on advocacy and capacity building programs;
• Lead the Juntos Al Aire Libre youth program, a cohort of 10 local college students exploring EJ topics related to the Salton Sea and the Inland Empire region;
• Conceptualize, design, and produce community engagement materials and activities;
• Work with community partners to coordinate and execute engagement activities. Activities typically occur during evenings and weekends;
• Conduct desk and field research related to sites and communities, best practices, policies, precedent projects/programs, or other focus areas;
• Collect, process, analyze, and visualize data;
• Work with Design team members to help develop design concepts for a wide range of open spacesCreate presentations and graphic materials representing engagement process and findings or other information for internal and external audiences;
• Develop project narratives and write reports for external audiences;
• Support with project management activities such as managing expenses, preparing meeting materials, among others.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Urban Planning OR Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning with 3+ years post-grad work experience
• 1-3 years’ experience in urban planning, community development, policy advocacy, economic development, community organizing or related field
• Experience working with people in low-income communities of color Experience conducting research and analyzing data
• Experience consistently meeting deadlines, juggling multiple tasks, and taking initiative to solve problems
• Strong visual representation skills (e.g. graphic design, maps, diagrams, sketches, etc.)
• Experience using Adobe Suite
• Proficiency with InDesign required
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Strong commitment to social justice Fluent in Spanish (verbal and written) required Driver’s license required

Location + Schedule
This is an In-Person position in our Coachella office (with flexible schedule options). In addition, all of our projects require community engagement work that often happens in the evenings or on weekends, when residents are most often available. We offer a compensatory time policy to account for this requirement. 
Salary: $65-$75k
Benefits include: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Ins., 401k, Paid time off

How to Apply
Send electronic copy of cover letter, resume, writing sample, and up to five images of visual representation (e.g. GIS mapping, images from final presentation boards or reports, hand drawn sketches, etc.) to: LAJobs@kounkuey.org Subject Heading: ECV Planning Coordinator: Your Name


All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status or medical condition. We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.