Turn vision into built reality.

Explore the Planner I Role

Join our team and help shape the future of Urbandale.

Join our Community Development team as a Planner I and help guide the projects, policies, and plans that shape Urbandale’s future. Under the direction of the Community Development Assistant Director, you’ll support current development reviews, contribute to long-range planning work, and provide excellent customer service to residents, builders, developers, and partners navigating City code and the development process.

This is an opportunity for an emerging planning professional to build real-world experience across zoning, site plan review, mapping/GIS, public meetings, and community-facing problem solving—work that residents can see in their neighborhoods.

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Target Audience

Emerging planning professionals ready to grow in municipal government.
Recent graduates in planning, landscape architecture, or a related field.
Early-career planners looking for hands-on development review experience.
Detail-oriented communicators who enjoy helping people solve problems.
GIS-capable planners who like turning data into clear visuals and decisions.

Notable Opportunities

Review building permits, signage, and temporary use applications across a wide range of projects.
Build expertise in zoning, subdivision, sign, floodplain and comprehensive planning frameworks.
Coordinate projects through the development process and work directly with applicants and consultants.
Present recommendations to the City Council, Planning & Zoning Commission, Board of Adjustment, and more.
Drive goals related to the Comprehensive Plan and the Downtown Plan.
Embrace sustainability best-practices in day-to-day planning work.

Why This Role Matters

Real impact

Planner I is a front-line role in helping Urbandale grow well. Your work will support quality development, embrace sustainability, protect community standards, and improve the experience of residents and customers who rely on clear, consistent guidance. Whether you’re reviewing a site plan, answering zoning questions, preparing hearing materials, or helping move a project through approvals, you’ll contribute to outcomes that shape real places—homes, businesses, neighborhoods, and public spaces right here in Urbandale.

Planning isn’t just policy; it’s service. This role plays a key part in ensuring residents, developers, realtors, builders, and consultants can understand and apply City ordinances and policies. You’ll be the kind of professional who makes the process clearer, smoother, and more predictable—without losing sight of what the community values.

The Work You’ll Do

What success looks like

Success in this role means communicating clearly, respectfully, and confidently with customers—even when questions are complex or timelines are tight. You bring a strong attention to detail and apply ordinances and policies consistently and fairly, while managing multiple projects without losing responsiveness or organization. Through sound judgment, professionalism, and follow-through, you build trust with colleagues, applicants, and the community. You’re also able to translate technical planning concepts and data into clear guidance that helps others understand both the process and the outcome.

The Secret Sauce

Skills and strengths that help you thrive

You bring strong interpersonal communication skills and a customer service mindset to every interaction, along with the discretion needed to handle confidential information and navigate sensitive topics. You take initiative, work well as part of a team, and are open to feedback as a tool for growth. Your solid writing and presentation skills—including the ability to communicate visually—help you convey complex information clearly. You approach challenges with sound problem‑solving and decision‑making skills and are able to stay focused, organized, and effective in a fast‑paced environment with frequent interruptions.

Collaborative Culture

The work, honestly

Local government is a team sport—and as a Planner I in Urbandale, you’ll be right in the middle of it. This is a hands-on role where you’ll help customers navigate City code, move development projects forward, and support good planning outcomes that balance policy, practicality, and community expectations. You’ll juggle multiple projects, shifting priorities, and real deadlines. There will be detailed reviews, complex questions, and occasional public meetings—sometimes in the evening. You’ll see how decisions are made, how tradeoffs are weighed, and how good planning helps a city grow responsibly. You won’t do it alone: you’ll be supported by experienced senior staff, trusted to take initiative, and encouraged to learn as you go. We take the work seriously—but we don’t take ourselves too seriously—and we value people who are curious, collaborative, and ready to grow.

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The Leadership Team

The City of Urbandale operates under a Council–Manager form of government, and at the center of day-to-day operations is a talented group of Department Directors who lead every corner of the organization. These Directors oversee the full range of municipal services—they are seasoned professionals who not only manage their teams and budgets, but also bring vision and expertise to the City’s biggest initiatives.

Departments work together to deliver services, guide growth, and advance the City Council’s goals. The Community Development Department plays a key role in that system—helping translate policy, plans, and code into real projects that shape neighborhoods, businesses, and public spaces. Your department works closely with residents, developers, and other City teams to ensure development is thoughtful, compliant, and aligned with Urbandale’s long-term vision.

As a Planner I, you’ll be an essential part of that effort. You’ll support Planning initiatives, assist with development review, and help connect customers to the information and guidance they need to move projects forward. Your work will contribute to the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan and other planning efforts, while also supporting Building Inspections, Code Enforcement, and cross-department collaboration. In this role, you’ll see how individual reviews and customer interactions fit into a much larger picture—how good planning supports economic vitality, neighborhood quality, and a well-run city.

City Manager

David Jones

David has over 25 years of local government management experience, receiving a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

Assistant City Manager

Curtis Brown

Curtis Brown is Urbandale’s Assistant City Manager. Prior to this position, Brown worked as the Economic Development Director/Assistant Director for the City of Ankeny. He also held positions as the Executive Director of the Mason City Economic Development Corporation and Community Development Director/Assistant City Administrator for Blue Earth, Minnesota. Brown has a BA Magna cum Laude from Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He will complete an MPA from Southern Utah University in 2025. Originally from the Saint Paul, Minnesota area, Curtis resides in Urbandale with his wife Rachel and four sons.

Community Development Director

Rose Schroder

Rose is the incoming Director of Community Development, following the retirement of long-time Director Steve Franklin. As the Director of Community Development, Rose helps lead the department’s work with a mix of practical technical experience and genuine approachability. Rose has a BS in Community and Regional Planning from Iowa State University and has held roles as the Planning Coordinator for the City of Council Bluffs, Planning Manager for the City of Pleasant Hill, Senior Planner at Bolton & Menk and most recently the Community Development Director for the City of Johnston. Rose’s background in both the public and private planning sectors give her a unique practitioner perspective to her work. In her role, she’s often the person who can take a complicated development question (zoning, site design, subdivision details, process steps) and turn it into a clear path forward. She supports long-range planning, reviews development proposals, and helps guide items through the City Council process, working closely with residents, developers, and City partners along the way. What makes Rose especially enjoyable to work with is how she shows up: collaborative, thoughtful, and steady under pressure. She’s the kind of leader who keeps projects moving while still caring about the details that protect neighborhoods and set Urbandale up for smart, well-planned growth.