Community Planner

About CP Planning

CP Planning is a fast growing non-profit practicing a human rights approach to community planning. Through this approach, multi-sector and multi-disciplinary collaborations guide land use and planning reforms to uphold the economic, social, and cultural rights of marginalized people to have access to good housing, good jobs, an adequate standard of living, and cultural expression.

Founded in 2017, CP Planning designs, implements, and advises on national, city-wide, and neighbourhood specific affordable housing strategies to protect and increase affordable housing supply. Approaches include research,  project management, facilitation, and community organizing.

Opportunity

Applications due: January 6, 2023
Start date: January/February, 2023
Compensation: $45,500 - $68,240 - commensurate with experience

Commitment: Full-time is 35 hrs/week, contract ending May 31st, 2024, with potential to renew
Benefits: CP Planning is currently working to establish benefit packages for full-time and part-time staff.

The CP Planning team is looking to recruit a Peel or Toronto based Community Planner who is an organized, adept self-starter, passionate about affordable housing and community. The ideal candidate has experience in land use planning, and/or as a staff/volunteer of a community centre or resident group and/or working on community-led efforts to reduce poverty, protect or build affordable housing, and/or meet other unmet needs of marginalized residents. This role includes the coordination of one or more of the below working groups for one or more of the neighbourhoods supported by CP Planning:

Anti-Displacement Solutions (ADS)
The ADS working groups build and support tenant associations to ensure there is an informed and organized tenant network that the local community can connect with for new affordable housing supply. The need for new affordable housing supply is due to transit oriented displacement (private owners of the properties tenants currently live in raising rent or implementing other eviction methods to capitalize on public investments in transit.)

Property Owner Engagement (POE)
The POE working groups facilitate outreach, engagement, and community building with property owners to connect these owners with community, government, and other resources to realize the desire of these property owners to build affordable housing on their property. Property owners engaged in this working group include: individuals/families owning single family homes, owners of multi-unit or retail properties and land, as well as nonprofits and faith-based organizations owning their properties.

Community Land Trust (CLT)
The CLT working groups coordinate community, non-profit and allied private and public sector engagement to establish the governance model for local CLTs, identify land opportunities, and support applications to funding to advance the start up or continuation of CLTs in neighbourhoods.

To coordinate these working groups, the Community Planners will work closely with Alycia Doering – Urban Planner, and the local non-profit partners of CP Planning’s project Roadmap for Redevelopment Plans to Confront Systemic Racism (“Roadmap”). Through this collaborative approach, the Community Planner will be responsible for meeting coordination and facilitation, encouraging local participation in the working groups, leadership development, knowledge building, and wisdom sharing.
The Roadmap is designed to increase the protection and production of affordable housing by increasing the economic inclusion of racialized people to be participants and leaders in the planning, development, and management of housing. This includes building on allyships, facilitating inter-racial relationships, and cultivating solidarity to build solutions together. The Roadmap includes the co-development and implementation of a Right to Remain strategy to ensure racialized renters are not displaced from their homes due to property owners raising their rents or redeveloping their properties as to capitalize on public investment in major transit infrastructure (I.e. LRT or GO). By year two, this project team will have scaled to support communities in Toronto, Peel, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, York, and Ottawa.
This is a hybrid position, with the Community Planner expected to attend in person meetings twice a week. As CP Planning collaborates with vulnerable communities, the ideal candidate must have direct experience conducting community engaged work and contributing to social justice.

We are seeking applicants from candidates who live in Peel, Toronto, or the adjacent municipalities.

Responsibilities

Strategy

Use and develop knowledge of land use planning processes to inform engagements with municipal planning bodies and local developers

Coordination

Strategic planning to identify actions, allyships, and connections needed to advance project planning
Coordinate to ensure operation of the working groups are aligned with the needs, culture, mission, and vision of the neighbourhood’s non-profit partner
Coordinate the planning and operation of working group meetings, follow-up with community members and collaborators to ensure timely implementation of actions and the alignment between working groups and the objectives of CP Planning to increase affordable housing and increase the participation of racialized residents in community-led planning

Knowledge Sharing

Outreach with tenants, property owners, and/or local community members to participate in local working groups activities guiding community-led planning processes
Prepare and circulate surveys, build trust, and encourage local residents to participate in workshops, events, seminars, training, mentorship opportunities, and surveys to establish the community vision, build skills or networks to protect and build affordable housing

Leadership Development

Encourage and support residents to take on roles of encouraging and supporting their friends, neighbours, and community members to participate in shaping the community’s strategies and resources to protect and build affordable housing

Qualifications

Required:

College or Undergraduate diploma/degree
Experience working in or studying urban studies, urban planning, or affordable housing
Experience in outreach and community engagement, event planning, leadership development, mentorship, or storytelling
Demonstrated commitment to social justice, anti-racism, and anti-oppression via experience in community organizing or capacity building with racialized communities
Effective communication skills, both written and verbal
Be flexible to work remotely or in person, as needed

Desired:

Experience working or volunteering in tenant organizing, community organizing, CLT establishment, or related areas
Experience working in land use or development planning
Experience coordinating community-led processes to protect or propose affordable housing

How to Apply

You can apply to be a Community Planner by filling in the form at the bottom of the https://cpplanning.ca/community-planner page, or emailing Connect@CPplanning.ca directly. If emailing directly, please input the email title as “Community Planner – Application”, attach your resume as a PDF, and answers to the questions on https://cpplanning.ca/community-planner. Cover letters are optional. Applications are kept on file for 4 months for consideration of other employment opportunities as they arise.

Applications are due on January 6, 2023. However, applicants are encouraged to send their application as soon as possible, to assist in the scheduling of interviews.