GENERAL MANAGER, PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT

Regular Full Time (Exempt)

About Us

One of BC’s Top Employers, the City of Coquitlam offers meaningful career opportunities to make a difference within the local community. As one of British Columbia’s largest and most dynamic municipalities, Coquitlam is home to a diverse and rapidly evolving community of more than 170,000 residents.

Located in the heart of Metro Vancouver, Coquitlam combines established neighbourhoods, emerging urban centres, rapid-transit connectivity and significant new community development with extensive parks, trails and natural areas. The City is experiencing substantial growth and transformation while continuing to focus on thoughtful city building, sustainable service delivery and an exceptional quality of life.

Our brand is built on managing our resources in a responsible and sustainable manner while supporting a vibrant, growing regional urban centre. We envision a bright future in Coquitlam that we hope includes you.

About You / What We Are Looking For The City of Coquitlam is seeking an accomplished and forward-looking executive to join our leadership team as General Manager, Planning & Development.

Reporting to the Chief Administrative Officer and serving as a member of the City’s executive leadership team, the General Manager will provide strategic leadership to one of Coquitlam’s largest and most significant portfolios. The role will help define and deliver the City’s approach to growth, housing, land use and development at a time of significant legislative, economic and community change.

This is a distinctive city-building opportunity. Coquitlam is simultaneously managing significant transit-oriented densification, the evolution of established neighborhoods, major mixed-use and master-planned developments, substantial housing demand and the creation of entirely new communities.

Northwest

Burke, Coquitlam’s last large undeveloped greenfield area, provides a particularly rare opportunity within Metro Vancouver to help shape the next generation of neighborhoods while also guiding continued densification within an established urban city.

We are looking for a strategic and systems-oriented leader who understands that planning and development is about more than regulation and approvals. You understand the connections between housing, land use, infrastructure, transportation, community amenities, finance, economic development and long-term community priorities — and can translate that complexity into clear strategies, decisions and results.

Equally important will be your ability to lead change. The next General Manager will build on the strengths of an experienced department while continuing to advance process improvement, modernization, service enhancement and better alignment of people, process and technology.

For an accomplished leader motivated by growth, transformation and the prospect to leave a lasting impact, this is a chance to help shape what Coquitlam becomes next.

Main Responsibilities

- Provide strategic leadership and direction for the Planning & Development Department, creating alignment across planning,



development services, building regulation and business improvement functions.
- Serve as a trusted senior advisor to the Chief Administrative Officer and Council on complex land-use, housing, development, regulatory and city-building matters, providing balanced and evidence-based advice in an increasingly complex public-policy environment.
- Lead implementation of the City’s growth and housing objectives, including responding to evolving provincial requirements while maintaining a strong focus on complete, sustainable and livable communities.
- Guide major planning and development initiatives, including transit-oriented intensification, master-planned development, neighborhood evolution and the future planning of Northwest Burke.
- Champion continued modernization of planning, development and permitting services through process improvement, digital transformation, performance measurement and approaches that improve clarity, predictability and service.
- Build productive relationships with the development industry, other levels of government, Indigenous communities, regional partners, residents and other interested parties while maintaining the integrity of the City’s regulatory and public-interest responsibilities.
- Work collaboratively across the organization to align growth with infrastructure, transportation, community amenities, financial planning, parks, environmental objectives and other corporate priorities.
- Lead and develop a highly capable departmental leadership team, fostering a culture of sound decision-making, accountability, collaboration, innovation, succession and continuous improvement.
- Provide executive oversight of departmental business planning, budgets, performance management and resource allocation while ensuring the department is positioned to respond effectively to changing organizational and community needs.
- Contribute beyond the departmental mandate as an enterprise leader, bringing a city-wide perspective to executive decision-making and helping advance the broader strategic priorities of the organization.

Minimum Qualifications

- A university degree in Planning, Urban Studies, Public Administration, Business Administration or a related discipline, supplemented by substantial progressive senior leadership experience. An equivalent combination of relevant education and significant executive-level experience may also be considered.
- Significant progressive senior leadership experience in planning, development, municipal administration or a closely related field.
- Experience operating within a complex development environment involving major, multi-phase, mixed-use or high-density projects and sophisticated negotiations.




- Demonstrated experience providing strategic advice to elected officials, executive leadership teams and diverse external partners on complex and high-profile matters.
- Experience leading strategic planning, policy development and implementation within a complex or regulated environment.
- Demonstrated success leading organizational change, process improvement, service modernization or business transformation.
- Strong business and financial acumen, including an understanding of the relationship between growth, infrastructure, development financing and long-term municipal sustainability.
- Exceptional communication, facilitation, influencing and negotiation skills, supported by sound judgment and executive presence.

Preferred Qualifications

- Senior leadership experience within a large urban municipality, high-growth community or similarly complex organization.
- Experience guiding major mixed-use, high-density, transit-oriented, master-planned or greenfield development.
- Experience leading housing initiatives and responding to significant changes in provincial legislation, policy or regulatory requirements.
- Experience with development financing, growth-related infrastructure planning and the financial implications of major development.
- Demonstrated experience modernizing development, planning or permitting systems, including process redesign, digital transformation, performance measurement or service improvement.
- Professional planning credentials or other relevant professional designation would be considered an asset.

Why Work With Us

- Shape a city at a pivotal point in its evolution. Influence how one of Metro Vancouver’s major urban centres accommodates growth, housing and development for generations to come.
- Build communities as well as cities. Help guide both significant urban intensification and the creation of new neighbourhoods within one of Metro Vancouver’s few remaining large greenfield areas.
- Influence major housing and city-building initiatives. Work directly with Council, the CAO, executive colleagues, industry partners and other levels of government on some of the region’s most significant growth challenges.
- Modernize how development happens. Lead continued improvements to planning, development and permitting services through better processes, technology, data and performance.
- Lead an accomplished team. Build on the strengths of experienced professionals and develop the leadership capacity required for Coquitlam’s next phase of growth.
- Make an impact beyond your portfolio. Join the City’s executive leadership team and bring a city-wide perspective to decisions involving infrastructure, finance, transportation, amenities, sustainability and organizational priorities.
- Join a recognized employer. Be part of a progressive organization recognized as one of BC’s Top Employers for nine consecutive years and as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers.

Please apply online at www.coquitlam.ca/careers by 11:55 pm on October 2, 2026.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

📌 General Manager, Planning & Development (Coquitlam)
🏢 City of Coquitlam
📍 Coquitlam