Growth Information Specialist

The Role

Provides specialized research and analysis related to the development of population, household, and employment forecasts for Waterloo Region to support regional master planning for service delivery, business analysis, and financial decisions across corporate departments. Administers data and growth-related projects. Collaborates with internal and external staff, senior leadership, and project management to prepare reports and respond to data requests. Liaises with various external stakeholders, including municipalities, ministries, post-secondary institutions and consultants.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Performs quantitative and qualitative research and analysis on environmental, land use, economic, population and housing matters to support the planning and delivery of regional infrastructure, regional service delivery and regional growth-related projects and plans.  
• Leads the development of annual estimates and forecasts related to population, households, and employment used by others to support regional master, business, and servicing plans, market analysis, financial analysis and planning, and development decisions. Develops methods of forecasting, and compares long-term forecasts with those from external agencies.
• Collaborates with stakeholders and working groups on assessing growth of population, housing and employment, providing professional expertise and advice relating to growth trends, impacts on regional and area municipal land use, infrastructure planning and delivery, development charges, and other regional responsibilities. Balances multiple objectives and input across regional departments and stakeholders with a lens of integrated growth management and fiscal sustainability.
• Undertakes and administers comprehensive studies and research projects relating to the immediate and long-term planning of the development of land, facilities, and services, including the study of demographic, socio-economic, physical, and environmental factors for use in master and servicing plans, development charge background studies, and economic development programs, ensuring enhanced service delivery through data-driven insights.
• Reviews provincial and area municipal planning policy initiatives and assesses impacts to regional interests and initiatives such as transit, the environment, fiscal sustainability, and regional infrastructure. Provides recommendations to senior leadership and Council.
• Presents recommendations and supporting information to senior leadership and Council, ensuring effective communication of complex concepts and implications of decisions (e.g., short- and long-term population, housing and employment growth prospects, how growth outlooks may impact regional services such as transit ridership, housing affordability, infrastructure capacities, future land needs). Provides similar advice to area municipalities as they work through official plan updates.
• Builds, maintains, and strengthens relationships with area municipal staff, the public, the development community, and other stakeholders.
• Administers projects, including project design, work planning, resourcing, and evaluation. 
• Provides ongoing technical assistance, guidance, and support to other program staff (Data Analysts, Planners) and students to complete tasks and projects. Supports assigning, coordinating, and reviewing the work of student positions regularly hired on the team. Leads projects that require support from data analysts, including assigning requests, and reviewing and integrating data analysts’ work into projects. 
• Responds to information requests for regional data from, the public, area municipalities, regional councillors and consultants. Advises other program staff as necessary regarding responses (e.g., clarifying details, determining/analysing data).  
• Prepares statistical reports and profiles to summarize and publicize regional planning data.
• Develops procedures to create data, monitor policies, and prepare reports, and assesses and revises business processes. Works with consultants and ITS to design and develop corporate software applications that use planning data. 
• Reviews and revises work plans documenting the status and requirements of key departmental datasets and data models. Assesses quality, timeliness, and relevance of available data sources to update work plans. 

Additional Duties/Responsibilities

• Coordinates information management projects. Develops work plans, assigns/performs tasks, reviews results, and ensures project completion. 
• Maintains information planning databases containing spatial and tabular data (e.g., land use, environmental, natural resource, economic, population, employment, housing). Verifies data integrity developed and input by others and integrates into appropriate datasets. 
• Discusses research and analysis with departmental management and staff. Liaises with ITS to maintain GIS data. Provides advice on data projects and exchanges information with internal committees.
• Responds to information requests from the public, area municipalities, consultants, and local business. Liaises with provincial ministries/agencies, and area municipalities to exchange planning information and best practices in data analysis and collection. Occasionally contacts StatsCan and MPAC for statistical information and advice regarding information requests.
• Performs related duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge and skills are acquired through a 4-year degree in Planning or a related field, plus 5 years of related experience.
• Must have or be eligible for membership in the Canadian Institute of Planners and Ontario Provincial Planners Institute.
• Knowledge of the planning process, growth forecasting, and growth management. 
• Knowledge of StatsCan, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), and other third-party data sources. 
• Detailed knowledge of statistical models, relational queries, and business procedures to design and work with large spatial and tabular databases, with training in empirical research.
• Project management and organizational skills to detail project tasks, assign timeframes, monitor results, work independently, and balance competing requests and priorities.
• Knowledge of and ability to comply with corporate policies and procedures, planning and environmental legislation (e.g., Planning Act), and privacy legislation.
• Communication and human relations skills to provide guidance and support to program staff creating and inputting data, respond to internal and external planning inquiries and data requests, make presentations to internal/external committees, interpret and explain complex planning policies and data, and participate as an effective team member.
• Ability to write correspondence, memos, and reports. Ability to understand technical reports, statistical information, memos, policies and procedures, professional journals, planning reports and studies, official plans, meeting agendas, and minutes. Ability to keep knowledge current.
• Computer skills with ability to use software such as Microsoft Office (Excel and Access), and GIS software.
• Ability to travel within Waterloo Region.
• Ability to support and demonstrate the Region’s values.