Pro Housing Planning Specialist - Housing & Community Development

Pro-Housing Planning Specialist (ON-CALL Role) - Housing & Community Development

Your passion is helping communities expand housing supply by improving local land use, development review, and permitting practices. At ICF, you can put that expertise into action by joining a team supporting the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its partners with practical, community-informed strategies to reduce unnecessary regulatory barriers to home construction.

In this role, you will provide subject matter expertise on state and local regulatory reforms, with particular emphasis on land use and permitting practices. Your work will align with HUD’s State and Local Best Practices for Home Construction and the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, translating policy and practice into actionable training content and facilitated discussions for local stakeholders. This role may additionally support work under any of HUD’s Technical Assistance initiatives, including the Thriving Communities or Community Compass Technical Assistance programs.

This position is ON-CALL (hourly, part-time with variable hours) and work remotely.  Assignments are made on a demand-response basis, so hours are completely variable.

Travel within the United States is required, and authorized travel and meals and incidental expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with applicable federal per diem rates. The consultant may remain an on-call subject matter expert for future projects, if desired.

What you’ll be doing:

• Provide subject matter expertise on local pro-housing regulatory reforms, especially land use, zoning, development review, and permitting practices that can support increased housing supply and faster home construction.
• Serve as an expert subject matter expert at listening sessions and trainings in locations across the United States.

• Facilitate dialogue among local attendees to help communities identify regulatory reforms that are feasible, locally appropriate, and likely to have the greatest impact.

• Apply HUD’s State and Local Best Practices for Home Construction and relevant provisions of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act when developing recommendations, training content, and stakeholder discussions.
• Review and help shape HUD written products on land use, zoning, development review for local government audiences.
• Coordinate with HUD, other TA providers, and ICF team members to ensure content is accurate, practical, consistent, and ready for delivery to local audiences.

Basic Qualifications you’ll need to have:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in urban or regional planning, public administration, public policy, government, real estate development, housing, or a related discipline, OR a minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience.
• Minimum of 7 years of demonstrated experience with land use, zoning, development review, building or planning approvals, permitting modernization, or related pro-housing reforms.

Additional Experience:

• Strong knowledge of how state and local regulatory requirements affect housing supply, development costs, project feasibility, and construction timelines.
• Demonstrated experience translating complex policy or regulatory concepts into practical guidance for local governments, practitioners, community stakeholders, or housing industry audiences.
• Experience developing, reviewing, or delivering training presentations and facilitating discussions with diverse audiences.
• Ability and willingness to travel to approximately two to four listening sessions across the United States, with scheduling and hours driven by project needs.

Preferred Skills/Experience:

• Direct experience advising municipalities, counties, states, planning agencies, housing agencies, or development partners on zoning, land use, permitting, or process improvements.
• Familiarity with HUD housing supply initiatives, HUD’s State and Local Best Practices for Home Construction, and the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.
• Experience delivering a standardized, client-approved presentation deck while maintaining an engaging and responsive facilitation style.
• Experience leading listening sessions, workshops, or peer-learning discussions that help participants assess local conditions and prioritize actionable reforms.

Professional Skills:

• Excellent verbal, interpersonal, facilitation, presentation, and written communication skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities, including the ability to assess local regulatory conditions and identify practical reform options.
• Ability to deliver consistent, high-quality content while adjusting examples and discussion techniques for different community contexts.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, multi-partner environment and manage variable, project-driven assignments.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Excel.

#Indeed

#LI-CC1

Bot and Third-Party Applications

Please note that this application must be submitted directly by the applicant for consideration. Failure to do so may result in the application being excluded for consideration.  Applicants needing an accommodation for disability or religious purposes in connection with the application process should contact [email protected] for assistance.

Working at ICF

ICF is a global advisory and technology services provider, but we’re not your typical consultants. We combine unmatched expertise with cutting-edge technology to help clients solve their most complex challenges, navigate change, and shape the future.

We can only solve the world's toughest challenges by building a workplace that allows everyone to thrive. We are an equal opportunity employer. Together, our employees are empowered to share their expertise and collaborate with others to achieve personal and professional goals. For more information, please read our EEO policy.

We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Work Authorization and Sponsorship All candidates must be authorized to work in the United States. This position is not eligible for new H-1B visa sponsorship by ICF. Candidates who currently hold valid work authorization may be considered for a change of employer petition, subject to company policy and applicable immigration requirements.

Reasonable Accommodations are available, including, but not limited to, for disabled veterans, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs, in all phases of the application and employment process. To request an accommodation, please email [email protected] and we will be happy to assist. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.  

Read more about workplace discrimination rights or our benefit offerings which are included in the Transparency in (Benefits) Coverage Act. 

Pay Range - There are multiple factors that are considered in determining final pay for a position, including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, skills, certifications and competencies that align to the specified role, geographic location, education and certifications as well as contract provisions regarding labor categories that are specific to the position.

The pay range for this position based on full-time employment is:

$131,256.00 - $223,134.00Nationwide Remote Office (US99)