Executive Director, Champaign County Regional Planning Commission
Due to the retirement of its Executive Director, the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission, in Urbana , Illinois , is searching for a new Executive Director. Located in East Central Illinois, Champaign County is located within 2-3 hours driving distance of Chicago , Indianapolis and St. Louis , and is home to the University of Illinois .
The Champaign County Regional Planning Commission is a semi-autonomous, self-supporting department of county government created by the Champaign County Board in 1966. In its early years, the CCRPC primarily provided technical planning services to local governments, but over time, CCRPC's operations and its client base have been significantly expanded.
Governance
The CCRPC is governed by a board of eleven commissioners who represent member governments and the minority and low-income populations in Champaign County . The members currently include Champaign County , the cities of Champaign and Urbana , and the villages of Rantoul, Mahomet and Savoy . However, many of the programs and services provided by the CCRPC encompass more than one jurisdiction. To date, the Commission's work has extended into more than 18 counties throughout East Central Illinois.
Budget and Staff
The CCRPC is financially self-supporting through contracts, grants, and membership fees. The annual operating budget is approximately $12 Million structured in four funds, ten major program areas and over 100 departments. The Commission actively pursues further growth opportunities that allow its experienced and qualified staff of approximately 165 to assist localities in meeting the total needs of their jurisdictions.
The Executive Director leads the CCRPC management team, composed of the Chief Financial Officer and Human Resources Director. Reporting directly to the Executive Director are the Directors of Head Start and Early Head Start, Social Services, Planning and Community Development and the Manger of the Police Training program. The various programs of the CCRPC also report to more than a dozen other committees and boards.
Programs and Services
Under a contract with the County of Champaign , the CCRPC administers the Champaign County Head Start and Early Head Start grants. The Champaign County Head Start program currently has over 100 employees at five sites. Champaign County Head Start is also the local grantee of the Illinois State Board of Education Pre-Kindergarten and Pre-School for All grants, which enable the program to hire certified pre-school teachers.
The CCRPC serves as a Community Action agency for Champaign County . This enhances its ability to attract state and federal funding for programs that help disadvantaged, elderly and disabled citizens achieve and maintain self-sufficiency. Current Social Service programs include Emergency Rent Assistance, Court Diversion Services, the Family and Community Development Program, Individual Development Accounts, Independent Service Coordination for persons with developmental disabilities, Low Income Housing Energy Assistance, CSBG Scholarship Program, Senior Home Repair and the Rural Rider program.
The CCRPC is the MPO for the Champaign-Urbana-Savoy-Bondville urbanized area, maintains a detailed transportation model of the metropolitan area and provides a wide array of transportation planning and engineering services to local governments. It also provides GIS services within Champaign County to members of the Champaign County GIS Consortium and on a contract basis in surrounding counties. The Commission staffs the six-county East Central Illinois Economic Development District, provides economic development service to the County and other local governments and maintains an economic development loan portfolio in excess of $4.5 Million. The CCRPC provides home rehabilitation and weatherization services in the county. The organization provides technical assistance to local governments in infrastructure and public facility financing through the larger region. The Commission provides planning services to Champaign County and, on a contractual basis, to local government in the surrounding area. The CCRPC also undertakes planning related projects on its own initiative and provides economic and demographic information and technical services to its members on an ongoing basis.
The East Central Illinois Police Training Project is a regional training program serving law enforcement agencies in Champaign, Piatt and Vermillion Counties.
Executive Director Selection Criteria
The successful candidate will have a Masters degree in Planning, Public Administration, Business Administration, or a related professional degree and a minimum of years of progressively relevant experience in public administration and management or a Bachelor's degree with at least 9 years of public administration and management experience.
In addition, the following skills have been identified as ideal attributes for the position of Executive Director:
- Regional leadership ability
- Ability to maintain and develop intergovernmental and university relations
- Ability to market programs and services
- Knowledge of social service delivery systems
- Knowledge of urban and regional planning
- Demonstrated ability to work with boards and management teams
- Successful experience with employee relations and administration of collective bargaining agreements
- Administrative experience with budgets and finance
- Excellent communication skills
- Commitment to diversity and equal opportunity for clients and staff
- Personal integrity and professional ethics
Compensation
The position offers a competitive salary dependent on the qualifications of the candidate. The current RPC benefit summary may be viewed on line at www.ccrpc.org under “About CCRPC”.
Applications
Applications and inquiries are to be directed to the attention of:
Human Resources Director
Champaign County Regional Planning Commission
1776 E. Washington
Urbana , IL 61802
Telephone: 217-328-3313
Facsimile: 217-328-2426
Email: mhodson@ccrpc.org
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