Category News

Career Opportunity: Associate Planner

Position Description: Associate Planner

Vandewalle & Associates | Madison, Wisconsin

An exceptional, full-spectrum opportunity for the right planner. Our mission-driven urban planning, design, and economic development firm is seeking an Associate Planner with 3-10 years of professional community planning experience to lead a variety of community planning, redevelopment, economic development, and related projects.

Is helping communities craft positive futures your passion? Vandewalle & Associates is one of the largest independent planning firms in the Midwest, with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We focus primarily on clients, places, communities and place-based assets throughout the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest.

Work with Midwest’s most respected planners and economic development experts. Over the past 40 years, Vandewalle & Associates has assembled a team of experts in the art of shaping dynamic places and communities. As we are passionate about helping our client communities meet the challenges of the future, the right candidate will share this enthusiasm and embrace the tremendous opportunity to both learn from and contribute to this exceptional team.

Inclusion, integrity, and impact. Vandewalle & Associates supports diversity and inclusion and strives for social and economic justice. Our team of experts is nationally recognized for the integrity and impact of our work with communities, neighborhoods, institutions, organizations, and companies to foster positive change.

More information on the company can be found at www.vandewalle.com.

PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES:

As an Associate Planner you will manage both straightforward and complex projects, working closely with supportive planning, design, and communications teams.

You will prepare community comprehensive plans and outdoor recreation plans, lead public participation efforts such as surveys and workshops, draft zoning and subdivision regulations, lead or assist with tax incremental financing district plans, review site plans and development proposals, prepare client zoning reports, complete special studies, and provide on-call planning services for nearby communities.

The range of projects includes downtown, neighborhood, and waterfront revitalization; planning and economic development within underserved communities; adaptive reuse of industrial buildings and brownfields; and plans for park and trail systems, transportation, and school districts.

NIGHT MEETINGS AND TRAVEL:

This Associate Planner position is based out of the Madison Office. After an initial in-office onboarding period, staff members in this location enjoy a hybrid work environment that offers flexibility to work from home or other remote locations, along with some “in-office worksession” days. (A full range of hybrid meeting technology makes this flexibility work for both staff and clients as needed.) Regular travel to client communities is required, with participation in some night meetings. Clients requiring travel typically include Wisconsin cities, villages, towns, and counties within a 1- to 2-hour driving range.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: 

  • Master’s degree in planning or related field with a minimum of 3 years of professional planning experience or bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 5 years of professional planning experience
  • Project management experience including primary client interaction
  • Highly organized, flexible individual who can think on their feet
  • Ability to work with our team of planners and designers or independently
  • Driven, self-motivated, and interested in staying current with and advancing planning best practices in small- to mid-sized communities
  • Excellent research and organizational skills
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills, including ability to adapt communication/writing styles to different audiences
  • Public speaking experience
  • Interest in inclusive public engagement
  • Experience in comprehensive planning and zoning ordinances
  • Experience with quantitative-oriented tasks including data analysis, development projections, TIF calculations, financial analysis and willingness to grow this skillset
  • Ability to direct tasks to assistant planners
  • Ability to manage project budgets and lead project-based tasks daily
  • Outgoing, client-focused, and creative personality
  • AICP certification preferred but not required

BENEFITS:

This position is full-time with a competitive salary and benefit package. Specifics include:

  • Health insurance
  • Dental insurance
  • Short- and long-term disability insurance
  • Life insurance
  • Two weeks paid vacation the first employment year
  • Four sick days plus two personal days per employment year
  • Seven paid holidays
  • Retirement savings available through the company sponsored 401(k).
  • Cafeteria Plan/Flexible Spending Account
  • Paid APA membership
  • Hybrid work environment
  • Flex time

HOW TO APPLY:

For strongest consideration, resumes and cover letters should be emailed by Monday, April 28, 2025 toNonna Anderson, Business Manager: nanderson@vandewalle.com.

Vandewalle & Associates is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

E. Scott Harrington, AICP: Dec 28, 1962 – Feb 14, 2025

With deep sorrow we share news of the passing of great champion of communities, principal planner, and friend Scott Harrington on 14 February.

Our team’s gratitude to Scott for his contributions over the last 22 years cannot be fully expressed. His impact on and in communities will only continue to grow.

As many of you know, Scott was diagnosed with a terminal illness just before Christmas. Being Scott, his first thought in late December was to help support clients and continue the great project momentum the team had built through our work together.

Scott was ever eager to share his expertise and deep knowledge, and helped build a formidable planning team. All of us will continue to benefit from his countless contributions in the months and years to come thanks to his undeniable energy, commitment, and powerful team spirit.

Scott’s family has shared this link to his official obituary: https://www.gundersonfh.com/obituaries/E-Scott-Harrington?obId=37337981.

As a company we are also gathering thoughts, stories, and condolences on our LinkedIn page from team clients, partners, colleagues, neighbors, and community. Please join us in that space to help honor Scott.

Grant success for Horicon transportation planning

HORICON, WISC. January 13, it was announced that the City of Horicon would receive a Federal grant of $160,000 for railroad safety planning and design. The announcement comes after the City worked with Vandewalle & Associates on a competitive grant writing process. Many V&A team members were involved in this effort. 

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Finnish company selects Jefferson site

Finnish food technology company Onego Bio has signed a letter of intent to purchase 25.9 acres of land located within Jefferson County’s Food and Beverage Innovation Campus on the south side of the City of Jefferson.

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Greendale plans upgrades to Community Center Park playground

The Village of Greendale asked for and received valuable input from Greendale residents to help plan and select new playground equipment for Community Center Park. Now that plan, first proposed in the Village’s 2023 Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, is funded and in motion.

“This important project, highlighted in the Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, aims to replace outdated equipment with ADA-compliant equipment and all-abilities components,” the village said in the post.

Concepts were submitted by three playground suppliers, each offering options at $150,000 and $300,000 budget levels.

With a successful CBDG grant award, the Village’s 2025 budget now approved, and rollover funds from 2024, the Village will be able to execute park improvements at the $300,000 level.

Portage Co. Safety Action Plan goes into effect

PORTAGE COUNTY: The Public Information Meeting on October 29th, 2024, for Portage County’s Safety Action Plan study was a big success, with numerous attendees sharing their thoughts about traffic safety.  The interactive learning tables helped explain concepts such as positively offset left-turn lanes, advanced yield lines, and multi-lane roundabout driving. 

Vandewalle & Associates has been leading the Portage County Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan update, one piece of the Portage County Safety Action Plan.

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Moline looks back on 35 years of change

MOLINE, ILLINOIS (EXCERPTS FROM QUADCITIESBUSINESS.COM): A recent article in QuadCitiesBusiness.com begins to tell the story of our founder, President and CEO Brian Vandewalle’s game-changing work 35 years ago in Moline.

“Downtown Moline looks the way it does largely because 35 years ago people like Jerry Butts, John Slover, Jerry Taylor, Bob Hanson and others were inspired to (form Renew Moline and) pursue a vision for their community” said Renew Moline’s President & CEO Alexandra Elias. A key part of the formula that included generous donations of property and funding from John Deere / Deere & Company and others.

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Eye Level Studio shares Cave of the Mounds visitor center

Eye Level Studio redesigned the Cave of the Mounds Visitor Center which reopened its doors this summer. The team also developed concepts and schematic plans for the Visitor Welcome Area which will be implemented next year.

Eye Level Studio has now developed concept plans and fresh stories for the Cave Entrance Building and its site and new destination, the Quarry.

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Remembering Mike Slavney 1957-2024

This past week, communities and the planning field lost one of their most valued advocates, mentors, and friends: Michael A. Slavney, FAICP.

Mike was a huge part of the Vandewalle & Associates formula and family. Though he retired from the company in 2022, he was then and now our Community Planning and Zoning Principal Emeritus.

Mike’s enduring legacy deserves its very own chapter in the firm’s history book. In that spirit, and to pay tribute to this remarkable human, we are publishing the unofficial “preface chapter” in a series of chapters on what built our pioneering practice.

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Kicking off summer with Century School Park Grand Opening

VERONA, WIS – Verona’s new Century School Park on West Verona Avenue held a grand opening event in July. The well-attended event punctuated Summer and launched a whole new season of concerts and community activities. Music in the new bandshell was provided by the Mad City Jug Band as part of Verona Area Chamber of Commerce’s Concerts in the Park series.

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Middleton Zoning code wins Best Practice APA award

MIDDLETON, WISC. – Middleton Zoning Code rewrite has won the American Planning Association – Wisconsin Chapter (APA-WI) Best Practice 2024 award. The award was presented at the annual conference held in Madison on September 12, 2024.

The APA-WI praised the project for being a model for municipalities across the state. The president of APA-WI, Kara Homan, said that the project is an example of a community working to understand and solve the issues they face. 

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Water Council celebrates 15 years of impact

MILWAUKEE, WIS. The Water Council, a global water technology hub sprung from the water industry assets of the greater Milwaukee region, is celebrating its 15th anniversary of action, economic development, and global impact. In this video founding president and CEO Dean Amhaus remarks on Water Council history, major milestones and future. In so doing he gives a nod to the foundational Milwaukee 7 economic asset analysis done by the Vandewalle & Associates team.

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Hancock County plan wins APA award

MUNCIE, IN (excerpts from Greenfield Reporter) — Hancock County and the City of Greenfield each scored a big win at the American Planning Association’s spring conference in Muncie.

The Indiana Chapter of the APA hosted the event at the Ball State University Alumni Center, honoring professional planners and other city and county officials who have excelled in planning for success in communities throughout the state.

Hancock County’s planning director, Kayla Brooks, accepted the award for the county’s 2024 comprehensive plan, which was facilitated by Wisconsin-based Vandewalle & Associates.

A video of the APA Awards can be found here.

Madison advances Sustainability Campus to divert waste, create local circular economies

DANE COUNTY, WISC. (excerpts from landfill.countyofdane.com) – With less than 5 years of landfill space remaining at Dane County’s Rodefeld Landfill, the county has an opportunity to create an innovative plan for its future waste stream.   

A vision has been developed for this site on the East Side of Madison that includes development of a sustainable business park or “Sustainability Campus” to divert waste and create local circular economies. 

This will be accomplished by attracting reuse, repair, and recycling businesses; new waste management technologies; and research.

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