Chief Building Official

Panama City, City of•Panama City, FL

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Under the general guidance and leadership of the Director of Development Services, this position performs professional duties for the Building Services Division within the City of Panama City. The Chief Building Official is responsible for leading the Building Services Division with a primary function and focus of overseeing and participating in the plan review and inspection of all commercial, industrial, and residential properties subject to the Florida Building Code. This is an emergency essential position that requires performance of emergency duties and actions to prepare, repair, and recover the City before, during, and after any adverse storm events (hurricane, tropical storm, tornado, severe thunderstorm, winter storm, etc.) or other conditions (natural or manmade).

Requirements

Ability to read, understand and interpret technical design documents, including design calculations, technical specifications/project manuals and construction drawings.
Strong verbal and written communication skills are necessary.
The ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from elected officials, contractors, developers/landowners, and the general public concerning building code requirements is critical.
Dedication to the fair and impartial enforcement of codes and regulations.
Strong skills in Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook).
Ability to learn and utilize third-party software in an independent and efficient manner.
Knowledge of principles and practices of the City’s construction codes, pertinent State regulations and other applicable city codes and ordinances.
Ability to apply principles and practices of land use regulation.
Strong knowledge relating to the principles of structural design, engineering mathematics and building plan review.
Application of principles and practices of organization, administration and management of a team.
Ability to establish and maintain professional, effective, cooperative and team-focused working relationships with team members, leaders, consultants, other departments, external business partners and the general public.
Comfortable with group presentations and able to present findings to the team and stakeholders.
Strong problem-solving skills, including multi-tasking abilities.
Skills to compose, create and edit correspondence, documentation and reports.
Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions.
Ability to exercise independent and team cohesive decisions in accordance with policies.
Possession of general office etiquette and ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships.
Ability to maintain a high degree of accuracy and thoroughness with reasonable speed.
Must be able to work independently on multiple tasks.
Valid driver’s license.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree with a major in engineering, architecture, business administration or public administration preferred.
Seven (7) years or more of increasingly responsible experience performing construction inspections of public, commercial, industrial, and/or residential buildings may be considered in lieu of the educational requirement.
Certified Building Official (CBO) certification by the International Code Council (ICC) or Licensure as a Registered Design Professional (RDP), Architect, or Professional Engineer preferred.
Prior experience in supervision of a team with a strong budget/finance background preferred.
Bilingual (Spanish) is desirable.

Responsibilities

Responsible for the day-to-day activities and workload of the Building Services Division.
Oversee and work closely with building inspectors, code compliance and the administrative team in managing building permit activity.
Effectively recruits, acquires and retains division team members.
Ensures proper training, mentors and evaluates the performance of the department team.
Supervises building inspectors in the inspections of buildings during construction.
Serves as an in-house subject matter expert on the technical and administrative aspects of the Florida Building Code, its interpretation and application, regulating the minimum standards of life safety, health and welfare for the community.
Enforce City-related ordinances to ensure compliance with all relevant codes, ordinances and accessibility laws.
Reviews applications for building permits to ensure compliance with the Florida Building Code provisions.
Reviews plans to determine conformance with codes prior to issuance of building permits; coordinates with City planners and Utilities Division to help ensure the compliance of development proposals with zoning and land use requirements, available and required City utilities; and works with local Fire Marshal agents for compliance with fire safety codes.
Provides advice in the development of short and long-range plans, gathers, interprets and prepares data for studies, reports and recommendations; coordinates department activities with other City departments, divisions and outside agencies as needed.
Serves as a technical resource to provide professional advice to the City Manager, City Commission and the Planning & Zoning Board.
Enables data-driven decision making.
Recommends changes to codes, rules and regulations based on common problem areas and special land-use City development issues.
Available to attend public input meetings at varying times during the day and evening as needed, including but not limited to City Commission meetings.
Assures that assigned areas of responsibility are performed within budget; performs cost control activities, monitors revenues and expenditures in assigned areas to assure sound fiscal stewardship; prepares annual budget request; assures effective and efficient use of budgeted funds, resources, materials, facilities and time.
Determines work procedures, prepares work schedules and manages workflow; studies and standardizes procedures to improve efficiency and effectiveness of operations.
Prepare and present reports as needed for varying-sized groups of stakeholders.
Coordinates with internal and external customers' issues relating to the Building Services Division.
Communicates in an efficient, professional, prompt and courteous manner with all internal and external customers, including regulatory bodies and public entities.
Performing other duties as assigned.