Permit Specialist I presso City of Duvall, WA

About the Department

Welcome to the City of Duvall, where your contributions as an employee make a difference every day! The City of Duvall, nestled in the Snoqualmie Valley, is a quaint and growing community twenty-five miles northeast of Seattle. The mission of the Building Division is to provide the highest level of customer service for the residents and business owners of Duvall, as well as those who do business in Duvall, while administering and enforcing all building and related codes to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

This one-year position will be instrumental in assisting the City of Duvall in managing its busy workload and assisting the Building Department in providing excellent customer service to the public.  This opportunity is ideal for someone who wants to gain experience in municipal government and learn how a busy city operates! We are eagerly awaiting your application for this key role in the City of Duvall! 

Under general supervision and as part of a service-oriented team, the Permit Specialist reports to the Building Official, processes building permit applications and issues permits, and provides information concerning building permit requirements, codes, and inspection procedures to contractors, design professionals, and the public; checks plans for completeness calculate permit fees, and issues over-the-counter building permits and does other work as assigned.

FIRST ROUND OF REVIEWS WILL TAKE PLACE AT NOON ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2025
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Under general supervision and as part of a service-oriented team, the Permit Specialist reports to the Building Official, processes building permit applications and issues permits, and provides information concerning building permit requirements, codes, and inspection procedures to contractors, design professionals, and the public; checks plans for completeness calculate permit fees, and issues over-the-counter building permits and does other work as assigned.

Position Duties

Permit Specialist I is the entry-level and trainee class of the Permit Technician series. Incumbents initially work under close supervision to learn how to process building permit applications, provide information to the public concerning the building permit process, requirements, codes, and inspection procedures, coordinate and route permits, and schedule inspections. Typically, incumbents are expected to acquire the knowledge and skills to perform the full range of journey-level assignments within three years.

Essential Functions

•Accepts, reviews, and evaluates building permit applications for completeness and correctness.
•Assists applicants in the building permit process, including assistance with application questions.
•Creates, maintains, and updates building department forms and documents.
•Determines building fees, calculates square footage, and determines cost per square foot based on use, occupancy, and type of construction.
•Determines which agencies must review applications and route building permits to various city departments for review.
•Explains reasons for denial of applications, explains additional requirements, and the process for reapplying.
•Inputs, accesses, and analyzes data using a computer, maintains records, and attends meetings.
•Issues building permits.
•Notifies the applicant when the building permit will be issued or if additional information is required.
•Processes over-the-counter permits for repair in-kind, plumbing, and mechanical residential applications.
•Provides information to the public concerning the building permit process requirements, codes, and inspection procedures.
•Receives various complaints and handles or routes them to the appropriate expert to resolve.
•Review plans for completeness and accuracy, check for basic building and planning code compliance, and calculate fees.
•Schedules inspections.
•Serve on the Development Review Committee.
•Verifies parcel ownership and checks for violations and inspection history.

Minimum Qualifications

•Two years of public sector customer service experience in an office-based environment with direct customer/patron/resident interactions. 
•High School diploma or GED equivalent is required. 
•Valid Washington State Driver’s License.
•Demonstrated ability, through applicable work experience, to:
•Become quickly proficient with permit management software.
•Understand and apply relevant codes, regulations, and procedures.
•Communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
•Organize and manage multiple tasks with attention to detail. 
•Learn and apply construction, permit, and plan review terminology and procedures.

Other Qualifications

The physical and work environmental characteristics described in this description represent those employees encounter while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions or as otherwise required by law. Employees needing reasonable accommodation should discuss the request with their supervisor.

This work requires the occasional exertion of up to 25 pounds of force; it regularly requires sitting, frequently requires standing, speaking or hearing, using hands to finger, handle, or feel, and repetitive motions, and occasionally requires walking, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling, and reaching with hands and arms.

Work has standard vision requirements.

Vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas through the spoken word.
Hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels.

Work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data and observing general surroundings and activities.

Work has no exposure to adverse environmental conditions.

Work is generally in a moderately noisy office setting (e.g., business office, light traffic) 

PLEASE NOTE: This is a limited-term employment position.