Permit Specialist

Permit Specialist

Print (

Apply



Permit Specialist

Salary

$24.37 - $25.12 Hourly

Location

1002 Washington Ave., Houston, TX 77002

Job Type

Full Time

Job Number

38739

Department

Houston Public Works

Opening Date

05/11/2026

Closing Date

Continuous

• Description

• Benefits

• Questions

POSITION OVERVIEW

Accepting Applications from: All Persons Interested

Service Line/Section: Houston Permitting Center /Code Enforcement/Plan Review

Reporting Location: 1002 Washington Ave

Workdays & Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm Subject to change

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES/ESSENTIAL FUNCTION

Performs professional administrative support and leads Permit Technician Aides and Permit Technicians in the acceptance, review and dissemination of a wide variety of building permit applications and documents.

• Receives, reviews and evaluates permit applications, construction plans and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy and conformance with building codes and other applicable requirements.

• Pre-screens plans for accuracy, contacts customers for any needed documents/information, performs final review of application and related documents, and routes commercial and residential plans for review and inspection.

• Processes plans in and out of the system, performs setup revisions and reviews deferred submittals.

• Answers questions from customers on the progress of permits at all stages and advises applicants of information and submittals needed at locations to have requirements checked.

• Provides guidance to Permit Technician Aides and Permit Technicians; may schedule and review work to ensure effective and efficient processing of applications.

• Recognizes and resolves permit system issues and submits Service Now Tickets as needed.

• Creates and prepares various administrative documents and statistical/performance reports.

• Determines and calculates various permit and plan fees.

• Understands the functions of all sections requiring permits, such as Water, Planning, Flood, Storm HAS, Traffic, Fire, Sprinklers, Haz-Mat, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical, Health-Food and Health-Pool. Understands general construction principles and practices.

• May educate the public on permit application process at community and outreach programs.

• Performs other related duties as requested.

WORKING CONDITIONS

The position is physically comfortable most of the time with occasional periods of stooping, bending and/or light lifting of materials of up to 10 pounds. There are no major sources of discomfort, i.e., essentially a normal office environment with acceptable lighting, temperature and air conditions.

This is a Houston Public Works Emergency Management position at the Tier III Level.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

Requires a high school diploma or a GED.

EXPERIENCE:

Three years of experience as a Permit Technician/Permit Technician Aide, with at least one year as a Permit Technician, are required.

An Associate's degree in a related field may substitute for two years of the experience requirement.

A Bachelor's degree in a related field may substitute for the education and experience requirements.

PREFERENCES

Preference will be given to candidates that are proficient in the following systems: iPermits, PDox and ILMS. Knowledge of how to research using GIMS, HCAD and HAS.

Preference shall be given to eligible veteran applicants provided such persons possess the qualifications necessary for competent discharge of the duties involved in the position applied for, such persons are among the most qualified candidates for the position, and all other factors in accordance with Executive Order 1-6.

GENERAL INFORMATION

SELECTION/SKILLS TESTS REQUIRED: None

However, the department may administer a skills assessment evaluation.

SAFETY IMPACT POSITION: No

If yes, this position is subject to random drug testing and if a promotional position, candidate must pass an assignment drug test.

SALARY INFORMATION

Factors used in determining the salary offered include the candidate's qualifications as well as the pay rates of other employees in this classification.

Pay Grade 16

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Only online applications will be accepted for this City of Houston job and must be received by the Human Resources Department during active posting period. Applications must be submitted online at:

To view your detailed application status, please log-in to your online profile by visiting:

or call View phone number on click.appcast.io.

If you need special services or accommodations, call View phone number on click.appcast.io. (TTY 7-1-1)

If you need login assistance or technical support call View phone number on click.appcast.io.

Due to the high volume of applications received, the Hiring Department will contact you directly, should you be selected to advance in our recruitment process.

All new and rehires must pass a pre-employment drug test and are subject to a physical examination and verification of information provided.

Must be able to pass a criminal background check, obtain and maintain federally mandated security clearances where required.

EOE Equal Opportunity Employment

The City of Houston is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.

The city offers a competitive benefits program, including competitively priced health coverage and a defined contribution pension plan. Benefits include:

• Medical

• Dental

• Vision

• Wellness

• Supplemental Insurance

• Life insurance

• Long-term disability

• Retirement pension

• 457 deferred compensation plan

• Employee Assistance Program

• 10 days of vacation each year

• 13 city holidays, plus one floating holiday

• Compensable Sick Leave

• Personal Leave

• Flexible schedules

• Hybrid-Telework for eligible positions

• Professional development opportunities

• Transportation/parking plan

• Section 125 pretax deductions

• Dependent Care Reimbursement Plan

• Paid Prenatal, Parental and Infant Wellness Leaves

• Healthcare Flexible Spending Account

For plan details, visit

01

Are you a veteran who served on active duty in the Armed Forces (United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard) for more than 90 consecutive days and received either an honorable discharge or a general discharge under honorable conditions?

• Yes

• No

02

Please select your highest level of education.

• Less than a High School diploma/GED

• High School diploma/GED

• Associate degree

• Bachelor's degree or higher

03

Select the amount of VERIFIABLE experience in customer service?

• No experience

• Less than 1 year

• 1 year but less than 2 years

• 2 years but less than 3 years

• 3 years or more

04

Which describes your VERIFIABLE Permit Technician related experience?

• No Experience

• Less than 1 year

• 1 year, but less than 2 years

• 2 years, but less than 3 years

• 3 years, but less than 4 years

• 4 years, but less than 5 years

• 5 years or more

05

Which best describes your VERIFIABLE experience as a Permit Technician Aide?

• No experience

• Less than 1 year

• 1 year but less than 2 years

• 2 years but less than 3 years

• 3 years or more

06

Select the amount of experience you have working with the software application Integrated Land Management System (ILMS).

• No Experience

• Less than 1 year

• 1 year, but less than 2 years

• 2 years, but less than 3 years

• 3 years, but less than 4 years

• 4 years or more

07

Select the amount of experience you have working with iPermits.

• No experience

• Less than 1 year

• 1 year but less than 2 years

• 2 years but less than 3 years

• 3 years but less than 4 years

• 4 years or more

08

Do you have a Permit Technician or any other ICC Certification?

• Yes

• No

09

Please rate your experience using Microsoft Word.

• No experience

• Basic Microsoft Word: open, create, save and modify documents, format the documents for printing, using the printer menu to preview documents before they are printed and print the pages, change the font, the margins, insert or delete pages and use the built-in spellchecker and grammar check.

• Intermediate Microsoft Word: using Mail Merge in Word to personalize business letters for an entire mailing list or creating posters and other graphics-heavy documents in Publisher, create mailing labels, insert footnote and end note, create bookmark, insert a cross reference to a bookmark, insert a link into a document, design and create a simple form, save form as template, enable revision tracking in a document, accept or reject revision, protect a revision from modification by others, compare two documents side by side, combine two documents into one, insert and delete a comment into a document.

• Advance Microsoft Word: use mail merge to create documents, recipient lists, insert fields, prepare and existing list for use in mail merge, delete items that you have performed (copy chart and title and paste), replace check box with symbol, print out checklist and check the appropriate boxes, import subdocument, split document into two documents, create a table.

10

Please rate your experience using Microsoft Excel.

• No experience

• Basic Microsoft Excel: Open files and use page setup, enter, correct, and save data, use the menu commands, format cells, rows, and columns, understand navigation and movement techniques, use simple arithmetic functions in the formulas, access help, modify a database and insert data from another application, print worksheets and workbooks.

• Intermediate Microsoft Excel: Create, modify, and format charts, use graphic objects to enhance worksheets and charts, filter data and manage a filtered list, perform multiple-level sorting, use sorting options, and design considerations, use mathematical, logical, statistical, and financial functions, group and dissociate data and perform interactive analysis, create and modify some Macro commands.

• Advance Microsoft Excel: Customize the work area, use advanced functions (Names, VLOOKUP, IF, IS), work with Pivot Tables, use spreadsheet Web components, manage Macro commands: concepts, planning, operations, execution, modification, interruption, use personalized toolbars, perform some programming in VBA.

11

Select the amount of experience you have working with the ProjectDox System.

• No experience

• Less than 1 year

• 1 year but less than 2 years

• 2 years but less than 3 years

• 3 years but less than 4 years

• 4 years or more

Required Question