Berater/Beraterin für Smart City

Information resources for this profession include information offers from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency), the Film City and Regional Planning, Arch+Bauwelt, Build-Ing. - The Platform for BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING, BundesBauBlatt, Fraunhofer Information Center for Space and Building (IRB), University Guide for Architecture and Urban Planning, Information on Spatial Development (IzR), Climate-Adapted Buildings and Properties, OA Open Agrar, Perspective Earth: In the City of the Future, PLANERIN - Journal of the Association for Urban, Regional and State Planning SRL e.V., RaumPlanung, Topos - The International Review of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, and VDI nachrichten.

Smart Cities and Smart Regions: On the way to Smart Cities and Smart Regions, cities and municipalities are working to implement digital technologies in areas such as transport, administration, telecommunications, housing, work, energy, and waste. These are intended to efficiently, socially, and sustainably meet the needs of citizens, businesses, and administrations. At the same time, in 'cities of the future,' urban living spaces are completely rethought, such as residential quarters, shopping areas, cultural offerings, and recreational spaces. Specialists and managers in the field of urban, regional, and transport planning intensively deal with these developments. Sustainable Urban Development: In the course of the German Sustainability Strategy, sustainable urban development is in focus. Goals include converting buildings instead of demolishing them and using spaces multiple times. Concepts for new forms of living in old or vacant buildings are already being developed.

Smart City consultants typically work in offices, in training and meeting rooms, and at client sites. They may also work from home or remotely if needed.

Core competencies generally required in this profession include: Needs analysis, development, design, customer consulting and support, presentation, project management, cycling path planning, research and information gathering, regional management, regional and spatial planning, urban planning, and transport planning. Further competencies that may be significant for practicing this profession include: Bikesharing services, carsharing services, demand-side management, digital twin, digital traffic and parking guidance systems, e-scooter sharing services, intelligent charging management, calculation, scheduled transport, mobility platforms, modeling and simulation (IT), public transport (ÖPNV), ridesharing services, and smart grid.

Smart City consultants support cities and municipalities in the development and implementation of digitalization processes. Their work requires independent and structured planning and action, a high degree of conscientiousness, resilience, and adherence to deadlines. If they coordinate a project team, they lead and motivate their employees. For inventory analyses, they need analytical and systematic thinking skills. They quickly familiarize themselves with the subject-specific matter and develop ideas for Smart City concepts and strategies. In consulting discussions, they appear self-confident, convincing, and strong in communication. They carefully calculate implementations and demonstrate organizational skills in setting up new infrastructures. Smart City consultants primarily work in the office at the computer, where they elaborate analyses and handle planning and organizational tasks. They are also frequently present on-site in cities and municipalities.

Smart City consultants can become self-employed, for example, by establishing a consulting agency for digital urban development.

An exemplary gross basic salary within the public service collective agreement (TVöD) ranges from €6,094 to €7,811 per month. This information is for orientation only and no claims can be derived from it. Please check BERUFENET for current salary information.

Smart City Consultants work in public administration (e.g., urban development offices) and management consulting (e.g., consulting for the public sector).

Employers often expect a completed university degree (Studium), for example in urban and regional planning or administrative management.

Relevant university degrees (grundständig - undergraduate, weiterführend - postgraduate) for this profession include: Urban and Regional Planning, Regional Management, Administrative Management (Public Management), and Infrastructure Management.

Smart City Consultants find employment in city administrations and urban development offices, as well as in consulting firms (e.g., advising cities and municipalities).

Common job titles for this profession include: Smart City Consultant (Berater/in - Smart City) or Consultant - Smart City.

Smart City Consultants support cities and municipalities in digital urban and regional development.

Arl-Net.de, BauNetz, Bauverlag BV GmbH, BIngK Bundesingenieurkammer, Competitionline.com, greenjobs.de, Interamt.de, publicjobs.ch, Stellenblatt.de, WILA-Arbeitsmarkt.

BG Verkehr, Bund Deutscher Architektinnen und Architekten BDA e.V., Bund Deutscher Baumeister, Architekten und Ingenieure e.V. (BDB), Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung (BBR), Bundesingenieurkammer (BIngK) Bundesgemeinschaft der Ingenieure e.V., Bundesministerium für Verkehr (BMV), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen - DGNB e.V., Industriegewerkschaft Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt (IG BAU), Informationskreis für Raumplanung e.V. (IfR), Verein Deutscher Ingenieure e.V. (VDI), Vereinigung für Stadt-, Regional- und Landesplanung e.V. (SRL).

They have customer contact (e.g., advising and supporting cities and municipalities). They are responsible for material assets (e.g., advising on funding and tender management). They are responsible for people (e.g., guiding and leading project teams). They must adhere to various regulations and legal requirements (e.g., E-Government Act, Online Access Act, development, structural, and framework plans). Frequent absence from home is common (e.g., conducting on-site inventory analyses). They perform screen work (e.g., developing Smart City concepts and project descriptions). They work in office environments (e.g., discussing Smart City strategies with political and administrative stakeholders). They work in classroom/training rooms (e.g., conducting workshops on digital technologies and networked infrastructures).

They use documents and data, such as: development, structural, and framework plans, project and tender documents, inventory, market, and trend analyses, expert opinions, legal regulations (including E-Government Act, Online Access Act), presentation documents, statistical data (including population figures, business statistics, commuter flows). They use data management systems and software, such as: Smart City data platforms, IoT platforms, planning and simulation software. They use office equipment and presentation tools, such as: PC, internet access, telephone, projector, flipchart, video conferencing tools.

Smart City Consultants work with cities and municipalities to develop strategies for making urban and rural areas more sustainable, inclusive, and competitive. They conduct inventory analyses and derive measures to enhance the quality of life, housing, and work. Based on this, they define concrete projects for various fields of action and oversee their implementation. They support cities and municipalities with funding, application, and tender management, and conduct information events and workshops, among other things. Furthermore, they maintain contacts with the public, politics, administration, business, and academia.

Continuing vocational training helps to keep professional knowledge up-to-date and adapt it to new developments (e.g., in urban, town, and regional planning, project management, or business administration). Furthermore, trends to digitally link areas such as transport, telecommunications, housing, or waste disposal and to reduce the energy and resource consumption of large cities can become important training topics for Smart City Consultants. The trend towards sustainable and climate-neutral construction methods in conjunction with new design forms and digital technologies also offers further training potential.

Further professional and career opportunities open up through advanced Studium (university studies) (e.g., in urban and regional planning or infrastructure management). A doctorate is generally required for an academic career at a university; for appointment as a university professor, a Habilitation (postdoctoral qualification) is usually needed. A doctorate may also facilitate access to senior professional positions in the private sector, in research, and in public administration.

Advise and support cities and municipalities in developing Smart City concepts and strategies; conduct inventory analyses; develop ideas for improving the quality of life, housing, and work in a city; identify and select concrete Smart City project initiatives, e.g., develop sharing services, digitize the services of a city administration, build Smart Grid infrastructure; implement or supervise Smart City projects; prepare project descriptions; lead or advise project teams, possibly manage external services; support cities and municipalities in grant, application, and tender management; organize and conduct information events, participation formats, and workshops; maintain contacts, e.g., with the population as well as with politics, administration, business, and science.

The following lists professions or activities that show similarities to the original profession. These professions represent a possible alternative for applicants. Furthermore, employers can consider individuals from these professions as alternatives for filling a position in the original profession. Some alternative professions only comprise partial activities of the original profession, while others require an induction period, which can vary in length in individual cases. The following immediate employment and staffing alternatives are available for the profession of Smart City Consultant: Job and staffing alternatives for the overall activity (usually short induction): Urban and Regional Planner. In related professions: Manager for Sustainable Mobility. A list of all possible degrees of relatedness can be found here: Explanations of the individual degrees of relatedness.