CITY GOVERNMENT

Montgomery is the capital city of Alabama and is widely known as the birthplace of the civil rights movement. The government of the City of Montgomery operates under a Mayor-Council system. Both the Mayor and Council are elected by the people to four-year terms.

THE POSITION

The position of Director of Economic Development exists to ensure that economic growth is aligned with the vision to create a robust, diverse, and thriving economy. With the goal of optimizing the economic impact of the community, the Director of Economic Development is responsible for initiating, supporting and managing key economic development projects on behalf of the City.

The Director serves as a technical advisor to the Mayor and the City Council on matters relating to economic development. Supervision is exercised over a professional and technical staff tasked with gathering and analyzing social, economic, and other data used to formulate economic development project recommendations and strategies. The Planning Director and Director of Community Development report to the Director of Economic Development. The Director of Economic Development reports directly to the Mayor. The annual salary range for this position has been set at $112,575 - $170,280.

Responsibilities

Specifically, and in alignment with the requirements of the position, the Director of Economic Development:

• Leads the creation and implementation of an economic development master plan to strategically cultivate the city as a catalyst for tourism, innovation, entertainment, residential and retail activities in order to proactively increase human presence and enhance the city experience.
• Directs the activities of multiple divisions within the department, which includes planning, coordinating, administering and evaluating programs, projects, processes, procedures, goals, objectives, systems, standards, and strategic planning.
• Ensures the development infrastructure necessary to encourage entrepreneurial growth and technology innovation to accelerate economic growth.
• Expands and enhances the process to assist small and minority businesses to access opportunities within the city.
• Prioritizes and transforms gateways and corridors to create an inviting sense of arrival to reinforce tourism strategies, grow tax receipts, and create a sense of pride for residents.
• Directs a housing needs assessment to examine the critical mass of housing needed in the downtown area to spur additional retail attraction and development and ensure the availability of affordable housing and housing available to a growing hospitality industry base.
• Develops and enhances the relationship with the Chamber of Commerce and all partners in the City’s economic development ecosystem to align the work and priorities of the City with the recruitment, retention, and marketing of targeted industry clusters.
• Develops the City’s state and federal agendas to ensure prioritization, funding and support for projects that drive the long-term vision of economic and growth.
• Oversees and aligns city planning, development, and other services with the overarching vision for economic growth and livability.
• Develops and approves changes in policies and procedures for the department and ensures compliance.
• Performs technical tasks and provides technical assistance to staff, supervisor, the Mayor, the City Council, and the City Planning Commission.
• Collaborates and confers with internal staff, external agencies such as the Chamber of Commerce, community organizations, citizens and/or other interested stakeholders in executing the department’s goals, objectives and strategies.
• Supervises two or more employees, at the management level, in planning and community development, following personnel rules and regulations and supervisor’s directives in order to ensure consistent application of programs and services.
• Oversees the preparation of budget requests, and maintains the budget through effective budgeting decisions.
• Supervises the research, development and administration of grants, following grant guidelines in order to obtain funding for City of Montgomery development projects.

Qualifications

The qualified applicant will have a bachelor’s degree in urban planning, economic development, public administration, or related degree and at least five years of economic development experience, including direct experience working within a municipality or region involving strategic economic and quality-of-life advancement as well as administrative experience to include budgeting, policy making, strategic planning, and leadership.