***OPEN & PROMOTIONAL JOB OPPORTUNITY***

Economic Development Specialist

The City of Concord’s Economic Development & Base Reuse Department is looking for an Economic Development Specialist to assist the City in rising to the next level of economic vitality.

The Economic Development & Base Reuse Department:

By taking a long-term, comprehensive approach to economic development, the City of Concord’s Economic Development and Base Reuse Department seeks to:

Enhance Concord’s quality of life
Facilitate a stable, healthy business environment
Expand the City’s tax base to ensure long-term fiscal stability
Provide efficient, effective government services to Concord businesses
Promote high-quality job opportunities
Maintain a highly-skilled, competitive workforce
Support entrepreneurship and small business opportunities
Revitalize Downtown and other business districts

What you will be doing:

The Economic Development Specialist will execute the following programs, amongst other activities:

Shop Concord: an e-gift card program designed to help increase sales to participating businesses through seasonal bonus offers
Business Retention: social media spotlights, regular business visits, liaising between businesses and City departments, representing the City at business-facing events, and other activities that help promote and retain business in Concord
Business Attraction: assisting with site selection for new, expanding, or relocating businesses to the City, liaising between businesses and City departments through the permitting process
Economic Development Strategic Plan: assist with implementing the newly adopted Economic Development Strategic Plan and completing action items

We are looking for someone who:

Has economic development experience in the form of business attraction/retention, technical assistance to businesses, and/or stake holder engagement
Is a highly motivated self-starter who has the ability to network effectively, and thrives on achieving successful partnerships
Possesses superb communication skills – both orally and in writing
Is customer service oriented, conducts themselves with a high degree of professionalism, and can be entrusted with a significant amount of autonomy
Is analytical, and has experience tracking and analyzing multiple sources of data to create concise and meaningful reports
Possesses experience using the professional dashboards of social media to post information and generate ads
Possesses experience with project management, from planning a scope of work to executing a project and managing progress
Exemplifies the City of Concord's Mission, Vision and Values.

What we offer:
The City of Concord offers the opportunity to take part in a collaborative and exciting work experience, where you can grow in your career while working alongside the community to make Concord a city of the highest quality. The City is an employer that invests in its employees’ professional and personal development, values work-life balance, is dedicated to employee wellness and provides numerous benefit and retirement options, to include the following:

A variety of health care plans or a cash-in-lieu benefit if waiving coverage
City-paid dental insurance; vision insurance (City-paid for select employee groups)
Vacation with tiered accrual increases, sick leave and 11 paid holidays per year
Option for alternative work schedules
Tuition reimbursement
A wellness program that offers yoga and fitness classes, annual health expos, health and nutrition education, as well a variety of mental health resources
Both 401(k) and 457 deferred compensation plans
Participation in CalPERS pension
Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) for healthcare, dependent care and commuting costs
Life and disability insurance

*Salary is negotiable within the advertised range. Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice. Additional information can be found at www.cityofconcord.org.

The Community:
Nestled in the foothills of Mt. Diablo, Concord is a major East Bay community located 29 miles east of San Francisco and 58 miles north of San Jose. With a population of almost 130,000 residents occupying an area of 31 square miles, Concord is the largest city in Contra Costa County. The City’s central location offers easy access to the entire Bay Area including Oakland, San Francisco, and the Silicon Valley.

Concord has much to offer; its local lifestyle reflects a careful blending of the City’s early California heritage, along with modern planned development. It is a harmonious community of quiet neighborhoods, an excellent park system, convenient shopping centers, large preserves of open space, a state-of-the-art hospital, and a wide variety of restaurants. Additionally, diverse public and private educational opportunities for students of all ages are available in Concord.

Concord residents enjoy a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and mild winters. The ideal weather and natural beauty of Concord make the area ideal for visitors and locals seeking active outdoor activities. In Concord, where “Families Come First,” one is never far from a park or an open green space for active play or just relaxing. Todos Santos Plaza, the heart of downtown Concord, features a year-round Farmer’s Market, several seasonal and community celebrations, as well as serving as a wonderful outdoor space for all to enjoy.

SELECTION PROCESS

1. Submit a completed City of Concord application, resume, and cover letter online atwww.cityofconcord.org. Only application materials submitted online during the filing period will be accepted.

2. All qualified applications and supplemental responses will be competitively evaluated, and those candidates demonstrating the strongest qualifications for the position will be invited to participate in a panel interview. If you are selected to participate in the panel interview and are unavailable, we regret that we will not be able to reschedule you.

3. Candidates that pass the panel interview will be placed on the hiring list, based on rank, for further consideration to fill the current regular vacancy, as well as others occurring over the next 12 months.

Assists the City in implementing its Economic Development Strategic Plan involving business attraction, expansion, and retention programs. Required duties in these areas can involve researching, writing, and presenting staff reports, project management, data collection and analysis, visits to local businesses and business prospects, business events presentations, and newsletter production. The ability to effectively market the strengths of the City's downtown and the City at large are necessary through a variety of tools and approaches.
Performs marketing and economic feasibility analysis.
Participates in the selection, and monitors the activities and performance of consultants; administers contracts for the City.
Works with the Planning, Current Development - Engineering, and Building Divisions to facilitate permit processing of key economic development projects.
Serves as liaison between property owners, businesses, City officials, and others regarding economic development projects and programs.
Makes presentations at various meetings including those before the City Council and Planning Commission, and the Housing and Economic Development Committee.
Writes staff reports for consideration by the City Council and other City Committees or Commissions. Provides written and oral information on the Economic Development Program activities to interested individuals and groups.
Provides assistance in implementing the Economic Development Program's marketing initiatives.
Provides updates to the City's webmaster for the Economic Development page.
Attends Chamber of Commerce events and meetings of other business associations to function as a liaison for the City and explain current program initiatives to these groups.
Seeks out and secures funding and cooperation from State and Federal sources for economic development projects and programs, and acts as the liaison with those agencies.
Analyzes and interprets market information regarding employment, housing, industries, and finance and their impacts on local economic development activities.
Promotes the City's Mission to make Concord a city of the highest quality by providing responsive, cost-effective, and innovative government services; understands and subscribes to the vision and values adopted by the City in its Mission Statement.
Oversees lease agreements.
Serves on internal City Committees.
Performs other related work as assigned.

Knowledge and Abilities
Considerable working knowledge of, State and Federal legislation on economic development programs; project management, planning, public relations, negotiations, and economic development principles. Ability to manage project assignments related to economic development; to write clearly and concisely; to effectively apply the principles of economic development to projects and programs; to operate within budget allocations; to meet deadlines; to communicate effectively orally; to understand and work within the City's planning, engineering, and building permit processes; to write well organized reports and effective memorandums to communicate to decision makers; and to establish effective relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Education/Experience
Education: A Bachelor's Degree in Public or Business Administration, Marketing, Economics, Planning, or related field.

Experience: Three years of progressively responsible professional experience in economic development including areas such as non-profit economic development corporation work, city or state economic development, or redevelopment experience including financing, project management, property acquisition, or closely related assignments. Strong writing skills are highly desired.A California Driver's License and satisfactory driving record are conditions of initial and continued employment.

EEO/ADA: The City of Concord is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant employer, committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants.

If you have a disability and require accommodations in the testing process, please contact Human Resources at 925-671-3308 or hrdept@cityofconcord.org prior to the final filing date.

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