The City of Walnut Creek is seeking a full-time Economic Development Manager to join the City Manager’s Office. This is an at-will position and serves at the will of the City Manager.

Salary
The current salary range is $136,818 to $191,545 annually. Placement in the range will depend on qualifications.

Closing Date
The closing date for this recruitment is Monday, September 23, 2024, at 5:00 PM PST.

What’s great about this opportunity:

Working in the City Manager’s Office and having exposure to the innerworkings of City government;
Working at a premier Bay Area destination for business;
City leadership that understands and supports business needs;
Flexible work schedule options are available; and
Paid professional development training and certifications.

About the City
Spanning 19.5 square miles, the City’s sprawling landscapes, warm weather, diverse dining options, and thriving shopping district make Walnut Creek a suburban oasis. With a rare blend of 2,800 acres of open space, a vibrant downtown, a business park, premier healthcare facilities and a performing arts center, Walnut Creek offers something for everyone!

Walnut Creek is a regional shopping and entertainment destination, as well as employment center. The downtown area boasts approximately 4 million square feet of office space, and 2.5 million square feet of retail. Residential is provided in a mix of multi-family and single-family homes. Walkable access to BART and a free shuttle system complement transportation options for residents, workers, and visitors. Walnut Creek’s downtown office market has historically been a strong draw for financial, insurance, real estate, design, and legal businesses.

Medical is a major industry throughout Walnut Creek. A new 155,000 square foot UCSF-John Muir Health Cancer Center recently opened, adding important services to existing Bass Medical Group’s Cancer Center, two regional hospitals, and specialty services from major medical groups such as Stanford and UCSF Benioff.

The Shadelands area of the city is home to Del Monte Foods headquarters and a growing medical hub with satellite Kaiser, John Muir and UCSF offices, and many independent medical practitioners. In addition, Shadelands has popular retail offerings and has become a haven for sports activities featuring training facilities for serious athletes and the renowned COPA Soccer Training Center and the Ultimate Field House. With the recent development and introduction of a dynamic new Economic Development Action Plan, Walnut Creek presents an ideal environment for exciting economic growth for a wide range of industries.

The City of Walnut Creek is committed to values of respect, integrity, excellence, teamwork, and creativity. CARE, the City’s robust award-winning employee engagement initiative, focuses on three key areas: providing career development opportunities; promoting connections among employees; and supporting employee health and wellness.

About the Department
The City Manager’s Office oversees the activities of City departments, implements policies set by the City Council, and ensures that City services are efficiently delivered.

The four divisions in the City Manager’s Office include Economic Development, the City Clerk’s Office, Communications & Community Outreach, and a division comprised of Risk Management, Sustainability and Climate Action, and Emergency Preparedness.

The City Manager's Office strives to continually enhance the quality of life of all residents, supports the policy objectives of the City Council, and provides leadership and support to all City departments.

About the Position
This position is part of the Economic Development Division within the City Manager's Office. Economic development has been recognized by the City Council as a top priority. This is a great opportunity for the ideal candidate to use their economic development background and contacts to help strengthen Walnut Creek’s economic base. The Economic Development Manager supervises a team of two staff members.

Here at Walnut Creek, we are passionate about business growth/development and encouraging innovation. Building on our continued success, as the Economic Development Manager, you will lead our current programs and champion new opportunities in areas such as business attraction, retention, and expansion strategies.

Working with a wide array of staff across City departments, as well as business groups, you will serve as a connector of community and business. You will work closely with groups such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Business Association, and the Shadelands PBID Board. Using your independent judgement and professionalism, you will identify necessary resources to perform economic development and redevelopment analysis.

The Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate is a dynamic, energetic, and creative professional who is able to quickly gain credibility through effective skilled communication. They are an effective people manager with strong leadership skills. Most importantly, the Economic Development Manager will see the big picture and understand the City Council's focus while ensuring quality economic development for the City of Walnut Creek.

Direct and indirect supervision of subordinate management, professional, and support staff.
Oversee programs relating to business assistance, downtown development, business financing, and other areas.
Assist in the development of City policies related to the local economy.
Analyze and interpret market information regarding a variety of complex data such as sales tax revenues, employment trends, and venture capital trends.
Develop partnerships with outside agencies and business/property owners, lead strategic planning, and work effectively with the community.
Track, estimate, and promote development opportunities.
Serve as the first point of contact for businesses unfamiliar with the City of Walnut Creek.
Respond to inquiries regarding economic data, trends, resources, and industrial and commercial development opportunities.
Develop and coordinate marketing, outreach, and promotional programs to highlight Walnut Creek’s exciting economic opportunities.
Provide professional planning and development advice to the City Manager, City Council, and other officials as directed.
Make private and public presentations to City Council, boards, commissions, civic groups, and the general public.
Assure that assigned areas of responsibility are performed within budget; perform cost control activities; monitor revenues and expenditures in assigned area to ensure sound fiscal control; prepare annual budget requests; assure effective and efficient use of budgeted funds, personnel, materials, facilities, and time.
Develop and implement work programs and techniques to be followed for the attraction and retention of business to and within the community.
Work with relevant economic groups, and organizations at the local, regional, state, and national levels.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of economic development, including business recruitment and retention methods; economic incentives; business and industrial development; real estate and land development processes; business, economic and market forces and indicators; and financing techniques for real estate, business, and industrial development.
Ability to plan, organize, coordinate, and implement a comprehensive economic development program, including a proactive outreach and communication program which projects the image of the community.
Ability to work effectively in a highly visible position, with business leaders, financial institutions, citizen groups, and City staff in interdepartmental and diverse team environments.
Ability to independently develop and coordinate effective systems, programs, and procedures; recognize needs, analyze problems, develop and evaluate options, make sound recommendations and initiate actions in order to improve effectiveness, resolve problems within established guidelines, and/or comply with regulatory and/or policy changes as appropriate.
Ability to supervise, train, and evaluate assigned staff; plan and direct the work of others.

Any equivalent combination of education and experience that provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying.

Education
A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university in business administration, economics, public administration, planning, or a related field. A Master’s degree in a related field is highly desirable.

Experience
Five (5) years of progressively responsible experience performing professional level economic or community development, research, business administration, or redevelopment program work, which includes at least two (2) years in a supervisory capacity.

Special Requirements
Possession of, or ability to obtain prior to employment, a valid Class C California Driver's License and a good driving record.

The incumbent may be required to perform work outside of normal office hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays.The deadline to apply for this position is Monday, September 23, 2024, before 5:00 PM PST.

Applicants possessing the MOST DESIRABLE qualifications will be invited to continue in the selection process, which will include an oral interview tentatively scheduled for the week of October 7, 2024.

All applicants will be notified by email as to whether or not they are invited to participate further in the selection process.

Applicants considered for appointment to this position will be subject to California Department of Justice and FBI fingerprinting and a thorough background and criminal check and a credit check.

If special accommodations are necessary at any stage of the recruitment process, please provide the Human Resources Department with advance notice and every attempt will be made to consider your request.

As required by law, all public employees are designated as Disaster Service Workers. As such, all City of Walnut Creek employees may be called upon to assist in the event of fire, flood, earthquake, or other natural or man-made disasters.

Please see the class specification here for a complete description of this classification's representative duties; knowledge, skills and abilities; qualifications; working conditions; physical requirements; and for other details about this position.

City of Walnut Creek

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Economic Development Manager