RECRUITMENT NOTICE
Position Title: Director of Attraction and Retention
Job ID: 19170
Open To: Public
Open Period: 10/13/2022-10/28/22

OVERVIEW
The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) assists the Mayor in the coordination, planning, supervision, and execution of economic development efforts in the District of Columbia with the goal of creating and preserving affordable housing, creating jobs, and increasing tax revenue. DMPED pursues policies and programs that create strong neighborhoods, expand and diversify the local economy, and provide residents with pathways to the middle class. More information is available on the DMPED’s website at dmped.dc.gov.

DMPED is seeking a Supervisory Project Manager (Director of Attraction and Retention) for its Business Development & Strategy unit. The mission of the Business Development Unit is to attract and retain businesses, create jobs, and forge partnerships between government, business and communities. We implement our mission through a comprehensive approach based on proven business attraction, retention and expansion strategies to foster inclusive economic growth for residents of the District of Columbia.
 

POSITION SUMMARY
The Supervisory Project Manager will serve in the role of Director of Strategic Initiatives, a senior-level position in the Business Development Unit overseeing efforts to improve the business climate in DC through policymaking, cross-sector collaboration, and the development of new economic development solutions. The incumbent of this position will oversee a new team focused on developing and implementing strategic initiatives that support the goals of the District’s Economic Strategy, including creating new opportunities for investment in DC-based businesses, supporting the growth of the startup ecosystem, and developing reports and marketing strategies to analyze and highlight DC’s economy. The incumbent of this position will oversee a team that is focused on the development and implementation of strategic economic development initiatives that support the District’s economic strategy goals, including but not limited to business financial programs, industry growth strategies and reports, marketing campaigns, and other strategic initiatives as needed. In addition, the Director of Strategic Initiatives will work closely with the Business Retention, Expansion, and Attraction (BREA) teams and the Small Business and Retail teams and relevant DMPED business units to determine a policy agenda to improve DC’s economic competitiveness for large and small businesses across diverse industries and pursue needed legislative or regulatory changes.

DUTIES & RESPOSIBILITIES

Team Leadership

• Oversee the Strategic Initiatives team, managing the performance of 1-4 team members, delegating workload across the project portfolio, and managing communications and reporting between the team and Unit/Agency leadership

Strategy Development & Research

• Economic Strategy Management: Co-lead development of the District’s updated five-year comprehensive economic development strategy by managing and providing direction to a private contractor responsible for data analysis, stakeholder engagement, and report drafting
• Evaluate opportunities for new strategic initiatives: monitor local industry or economic trends; conduct outreach to stakeholders and potential partners, assess alignment of opportunity with the Economic Strategy and provide a recommendation to Unit/Agency leadership
• Industry Reports & Strategy Development: Oversee the development of industry specific growth strategies and reports, as needed, and provide guidance and input to colleagues on strategy development.

Strategic Initiatives

• DC Food Policy Council & Nourish DC: Serve as DMPED’s representative on the DC Food Policy Council and manage the Nourish DC grant program in partnership with the Office of Planning, the interagency oversight board, and selected external partners
• SSBCI: Supervise the implementation of the State Small Business Credit Initiative program through the U.S. Department of Treasury, a new venture capital program for DC-based startups
• EDA/Tourism: Provide oversight of the implementation of two existing federal grants provided by the Economic Development Administration (EDA), including designing a strategy for a series of projects to support the recovery and growth of the Hospitality and Tourism industry in DC in partnership with key external stakeholders such as Events DC and Destination DC
• Federal Grant Management: Research and evaluate new federal grant opportunities and make a recommendation to Unit/Agency leadership about value in pursuing
• Workforce Development / University Engagement: Develop a strategy to regularly engage local universities as economic development partners, on topics such as technology transfer and research commercialization, procurement to power the local economy, and student entrepreneurship.

Policy Guidance & Cross-Sector Collaboration

• Public Policy Monitoring: Monitor and evaluate public policy issues as they impact business development, oversee relevant research, set the policy agenda for the Business Development Unit and oversee the implementation of needed reforms
• Regional Collaboration: Participate in conversations with regional stakeholders and assess opportunities for collaboration on economic growth projects, such as to grow key regional industry clusters
• Relationship Management & Internal Collaboration: Maintain relationships with counterparts in other District agencies as relevant, such as the Deputy Mayor for Education, Department of Small and Local Business Development, and the Office of Planning. Collaborate with other DMPED units on projects as required, such as Economic Intelligence and Interagency Affairs, Real Estate, and Legislative Affairs units.

Marketing & Promotion

• Oversee the marketing efforts promoting the District as an ideal business location, to include the ObviouslyDC website, marketing collateral, and messaging and communications strategy in collaboration with WDCEP.

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree (required) with focus in public policy or related field.
• Deep knowledge of the District of Columbia’s business environment, government operations, and economic development stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience with Microsoft products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Teams).
• At least 3-5 years of similar work experience in public policy or economic development for a public entity.
• Demonstrated successful project management and relationship building skills
• Superior communication and presentation skills; must possess extremely strong written and verbal skills with the capability to relate economic development ideas to diverse audiences and communities.
• Demonstrated ability to cultivate relationships that support organizational objectives
• Experience developing, managing, and completing high-visibility projects in a cross-functional team environment, whether working as a team member or a team leader
• Familiarity with economic development and incentive programs, processes, and project management.
• Entrepreneurial thinking and creative problem-solving skills.
• Ability to discern connections between diverse economic development and policy issues and design long-term, city-wide strategies to move the needle on complex problems.
• Exceptional planning and organizing skills.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Team oriented and very collaborative.
• Desire to leverage skills to serve the public interest required; interest in local economic and community development preferred.

COMPENSATION
This position is a grade 14 on the District government’s Management Supervisory Service salary scale. The salary ranges from $111,650 to $156,309. Actual salary is determined by a variety of factors including: years of experience, applicant qualifications, internal equity comparisons and the agency organizational structure.

APPLICATION PROCESS
This position is posted on the DC government’s Department of Human Resources website. Interested applicants are encouraged to follow the steps below to apply for the position:

If you are having technical issues, please contact DCHR at (202) 442-9700.