Assistant Director of Economic Development

City of Cedar Hill•285 Uptown Blvd. Cedar Hill TX, TX

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Nestled in the heart of the DFW Metroplex, Cedar Hill offers the rare combination of big-city access and breathtaking natural beauty. With scenic rolling hills that feel more like the Texas Hill Country than North Texas, over 3,000 acres of preserved natural habitat, and 20% of the city dedicated to parks and green space—more than double the national average—Cedar Hill has become a premier destination for outdoor enthusiasts, shoppers, diners, and visitors alike. As a thriving city in a park setting, Cedar Hill is poised for continued growth and investment. We are seeking an innovative, strategic, and forward-thinking Assistant Director of Economic Development to help lead transformative projects, attract new investment, support redevelopment, and advance a vision for sustainable growth while preserving the unique character and quality of life that make Cedar Hill an exceptional place to live, work, visit, and do business. The primary purpose of this position is to develop and lead Cedar Hill’s existing business support programs and to assist the Economic Development Director on establishing economic development programs and practices; these efforts should lead to new business attraction/expansion and private investment in the City. This investment will result in job creation, expanded tax base, creative and niche development, recreation and entertainment venues, and other quality developments, helping to ensure that the department accomplishes the Economic Development Strategy. The Assistant Director will delegate and assign work to other Economic Development staff, as appropriate, and act in the absence of the Director.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Economic Development, Business, Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, or closely related field required.
Ten (10) or more years of professional economic development experience may serve in lieu of the degree requirement.
Graduate of Economic Development Institute or IEDC core class completion.
Five years of increasingly responsible experience in Economic Development with prospecting, marketing, research, business retention, and project management required.
Valid Texas Class C Driver’s License required, or ability to obtain.
Expertise with MS Office, Excel, and PowerPoint a must.

Nice To Haves

Certification from IEDC preferred.

Responsibilities

Organizes and implements a robust existing business support program, including visitations, development of a small business guide and creation of a new business welcome program; analyzes company data (employment, lease expirations, expansion plans) to assess risk levels and identify opportunities for growth.
Projects the fiscal impact (sales, property tax) of new projects, business expansions, or closures on the local economy.
Utilizes tools to measure local economic resilience against other regions.
Develops and strengthens relationships with the business community, key local allies, representatives of local shopping centers and office buildings, regional development professionals and others to facilitate open communication about company needs.
Convenes business groups to provide specialized support, including small businesses, women and minority owned businesses and targeted industries such as retail, restaurant and industrial.
Meets with developers, engages with prospects and responds to information requests in conjunction with Director; ability to pitch the community to prospects and market local assets.
Tracks labor force participation, unemployment rates, wages, commuting trends, and occupational skill gaps to understand workforce quality.
Identifies target industry clusters, tracking employment growth, and monitoring business activity to identify growth sectors.
Analyzes population shifts, age, educational attainment, and income levels to understand consumer trends and align developers with opportunities within the city.
Monitors land use, commercial vacancy rates, and rent costs to identify development opportunities.
Provides premier customer service to citizens, internal and external customers by responding to requests in a positive, timely, effective and professional manner.
Works cooperatively and in partnership with other City departments, as needed, to achieve economic development goals.
Organize and oversee business retention and expansion program; Manage a local business visitation program, meeting with a targeted list of companies and industry sectors on a regular basis.
Create and manage a new business welcome program.
Create and execute programming for targeted business groups, including but not limited to small business, women and minority-owned businesses and targeted industries such as retail, restaurant or industrial; also programs related to timely events happening in the Cedar Hill region such as major sporting events.
Participate in related programming including all Business Park Association meetings.
Create and maintain a small business guide designed to help a business owner through the process of doing business in Cedar Hill.
Create and implement a program designed to help local businesses become destinations.
Create and maintain a relocation guide for people considering moving to Cedar Hill and for companies trying to recruit people to move here.
Monitor local workforce and economic trends; make recommendations for programming and partnerships that will strengthen our labor pool and competitiveness.
Collaborate with the Economic Development Director on all departmental policies and initiatives to achieve the goals of the Strategic Plan.
Positively support the overall strategic vision of the department.
Participate in trade shows and conferences to make connections with targeted industry sectors and to learn from our peers in other communities.
Build and foster meaningful relationships with influencers, site selection consultants, corporate real estate executives, brokers, developers, and stakeholders to encourage investment in Cedar Hill as well as with key property owners including owners of office buildings, shopping centers and other strategic properties.
Assist the Economic Development Director with tactics related to target industry attraction, expansion, site development, tourism and Downtown revitalization; this includes assisting with proposals, economic impact analysis, input on deal points and negotiations and other data related to prospects.
Understand and identify methods and techniques for data collection, analysis, project, performance, and processes for the department.
Assist in planning and overseeing coordination of Economic Development related meetings and events.
Maintain and input CRM records directly related to the position.
Assist in overseeing the consistent recording of all departmental activities in the CRM and provide reports as requested.
Assist with creation and management of annual budget.
Participate in preparation for and attend Economic Development Corporation meetings; attend meetings of other groups like City Council or Planning & Zoning Commission when necessary.
Assist with preparation and presentation of the annual report to the City Council on the implementation of the Economic Development Strategic Plan.
Ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects, along with budgeting, and understanding economic incentives.
Collaborate with Destination Manager on Tourism initiatives to promote the city as a destination for tourists, conventions and events that focus on increasing customers and higher revenues for businesses, especially those in hospitality, retail, and services.
Ensure EDC- and City-owned properties are well-maintained.
Regular attendance is required; including after-hour meetings and events, as needed.