Director of Community Development

City of Greeley•Greeley, CO

3d•$173,469 - $251,531•Onsite

About The Position

This position is a member of the City's Executive Team and is responsible for leading a department of professional staff that is responsible for services related to land use planning, engineering development review, building inspections, and code compliance. The position reports to the Deputy City Manager and supervises a large team of planners, real estate staff, code and compliance staff and administrative staff. The Director develops strategic plans, drives accountability, and leads continuous improvement initiatives that enhance organizational effectiveness and the customer experience. The Director ensures the highest levels of customer service to residents, developers, business partners, and other stakeholders while maintaining the integrity of the City's regulatory responsibilities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in land use planning, public administration or related field.
Eight (8) years of relevant experience leading community development, real estate, business development or related municipal functions.
Five (5) or more years of supervisory experience with evidence of driving excellent outcomes.
Any combination of related education, experience, certifications and licenses that will result in a candidate successfully performing the essential functions of the job.
Possession of a valid driver’s license.

Nice To Haves

Master's Degree in public planning, public policy, business administration or related field
Bilingual Spanish/English
Urban Planning Principles & Zoning Law: Deep understanding of master planning, comprehensive plans, land-use zoning, transit-oriented development (TOD), and environmental sustainability practices.
Building Codes & Construction Standards: Familiarity with the International Building Code (IBC), International Residential Code (IRC), and related state/local amendments governing structural integrity, fire safety, and accessibility (ADA).
Real Estate Development & Public-Private Partnerships (P3s): Strong grasp of real estate economics, market analysis, land acquisition, incentives like Tax Increment Financing (TIF), and how developers finance and structure deals.
Municipal Law & Code Enforcement Principles: Knowledge of administrative law, due process, property rights, and the legal frameworks required for fair, effective code compliance and nuisance abatement.
Public Budgeting & Capital Improvement Programming (CIP): Understanding of municipal finance, fee-for-service models (like building permit fee structures), grant funding sources, and long-term capital project planning.
Strategic & Systems Thinking: The ability to look at a 20-year comprehensive plan and align current zoning changes, infrastructure capacity, and building permit workflows to support that vision.
Political Acumen & Consensus Building: The skill to navigate complex political environments, presenting technical data clearly to City Council, Planning Commission, and community groups with competing interests.
Negotiation & Deal Structuring: The ability to represent the city’s interests effectively when negotiating development agreements, public infrastructure build-outs, or affordable housing set-asides with private developers.
Process Optimization & Public Management: Experience streamlining building permit and development review pipelines—reducing administrative bottlenecks while maintaining strict regulatory oversight.
Crisis & Conflict Management: De-escalating high-stakes situations, whether it's a controversial zoning case, a sensitive code enforcement action, or a dispute with a major developer.
Executive Leadership & Culture Building: The ability to lead, mentor, and align a diverse department of professionals—ranging from vision-focused urban planners to detail-oriented building inspectors and rule-bound enforcement officers.
Resilience & Composure Under Pressure: The capacity to remain calm and objective during highly charged public hearings, community opposition campaigns, or intense scrutiny from local media.
Exceptional Communication: The ability to translate dense, technical code or complex planning concepts into clear, accessible language for the general public, business owners, and elected officials.
Sound Ethical Judgment: A steadfast commitment to transparency, fairness, and public ethics, ensuring that regulatory enforcement is unbiased and development practices avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
Collaborative Orientation: The ability to build strong cross-departmental partnerships, particularly with Public Works (for infrastructure capacity), Economic Development, and the City Attorney’s office.

Responsibilities

At City Council's direction, and through processes of citizen and professional input, develop long-range plans for Greeley related to community design and function, land use development, property maintenance, environmental impact, historic preservation, inspections, and fiscal sustainability.
Lead continuous improvement and modernization of development review, permitting, inspection, and code compliance processes. Evaluate workflows, policies, technology, and service delivery models to improve efficiency, predictability, transparency, and customer experience while maintaining regulatory compliance and consistency.
Develop a vision for department operations and procedures, using best practices, technology, and staff resources.
Communicate proactively with all stakeholder groups. Design, develop and implement a comprehensive proactive and reactive communication strategy to ensure City Council, the City Manager's Office, internal and external partners and other appropriate stakeholders receive information in a timely manner and that the information is complete, accurate and appropriate.
Provide direction, motivation, and recognition of department staff. Resolve citizen and internal disputes and implement solutions using sound management and conflict resolution skills. Maintain effective working relationships with citizen advisory committees, community groups, and other City department staff. Manage resources and form innovative and cooperative programs with other organizations.
Serve as the Local Government Designee (LGD) for state oil/gas and as liaison/convener/leader to various standing and ad hoc committees, such as developer/builder/realtor forums, university area interests, downtown, chamber of commerce, home builders' associations, housing task forces, regional planning organizations, intra-jurisdictional committees, etc.
Provide coaching and professional development opportunities and administer corrective and disciplinary actions as needed.
Develop and manage the department's budget and staff in a responsible and effective manner.
Collect, interpret and analyze community data (e.g. Census, community indicators, demographics, surveys) that help identify trends and potential issues. Solicit and consider customer and citizen concerns.
Produce individual contributions and work product. Make presentations and recommendations to the City Manager, City Council, staff, citizen advisory groups, community organizations, etc. Develop position papers, memos, and fiscal analysis for various initiatives or opportunities, or in support of department operations or work program items. Respond to requests from other departments.
Operations, supervision, motivation, policy proposals, case management, reports, accountability. Coordination on development, inspections, enforcement, and governance services. Problem-solving, providing service, response to inquiries, networking.
Identify key success measures, build reports and dashboards that provide insight to multiple audiences and drive accountability and ongoing process improvement for staff.
Performs other duties as assigned.