Director of Strategic Initiatives (Assistant to the City Manager)

City of Thornton, CO•Thornton, CO

42d•Hybrid

About The Position

Under general direction from the Deputy City Manager, manages the strategic planning process, including coordination of plan development, implementation, and reporting. Provides leadership to organization-wide efforts such as customer service, organizational development, legislative and intergovernmental, and special projects. Provides support to the City Council and supervises the City Manager's Office administrative staff. Please note, the expectation is that the majority of your time will be spent in the office. This position does have flexibility to work remotely on occasion.(Essential functions, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include the following tasks, knowledge, skills and other characteristics. The list of tasks is ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY, and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and tasks performed by positions in this class.)

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, or related field from an accredited college or university; five years administrative or managerial experience preferably in local government; including two years' supervisory or lead experience. Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered.
May need the ability to travel to various locations in a timely manner as the job requires.
Knowledge of the policies, procedures, practices, and goals of the City of Thornton and the Department/Offices responsible for.
Knowledge of federal, state, and local laws, statutes, ordinances, rules, and regulations pertaining to local government operations.
Knowledge of the City of Thornton organization, including the personnel, programs, functions, and services of city departments and divisions.
Knowledge of federal and state legislative processes.
Knowledge of the general principles and practices of public administration, including personnel management and supervision, organizational development and budgeting.
Knowledge of the basic principles of finance.
Knowledge of the principles and practices of performing research projects.
Knowledge of state and local statutes, ordinances, resolutions, and charter.
Knowledge of State and Federal legislative policies, procedures, and issues.
Knowledge of intergovernmental issues impacting the City of Thornton.
Skill in managing, planning, and coordinating major projects to achieve the City's missions, goals, and objectives.
Skill in developing, implementing, and evaluating policies and procedures.
Skill in applying appropriate public relations skill in various situations and circumstances and in facilitating change.
Skill in reviewing, preparing, and/or approving financial reports, studies, and documents.
Skill in interpreting, understanding, and following complex statutes, ordinances, regulations, standards, and guidelines.
Skill in developing and/or monitoring departmental budgets.
Skill in preparing, researching and analyzing operational and management issues and preparing reports.
Skill in managing and directing special projects.
Skill in interpreting and explaining State and Federal legislative issues.
Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with City employees, other agencies, and the public.
Ability to develop, manage, monitor, and/or maintain budgets.
Ability to research, investigate and direct the resolution of complex problems, and conduct research on public policy topics.
Ability to properly handle major programs and projects having political significance or high sensitivity in the community.
Ability to monitor proposed state and federal legislation and prepare legislative impact reports and action plans.
Ability to identify and develop appropriate courses of action to respond to a wide variety of organizational needs.
Ability to serve effectively as a member of a Senior Leadership Team.
Ability to motivate, lead, supervise and train employees.
Ability to effectively represent the city in meetings with professional organizations, other public agencies, and the general public.
Ability to respond with tact, composure, and courtesy when dealing with difficult situations.
Ability to analyze problems, identify alternative solutions, project consequences of proposed actions, and implement recommendations in support of goals.
Ability to listen well and communicate effectively orally and in writing with various audiences.
Ability to interpret, understand, and comply with complex statutes, ordinances, regulations, standards, and laws.
Ability to analyze and evaluate information accurately, and to express ideas clearly when providing oral and written reports or recommendations on administrative, financial and technical issues.
Ability to use standard office equipment, computer equipment and software including word processing, database management, spreadsheet applications and electronic mail.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with City management, elected officials, board and commission members, employees, other agencies and community members.
Ability to effectively collect, review, verify, and analyze financial data.
Ability to represent the City position on intergovernmental issues and negotiate with other governments and organizations.
Ability to train employees.
Ability to research, develop and lead formal and informal presentations and discussions with diverse groups.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Manages the strategic planning process including development of plan documents.
Partners with departments to coordinate implementation of the strategic plan, including developing and tracking performance measures.
Coordinates regular performance reporting on strategic plan outcomes.
Assists in planning and facilitating City Council goal-setting retreats.
Links the strategic plan to other organizational efforts, including the budget, capital improvement project plan, and other planning efforts.
Manages organization-wide customer service efforts.
Provides oversight of citizen request management systems and develops initiatives to improve service to the community.
Stays informed on best practices, trends, and emerging technology in customer service.
Develops and delivers ongoing customer service training to employees.
Develops and implements human centric design process improvement strategies for public-facing operations.
Manages the City Council constituent service request system.
Provides timely and quality services for Council, including the appropriate provision of requested information and the creation of correspondence, reports, and research in keeping with policies and directives.
Interacts with community members, including residents, businesses, and representatives of non-profits, educational, service and other organizations, to promote the City's programs and achieve the desired outcomes of the City Manager and Council.
Manages organizational development efforts.
Integrates adopted mission, vision, and value statements into organizational processes and procedures.
Assesses gaps in organizational capabilities and identifies strategies to strengthen organizational culture and employee engagement.
Designs and implements training and capacity building to improve performance in priority areas, including leadership, management, and organizational change.
Manages the legislative and intergovernmental program.
Coordinates the Federal and State lobbying program, including developing the annual legislative policy priorities for City Council review and approval.
Coordinate with lobbyists to develop policy positions and strategies, coordinate any lobbying meetings or events.
Monitors legislation and proposed rulemaking, and coordinates responses on behalf of City Council.
Develops and maintains close working relationships with other cities, counties, and governmental agencies.
Represents the City in negotiations with outside organizations and advocates City positions on issues in negotiations and meetings.
Recommends and/or develops joint efforts on projects/issues when appropriate.
Engages the City Manager and SLT to evaluate services, support operations, and identify innovation and improvement in service delivery to the community.
Works with the City Manager's Office on major issues and projects having political significance or high sensitivity in the community.
Leads cross-departmental groups to address complex issues and complete priority projects.
Provides support to City Council and supervises the City Manager's Office administrative staff.
Manages the budgets for the City Council and City Manager.
Assists the City Manager's Office in being aware of issues and projects relating to City Council, senior staff, City departments, and the public.
Oversees preparation for City Council meetings, attends City Council meetings, and provides the appropriate follow-up, including ward, community, and other meetings.
Oversees duties in the City Manager's Office, including reviewing incoming mail, drafting responses or directing inquiries, scheduling and maintenance of the City Manager's calendar, distributing invitations to City Council and maintaining calendars, coordinating City Council travel and training plans, and managing all financial records for the City Council.
Participates in the Senior Leadership Team.
Supervises and directs the activities of assigned staff and functions; makes recommendations regarding hiring, discipline, termination or advancement of employees.
Schedules employees, assigns work, and monitors progress; guides, trains and develops employees in the accomplishment of their duties and professional growth; writes and conducts evaluations.
Performs other duties as assigned.