Economic Development Manager

City of Lynchburg • Lynchburg, VA

20h

About The Position

The Economic Development Manager is the City’s primary business development officer for its business retention program, new investment opportunities, and business development and prospect pipeline. The role focuses on proactive engagement with existing businesses, identifying their needs and challenges, cultivating prospective investment opportunities, and maintaining accurate project and performance data in CRM and project management systems. The Manager works independently within established departmental strategy, priorities, workflows, and decision authority. This externally focused, performance-driven position is accountable for activity, follow-through, and measurable outcomes, and reports to the Assistant Director of Economic Development.

The successful candidate demonstrates initiative, independent judgment, professional maturity, confidence in external relationship management, and ownership of commitments. Work takes place within the City’s established operational framework, including defined workflows, reporting structures, decision authority, CRM use, project management processes, and departmental communication and coordination standards.

A valid driver’s license issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia and an acceptable driving record under City criteria are required. The employee must complete IS100 and IS700 National Incident Management (NIMS) training within 90 days of employment and may be required to complete higher levels of NIMS training. During unusual situations or a State of Emergency declared by the City Manager, City employees may be assigned special duties as needed to ensure service delivery. The City of Lynchburg is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages all to apply.

Requirements

• 3–5+ years of experience in economic development or a complementary field, such as business development, sales, commercial real estate, workforce development, government relations, account management, or another externally facing role involving relationship management and representation of organizational interests.
• Demonstrated ability to initiate and execute assigned work independently, manage multiple priorities, and deliver measurable outcomes.
• Experience working directly with businesses, clients, community partners, or other stakeholders in a relationship-driven environment.
• Experience with CRM, project management, or comparable systems used to manage pipelines, track activity and project status, and ensure follow-through.
• Strong written, verbal, organizational, and analytical skills.
• Ability to work independently within established priorities and decision authority; navigate ambiguity and competing priorities; exercise sound judgment about when to act, coordinate, or escalate; and take ownership of commitments and measurable outcomes.
• Valid driver’s license issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia and an acceptable driving record according to City criteria.
• Complete IS100 and IS700 National Incident Management (NIMS) training within 90 days of employment; higher levels of NIMS training may also be required.

Responsibilities

• Execute the City’s strategic Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) program, including existing-business engagement, actionable intelligence, issue identification, and measurable follow-through.
• Conduct targeted business engagement in line with annual visitation goals and departmental priorities, documenting follow-through and coordinating as appropriate.
• Serve as a primary day-to-day contact for existing businesses; identify business needs and challenges and coordinate appropriate resources and responses.
• Identify and cultivate new investment prospects in established priority industry sectors and support recruitment projects under departmental leadership.
• Manage and maintain the qualified business development and prospect pipeline in CRM and project management systems, including activity, project status, next steps, and outcomes.
• Prepare prospect materials and data responses, coordinate site tours, monitor commercial property inventory, and proactively market strategic sites.
• Support incentive compliance and grant tracking accurately and promptly.
• Track business development activity and deliver monthly performance metrics and quarterly KPI reports aligned with departmental goals.
• Perform other duties as required, including direct or indirect service to businesses and citizens and special assignments when needed to ensure service delivery.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed