Manager, Economic Development

Rocky View County•Balzac, AB

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Rocky View County is seeking a Manager, Economic Development to lead the County’s economic diversification and non-residential development initiatives. This role aligns with the Assessment Base Diversification Policy and growth management and land use planning framework. The position provides strategic leadership in integrating economic development priorities into planning documents and supporting major investments with proactively planned and serviced employment lands. The Manager is responsible for reviewing, revising, and implementing the County’s Economic Development Strategy, including developing initiatives to encourage new investment and support existing businesses. This role involves developing and maintaining strong relationships with various stakeholders to strengthen the County’s economic base and attract development. The Manager will also work closely with Planning and other County departments to integrate economic development and land use planning, provide expertise on growth-related initiatives, and ensure investor opportunities are advanced through coordinated processes.

Requirements

Completion of an undergraduate degree in business, marketing, economic development, planning, or equivalent.
A minimum of ten (10) years of related experience.
Demonstrated leadership skills.
Demonstrated team building abilities.
Demonstrated conflict resolution abilities.
Demonstrated coaching abilities.
Demonstrated mentoring abilities.
Demonstrated business/technical writing skills.
Demonstrated time management skills.
Demonstrated organizational skills.
Demonstrated problem solving ability.
Demonstrated decision-making ability.
Well-developed communication skills.
Well-developed interpretation skills.
Ability to work independently.
Ability to work collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team.
Proficiency in MS 365.

Responsibilities

Lead the County’s economic diversification and non-residential development initiatives.
Integrate economic development priorities into statutory and non-statutory planning documents.
Support major investments with proactively planned and serviced employment lands.
Review, revise, and implement the County’s Economic Development Strategy.
Develop initiatives to encourage new investment and support the growth of existing businesses.
Develop and maintain strong working relationships with other jurisdictions, commercial developers, investors, chambers of commerce, and business associations.
Advance the integration of economic development and proactive land use planning.
Provide subject matter expertise on growth-related initiatives, including emerging sector strategies, business area plans, and the implementation of community and business area investment tools.
Ensure investor and high-value development opportunities are advanced through coordinated planning, site selection, and policy alignment processes.
Participate in the updating and/or implementation of policies, procedures, guidelines, strategies or protocols that impact the economic viability of the County.
Facilitate continuous quality improvement and responsiveness to service level changes.
Liaise closely with Planning and other departments to jointly identify, plan, and prioritize employment lands.
Provide economic analysis and market intelligence to inform new or amended planning documents and strategies.
Prepare for and attend regularly scheduled meetings of Council and committees.
Liaise with key interdepartmental managers and committees to evaluate economic impact of new capital projects and participate in joint projects and initiatives.
Forecast the economic horizon for the County, the region, provincially and federally and advise internal stakeholders.
Establish and maintain an information database including confidential, demographic and market research materials.
Engage in out-bound sales, external communications and enhancing customer service for landowners, developers, real estate brokers and business investors.
Generate revenue through successful investment attraction and new development.
Identify key industrial/commercial current and future geographical areas and maintain a full understanding of availability of appropriate lands.
Advertise through a variety of mediums for the promotion of business relocation.
Foster external relationships with local businesses and clearly define the support available.
Provide tools and support to local businesses to allow them to grow in a sustainable way.
Develop and monitor the departmental budget.
Make recommendations to the Executive Director regarding operating budget and advise on the risks vs benefits of cost saving measures.
Monthly monitoring of annual budget via variance reports.
Responsible for quality of work, budget compliance and planning for the department.
Provide employee performance feedback, regular technical guidance, coaching, and training and development opportunities for a small team.