Senior Strategic Advisor

City of Greeley•Greeley, CO

9h•Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the Deputy or Assistant City Manager, the Senior Strategic Advisor provides executive leadership on the planning, coordination, execution, and governance of large, high-priority, and politically sensitive strategic initiatives. This position provides enterprise-level project leadership for complex, multi-departmental efforts, with primary responsibility for advancing the Civic Campus Project and the West Greeley Project. The Senior Strategic Advisor leads project management functions for major initiatives from early planning through implementation, helping align scope, schedule, budget, stakeholder engagement, risk management, decision-making, and interdepartmental execution. The role works across departments, consultants, community stakeholders, and executive leadership to ensure strategic projects are well-governed, well-coordinated, and positioned for successful delivery.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Public Administration or a closely related field
Seven (7) years of public or private sector senior-level management experience as a department director, Assistant City Manager, Deputy City Manager, or City/County Manager of a comparably sized community or organization
OR any combination of related education, experience, certifications and licenses that will result in a candidate successfully performing the essential functions of the job
AND possession of a valid driver’s license
Strong knowledge of project management principles, practices, and governance for large, complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives
Strong knowledge of strategic planning, organizational coordination, and executive-level decision support
Ability to lead complex projects across multiple departments without necessarily having direct supervisory authority over all participants
Ability to influence, coordinate, and build alignment among senior leaders, technical staff, consultants, and external stakeholders
Ability to manage politically sensitive, high-visibility, and high-impact initiatives with professionalism and discretion
Skill in developing project plans, milestone schedules, implementation strategies, issue logs, and executive briefing materials
Skill in analyzing project risks, competing priorities, budget considerations, and operational impacts
Strong facilitation, meeting management, and cross-functional coordination skills
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including preparation of reports, presentations, recommendations, and executive correspondence
Ability to synthesize complex information and present concise recommendations to leadership
Ability to manage multiple high-priority projects and deadlines simultaneously
Strong judgment, initiative, and problem-solving skills
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and project management, collaboration, and reporting tools
Knowledge of City policies and procedures

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Public or Business Administration, or equivalent experience in the field
Ten (10) or more years of public or private sector senior-level management experience as a department director, Assistant City Manager, Deputy City Manager, or City/County Manager of a comparably sized community or organization

Responsibilities

Lead and coordinate senior-level project management activities for the City’s largest, most complex, and highest-visibility initiatives
Serve as a strategic advisor to the City Manager’s Office on major project direction, priorities, governance, sequencing, and implementation risks
Provide direct project leadership for the Civic Campus Project and the West Greeley Project, ensuring alignment with City Council priorities, organizational goals, and community needs
Develop and maintain comprehensive project plans, implementation frameworks, milestone schedules, and action tracking tools for complex initiatives
Monitor project scope, schedule, budget status, dependencies, and decision points, and elevate issues requiring executive action
Anticipate project barriers, competing priorities, and interdepartmental impacts; recommend solutions and course corrections
Support definition of project objectives, deliverables, success measures, and accountability structures
Manage and coordinate assigned state and federal grant funding, including tracking requirements, deadlines, reporting, and interdepartmental compliance
Assist in leading and facilitating the City’s strategic planning process, including goal development, implementation tracking, and alignment across departments
Lead or support development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies, procedures, and operational practices to improve organizational effectiveness, accountability, and service delivery
Coordinate work across City departments, including but not limited to public works, engineering, planning, finance, legal, procurement, communications, and operations
Align project activities across departments to promote timely execution, consistent communication, and efficient use of organizational resources
Work closely with department leaders and project sponsors to define roles, manage interdependencies, and resolve cross-functional issues
Establish and maintain project management standards, tools, templates, and reporting practices for major strategic initiatives
Support project prioritization and sequencing where multiple large-scale initiatives compete for organizational capacity
Support strategic planning, project coordination, issue resolution, stakeholder alignment, and implementation oversight for the Civic Campus Project and the West Greeley Project
Coordinate cross-departmental efforts related to infrastructure, development planning, service delivery, growth strategy, and community impacts
Track key milestones, dependencies, external coordination needs, and executive decisions associated with the project
Identify strategic risks, policy considerations, infrastructure implications, and stakeholder concerns, and provide recommendations to leadership
Build and maintain strong working relationships with elected officials, executive leaders, department directors, consultants, partner agencies, developers, and community stakeholders
Support the development of communication plans, stakeholder engagement approaches, presentation materials, and public-facing project information in coordination with appropriate staff
Represent the Deputy City Manager or project leadership in meetings with internal and external stakeholders as assigned
Communicate complex project information clearly, diplomatically, and effectively to varied audiences
Regularly attend City Council meetings, work sessions, and related executive meetings; prepare briefing materials and follow-up items as needed
Identify project risks related to schedule, cost, scope, governance, stakeholder alignment, operational readiness, and implementation capacity
Develop risk mitigation strategies and contingency recommendations for senior leadership
Monitor project performance and implementation progress using dashboards, reports, milestone tracking, and status updates
Recommend process improvements to strengthen project delivery, accountability, coordination, and organizational readiness for large-scale initiatives
Maintain accurate and complete records of project plans, schedules, decisions, action items, and status reporting
Performs other duties as assigned