Special Projects Manager - City Manager's Office

City of Aurora•Aurora, CO

2d•$121,500 - $151,875•Onsite

About The Position

The Special Projects Manager is one of two positions in the City Manager’s Office dedicated to advancing the City's strategic priorities through coordination and management of complex, multi-departmental initiatives. This position leads and supports high-profile projects with significant city and community impact, focusing on capital planning and programming, development, external service delivery, and other strategic planning initiatives. The role works collaboratively across departments to ensure alignment, efficiency, and successful implementation of City objectives. The position performs highly professional, complex administrative and analytical work supporting city operations. It plans, administers, and completes assigned projects and initiatives, which may span several functional areas and departments. Assignments vary in length and complexity and are generally not permanent. The role does not supervise staff, but delegates work to and collaborates with individuals supporting projects.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Political Science, or a directly related field.
Five years of progressively responsible professional experience in local government, public administration, urban planning, or a preferred public sector environment.
Seven years of experience managing complex, cross-functional projects from initiation through completion.
Colorado Driver's License with a good driving record.
Understanding of public sector budgeting, financial management, regulatory requirements, and strategic planning principles, including capital plans and operational plans.
Strong working knowledge of managing budgets, projects, and change management.
Knowledge of public capital budgeting and multi-year capital improvement planning principles and practices.
Knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations affecting municipal government.
Ability to set up, facilitate, and lead service improvement sessions with business stakeholders.
Strong interpersonal skills to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees, department leadership, elected officials, other governmental agencies, and the public.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Project, Visio, Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
Effective public presentation and technical writing skills for council, board, and community audiences.
Ability to lead teams with empathy and foster a positive, inclusive, and collaborative work environment.
Ability to design and implement continuous improvement frameworks and facilitate team-based solutions.
Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing, synthesize complex information for decision-makers, and tailor messages to different audiences.
Ability to gather, correlate, and analyze facts and devise solutions to administrative and technical problems.
Ability to work various shifts, nights, holidays, and weekends.
Ability to adapt quickly to changing environments, demands, business needs, and shifting priorities.
High integrity and ability to handle sensitive and confidential information.
Strong analytical, project management, and people management skills, including the ability to interpret City of Aurora policies, procedures, and processes and translate business needs into operational requirements.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to interact professionally with consultants, executives, City leaders, directors, managers, staff, and subject matter experts.
Strong emotional intelligence and active listening skills, with demonstrated ability to collaborate in cross-functional teams.
An equivalent combination of education, training, and experience demonstrating the required knowledge, skills, and abilities may be considered.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Public Administration, Political Science, Business Administration, or a related field.
Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

Responsibilities

Assist executive management in managing and coordinating city initiatives, policies, and projects.
Lead special projects, including identifying, verifying, analyzing, and implementing process improvements to eliminate unnecessary complexity.
Support projects and strategic planning from inception through delivery, providing cross-departmental technical and analytical support.
Establish and guide short-, mid-, and long-range financial plans and strategies, including preparing and managing project budgets.
Partner with executive management to identify strategic opportunities and translate them into actionable project plans.
Coordinate cross-departmental projects and initiatives with internal and external stakeholders to align objectives, deliverables, and timelines.
Liaise between Executive Management and city departments, staff, the public, and council; facilitate communication and ensure timely follow-up on requests and inquiries.
Conduct research, data analysis, and feasibility assessments to support project decisions.
Participate in the city’s development and strategic planning initiatives.
Lead or support citywide multi-departmental capital planning and programming processes in collaboration with city departments.
Track progress on citywide strategic initiatives and capital programs or projects as a liaison between the City Manager's Office and departments.
Promote a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.
Identify market trends, emerging technology, and process variations to support continuous improvement in collaboration with departments.
Help prepare presentations, council reports, white papers, and issue summaries.