Vice President, Development

ST LOUIS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION•St. Louis, MO

2d•$120,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Vice President (VP) of Development supports the Executive Vice President (EVP) of Development in building and managing the City of St. Louis’ development pipeline, with a focus on real estate projects, developers, and investors. The role drives deal flow and developer engagement at SLDC, working directly under the EVP to help ensure developers and investors have a clear, coordinated, and predictable pathway to executing projects in the City. The VP supports the strategy, systems, and team responsible for generating qualified development opportunities, managing developer and investor relationships, delivering a coordinated developer experience, and collecting and analyzing commercial real estate data to evaluate project feasibility and support attraction and retention strategies. Success is measured by the strength, quality, and conversion of SLDC’s pipeline into executed projects and sustained economic activity. The VP helps create and manage a qualified pipeline of real estate development projects, active and prospective developers, and business attraction opportunities. The role tracks opportunities from initial engagement through project execution and supports alignment with City priorities in partnership with Major Projects, LRA, and Strategy teams. The VP supports the EVP in managing developer relationships, maintains engagement with local and national developers, site selectors, and intermediaries, and builds long-term trust with repeat developers and real estate investors. The position helps operationalize a high-quality developer experience by serving as a clear contact for assigned projects, assisting developers in navigating City processes and approvals, and maintaining transparent timelines and expectations. It helps ensure developers receive accurate, timely information, coordinated access to incentives and resources, and a consistent professional experience across SLDC and City departments. The VP also supports aligning incentives with development strategy and project feasibility, ensuring incentives are effectively structured and efficiently deployed in line with City priorities and financial sustainability, and coordinating with Finance, Legal, and Policy teams as directed. The role gathers, maintains, and analyzes commercial real estate data, including vacancy rates, absorption, lease rates, construction pipelines, and transaction activity in St. Louis and competing regional markets. Market intelligence is used to assess project viability, evaluate proposals, identify sector growth opportunities, and support competitive site attraction and retention strategies. The VP collaborates with internal teams to incorporate market analytics, digital twin capabilities, and platform insights into SLDC’s CRM and reporting dashboards. The VP utilizes and refines pipeline-management tools, including CRM optimization, pipeline tracking and reporting systems, advanced tools such as digital twin capabilities and market intelligence platforms, and performance dashboards for the EVP. The position coordinates with internal partners under the EVP’s guidance, including the SVP of Real Estate, Director of LRA, and COO, and supports handoffs between pipeline creation, project execution, and asset stabilization. It also helps manage and report KPIs such as pipeline size and quality, project conversion rates, and time-to-deal execution, supports regular reporting to the EVP, CEO, and Board, and promotes execution, responsiveness, and accountability. This is a full-time, exempt position with a standard 40-hour workweek. Traditional work hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a hybrid schedule and evening and weekend work as job duties demand. The role is based at 1520 Market Street, Suite 2000, St. Louis, Missouri. The position includes health benefits and paid time off. SLDC encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ+ candidates, and does not discriminate based on protected characteristics. The position may be financed in whole or in part through Community Development Block Grant funds from HUD and the City of St. Louis’ Community Development Administration.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
Demonstrated professional experience in economic development, real estate development, business development, or a related field.
Experience working within complex stakeholder environments.
Experience supporting teams responsible for deal flow or pipeline generation.
Experience structuring or supporting development projects and/or business attraction.
Strong understanding of real estate development processes.
Strong understanding of economic incentives and public finance tools.
Ability to build and manage relationships.
Ability to translate strategy into executable systems.
Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, politically dynamic environment.
Strong communication and negotiation skills.
Evening and weekend work as job duties demand.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Assist in building and maintaining a qualified pipeline of real estate development projects, active and prospective developers, and business attraction opportunities.
Apply established criteria for qualified opportunities and track pipeline progression from initial engagement through project execution.
Support pipeline alignment with City priorities in partnership with Major Projects, LRA, and Strategy teams.
Support the EVP in managing developer relationships and maintain engagement with local and national developers, site selectors, and intermediaries.
Build long-term trust with repeat developers and real estate investors.
Help operationalize a coordinated developer experience, including serving as a clear contact for assigned projects, helping navigate City processes and approvals, and maintaining transparent timelines and expectations.
Help ensure developers receive accurate and timely information, coordinated access to incentives and resources, and a consistent professional experience across SLDC and City departments.
Support alignment of incentives with development strategy and project feasibility; help ensure incentives are structured effectively, deployed efficiently, and aligned with City priorities and financial sustainability.
Coordinate with Finance, Legal, and Policy teams as directed.
Gather, maintain, and analyze commercial real estate market data, including vacancy rates, absorption, lease rates, construction pipelines, and transaction activity for St. Louis and competing regional markets.
Use market intelligence to assess project viability, evaluate developer proposals, identify sector growth opportunities, and support site attraction and retention strategies.
Collaborate with internal teams to integrate market analytics, digital twin capabilities, and platform insights into SLDC’s CRM and reporting dashboards.
Utilize and refine CRM, pipeline tracking, and reporting systems; assist with implementing digital twin capabilities and market intelligence platforms.
Maintain performance dashboards and reporting mechanisms for the EVP.
Coordinate with the SVP of Real Estate, Director of LRA, and COO under the EVP’s guidance.
Support seamless handoffs between pipeline creation, project execution, and asset stabilization.
Help manage and report KPIs, including pipeline size and quality, project conversion rates, and time-to-deal execution.
Support regular performance reporting to the EVP, CEO, and Board, and promote execution, responsiveness, and accountability.