Manager, Economic Development

Department: Economic Development Reports To: VP ED Supervisory Responsibilities: N/A FLSA: Exempt Salary Grade: 18 Position Summary: The Manager of Economic Development identifies and advocates the retention and expansion of existing businesses and attraction of new businesses in the Chattanooga Chamber’s key target industries in the greater Chattanooga region. The position assists businesses to address a variety of local issues that present impediments to growth and negotiates incentives for businesses seeking to locate or expand operations, to foster job growth and encourage them to maintain a presence in the Chattanooga area. In addition, this position also works to promote the community and recruit target sector industry businesses to establish new operations in the Chattanooga area. Essential Functions:

• Regularly make visits with existing business and industry to analyze and evaluate their growth potential and other needs.

• Proactively manage and prioritize numerous recruitment, expansion, and retention projects from inception to completion.

• Develop, build and maintain working relationships with representatives of area businesses, and communicate as needed on expansion and retention issues.

• Respond to RFIs to promote Chattanooga to prospective businesses seeking to locate in the region.

• Advocate for and leverage various incentives for target industry businesses as they seek to locate and grow.

• Assist businesses with creating workforce development partnerships with area education and workforce partners.

• Negotiate and advocate for businesses with various regulatory issues as needed.

• Attend trade shows and conferences to engage with site selection consultants and industry executives in support of business attraction efforts.

• Investigate, analyze and effectively communicate information about public resources available to businesses.

• Organize and facilitate B2B opportunities for area businesses

• Communicate with prospective businesses and build relationships with site selectors and real estate professionals

• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with other economic development and local government partners

• Represent the Chamber through attendance in various committees, industry groups and boards.

• Maintain up to date project activity and business visit activity in the department’s CRM system.

• Contribute content, information and ideas to the Chamber’s marketing department for the various Chamber publications

• Execute other duties assigned

Non-Essential/Peripheral Functions:

• Attend seminars when needed.

• Provide assistance at economic development events as needed.

• Support Chamber activities such as signature events, Open House, Council meetings, ribbon cuttings, etc.

Competencies: To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies:

• Sales – Ability to sell and develop deals, while providing client support
• Relationship building– the individual is skilled at building and maintaining relationships with an ability to quickly develop trusting working relationships.
• Analytical – the individual integrates complex or diverse information in an insightful and concise manner, synthesizing into reports useful to management
• Problem solving – the individual identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner, and gathers and analyzes information skillfully
• Communication – the individual conveys written or oral information persuasively in positive or negative situations, the ability to write in a proscribed style and format, demonstrates group presentation skills and excellent interpersonal skills
• Judgment – the individual displays willingness to makes independent decisions, exhibits sound judgment, makes timely decisions, and accepts responsibility for results
• Confidentiality – the individual demonstrates trustworthiness and the ability to maintain the highest degree of confidentiality
• Initiative –the individual has initiative and resourcefulness which are required to complete job responsibilities
• Quality management – the individual continuously looks for way to improve and promote quality, and demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness
• Curiosity & Growth Mindset – The individual actively seeks new knowledge, challenges assumptions, experiments to improve outcomes, and embraces feedback and setbacks as opportunities to learn. Demonstrates persistence, adaptability, and shares learning to elevate team performance.

Minimum qualifications: A bachelor’s degree in business, marketing or related fields and a minimum of three years related experience and/or ED training. Prior work experience in the economic and workforce development discipline, chamber of commerce or related field is desired. Graduate of Economic Development Institute’s Basic Economic Development course or retention and expansion course is preferred. Working Conditions: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls. The employee frequently is required to talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, reach with hands and arms, and to stoop, kneel, or crouch. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. The employee is regularly required to drive distances of up to 100 miles and occasionally farther. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. To Apply Please submit a cover letter and resume, combined into one PDF file to: Attn: Adam Myers, VP, Economic & Talent Development Email: [email protected]