Assistant Director of Economic Development

The Assistant Director of Economic Development serves as the senior operational leader responsible for driving business growth, investment attraction, and team performance within the City of Lynchburg’s Office of Economic Development & Tourism.

Reporting to the Director, this position leads execution of the Unified Economic Development & Tourism Plan—the City’s integrated framework for aligning business recruitment, workforce engagement, site readiness, and marketing into a coordinated growth strategy—and ensures that strategy translates into measurable outcomes, including capital investment and job creation.

The Assistant Director directly supervises economic development staff, manages the business prospect pipeline, negotiates performance-based incentives, and provides staff leadership for the Economic Development Authority of the City of Lynchburg.

This is an in-office leadership position requiring visible external engagement, executive presence, and political acumen.
The anticipated hiring range for this position is $95,000 - $100,000.

The City of Lynchburg is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages all qualified applicants to apply.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
Business Development & Investment

• Lead and close business recruitment and expansion projects resulting in capital investment and job creation.
• Develop and manage a qualified prospect pipeline aligned with target industry sectors.
• Structure and negotiate performance-based incentives in coordination with the Director and the Economic Development Authority of the City of Lynchburg.
• Maintain high-level relationships with major employers, regional partners, VEDP, developers, and site selectors.
• Prepare and deliver presentations to City Council, the Economic Development Authority of the City of Lynchburg, and other stakeholders.
• Work in close coordination with the Assistant Director of Tourism to align economic development, tourism, and marketing initiatives under the Unified Plan.

Site Readiness & Funding

• Lead strategic site development efforts, including infrastructure planning, site readiness, and disposition of key economic development properties.
• Oversee commercial site readiness strategy and work to accelerate development timelines.
• Identify and pursue funding opportunities and oversee grant strategy in coordination with state and regional partners.

Team Leadership & Project Execution

• Supervise the Economic Development Manager and assigned staff, including performance management, coaching, and accountability for results.
• Ensure adherence to established workflows, reporting standards, and performance expectations across staff and projects.
• Implement and maintain data-informed reporting dashboards measuring investment activity, pipeline strength, and business engagement outcomes.
• Provide staff leadership and coordination for the Economic Development Authority of the City of Lynchburg, including preparation of project updates, board materials, and alignment of EDA initiatives with departmental strategy.
• Lead and manage complex economic development projects, ensuring coordination across internal departments and external partners, adherence to timelines, and delivery of measurable outcomes.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without accommodation. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in economic development, public administration, business, or a related field; master’s degree preferred.
• Seven (7) or more years of progressively responsible experience in economic development or a related field such as business development, commercial real estate, workforce development, corporate engagement, or public-private partnerships.
• Demonstrated success leading external initiatives and delivering measurable economic development outcomes.
• Experience supervising staff and holding teams accountable to performance metrics.
• Experience operating in environments requiring political awareness, executive communication, and stakeholder alignment.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects and drive initiatives from concept through execution.
• Working knowledge of economic development programs, public sector processes, and incentive frameworks is preferred.

Operating Environment
This role operates within the City’s established operational framework, including defined workflows, reporting structures, and decision authority. The Assistant Director is responsible for ensuring workflow discipline, reporting consistency, and alignment with departmental performance expectations across all staff and projects.Additional Requirements

Possession of valid driver's license issued by Commonwealth of Virginia and acceptable driving record according to City criteria
Must successfully complete IS100 and IS700 National Incident Management (NIMS) training within 90 days of employment. May also be required to complete higher levels of NIMS training as determined appropriate for the position.