City Administrator

Overview

OMNI is honored to be retained by the City of Riverside, Missouri in the recruitment of their next City Administrator. If you are a collaborative, forward-thinking leader who values community partnership, embraces innovation, and maintains strong focus on achieving meaningful results, this could be the right fit for you.

About the Community

The City of Riverside, Missouri, is a dynamic and forward-thinking community that lives their tagline of “upstream from ordinary.” Located in Platte County just north of downtown Kansas City and conveniently positioned between Interstates 29 & 635 near the Kansas City International Airport, Riverside offers outstanding regional connectivity while preserving a distinctive small-town charm. Spanning approximately six square miles, the City leverages its strategic location, strong fiscal stewardship, and high-quality municipal services to provide an exceptional quality of life for residents and businesses.

Incorporated June 21, 1951, Riverside is one of the region’s youngest municipalities, yet it is rich in history and community pride. Its location along the Missouri River attracted early settlers and shaped its development, including its role as a key stop on the historic Interurban electric railway that once connected North Kansas City to St. Joseph. Today, Riverside is home to 4,700 residents, with a daytime population of 15,000 due to its growing industrial park, regional employment base, riverboat casino and Park Hill High School.

Riverside offers a semi-rural setting with scenic natural areas, excellent parks, and an extensive trail system, while still providing immediate access to urban amenities throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area. Residents enjoy safe, well-maintained neighborhoods, low taxes, excellent City services, and a strong sense of community rooted in long-standing relationships and civic engagement. The City is part of the Park Hill School District and offers convenient access to several colleges and universities throughout the region.

Riverside is widely recognized as a premier location for business and investment. The City’s pro-business philosophy is supported by a favorable financial climate, including no city property tax, no city earnings tax, a competitive sales tax rate, and efficient permitting and development review processes. Riverside works collaboratively with corporate partners and developers to encourage quality development and sustainable growth. Major employers such as Argosy Casino, Adient, KC Current, Martinrea LLC, Velocity and Premium Waters, PFG Vistar, and Bunzl contribute to the City’s economic vitality and diversified tax base. In addition, the new LiveNation Morton Amphitheater is scheduled to open this summer with seating for 15,000.

With a strong foundation, sound infrastructure, and a culture that values innovation, collaboration, and service excellence, Riverside is well positioned for continued smart growth. The City offers an exceptional opportunity for a City Administrator who values community engagement, fiscal responsibility, organizational leadership, and strategic planning to help guide Riverside through its next phase of success.

Position Summary

The City of Riverside is seeking an experienced municipal executive to lead the organization as City Administrator and help guide the community into its next chapter of progress and innovation. This is an exciting opportunity for a dynamic and principled leader to shape the future of a growing community while partnering closely with elected officials, staff, businesses, and residents. The ideal candidate will be a strategic, solution-oriented professional who leads with integrity, inspires confidence, and unites the organization around a shared vision of service excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.

The successful candidate will bring a comprehensive understanding of municipal operations, finance, and governance, paired with strong political acumen and exceptional communication skills. A collaborative mentor and relationship-builder, the next City Administrator will foster a high-performance culture where employees are empowered to excel, resources are managed responsibly, and community trust is strengthened. This visible, engaged leader will embrace Riverside’s unique character, actively participate in the life of the community, and champion partnerships that support sustainable growth, economic vitality, and long-term success.

The City of Riverside currently employees 85 full-time and 20 part-time employees and has a FY26 budget of $56.8 million. They contract services for transit, sewage treatment, water production and ambulance. Riverside | Financial Information

The community convened and provided input for developing a Riverside Comprehensive Plan in 2024 to frame the community’s vision for future growth and development of the next 20 years.

Responsibilities

• Provide professional leadership and direction to all City departments and staff to ensure coordinated, efficient delivery of short-and long-term goals and objectives achieving the overall mission and priorities of the City.
• Advise and support the Mayor and Board of Alderman through expert analysis, policy recommendations, and regular reporting.
• Oversee day-to-day City operations with a focus on fiscal responsibility, service excellence, and legal compliance.
• Ensure the development and administration of budgets, policies, projects and programs for all City departments to effectively deliver high quality services to staff and the community.
• Prepare, administer, and monitor the City’s annual budget; obtain input from department directors and keep elected officials informed of financial conditions and recommend corrective actions as needed.
• Attend all Board of Alderman meetings, actively participating in discussion and advise on matters affecting the City.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, regulations, and best practices with the governance of fourth-class cities in the state of Missouri.
• Motivates and leads staff by upholding organizational values, fostering open communication and teamwork, providing direction and professional development and modeling strong management practices.
• Recruit, develop, supervise, and mentor a strong leadership team and City workforce.
• Promote effective internal and external communication with staff, elected officials, residents, businesses, developers, and other stakeholders.
• Build and maintain strong relationships that support community development, economic growth, and public trust.
• Represent the City of Riverside with professionalism, integrity, and political acumen.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in public administration, business management/administration or related field is required.
• Master’s degree in public administration or related field is strongly preferred.
• 5 plus years of public sector experience, preferably as a city administrator or assistant city administrator; department director experience will be considered.
• ICMA credentialing is a plus.
• Ability to build consensus among diverse parties with differing interests and perspectives to create change.
• Demonstrated excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Strong ability to convene, facilitate and mediate.
• Professional competence to initiate, plan and complete work with a high level of effectiveness.
• Expertise to prioritize competing demands for time, delegating responsibility to others to meet deadlines.
• Effectively lead and build staff relationships, maximizing individual competencies to accomplish high quality work.
• Demonstrated knowledge of laws, regulations and best practices pertaining to City Administration.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and willingness to learn other technologies.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking.

Salary and Benefits

The hiring salary range for this position is $185,475.05 - $213,288.69, commensurate with qualifications and experience. A generous benefits program, including health, dental, life insurance, paid vacation and sick leave are provided and fringe benefit package. The city participates in the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System (MOLAGERS) and offers two voluntary plans through Valic and ICMA-RC.

First application review will be May 8, 2026.

We appreciate your referrals to professionals who may have an interest in this outstanding opportunity. Formal interest accepted through the OMNI Executive Career Portal.

Please direct all inquiries to:

OMNI Human Resource Solutions

Stacey Cowan, Senior Search Consultant, Practice Leader – Local Government Services

scowan@omnihrm.com | 913.653.8085

OMNI and our clients are Equal Opportunity Employers.