Recruitment Services Provided by Logic Compensation Group

The City of Richmond, TX Invites Your Interest In the Position of

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

The Opportunity The City of Richmond, Texas is conducting a recruitment for its next Economic Development Director. As the county seat of Fort Bend County, the City of Richmond lies in the growing edge of the Houston metropolitan area. Steeped in history, tradition, and stability, Richmond seeks an Economic Development Director who can build on our historic charm while balancing future growth and development.

About Richmond, Texas Richmond is located 15 miles southwest of Houston along the banks of the Brazos River. With a population of 12,391 and occupying 4.2 square miles, Richmond lies between the City of Rosenberg and the City of Sugar Land. The City is well-connected to the surrounding region served by key infrastructure including the recently expanded U.S. Highway 90, I-69 and SH 99. Richmond is poised to capture significant growth in the expanding Houston metropolitan area, which is anticipated to reach 2.25 million residents by the year 2050.

Named after Richmond, England, the town was first incorporated by the Republic of Texas in May 1837. Richmond's historic charm is fully on display in its downtown district. Over 200 years of history can be seen while strolling through the downtown streets. The unique shops, restaurants, and businesses have helped to create Richmond's own identity. The City has invested in modernizing the infrastructure needed for businesses to thrive and offers a strongly competitive business environment. The City offers an unparalleled quality of life for employees and residents alike.

Richmond was ranked #1 in the 10 Best Houston Suburbs to Live In, #1 in the Most Affordable Houston Suburbs, and #1 in the Best Houston Suburbs for Young Couples by Movoto Real Estate, and ranks in the top 50 safest cities in Texas. With the amenities of a major metropolitan area only minutes away, Richmond offers small-town living and an unbeatable quality of life.

With a civic personality that combines artistic culture with a bit of Texas chic, Richmond and its many historic landmarks, are becoming a popular destination for people seeking a pleasant place to live, shop, work, play and serve.

Richmond and the Central Fort Bend region have a diverse mix of businesses and industries including healthcare, oil and gas, real estate, finance, insurance, professional services, and scientific and technical services. Richmond has created a supportive environment for businesses to thrive in today’s economy.

City of Richmond Government Richmond is a full-service municipality providing the following services: public safety (police and fire protection), public improvements, streets and highways, water and wastewater, sanitation, repair and maintenance of infrastructure, recreation and general administrative services.

The City has approximately 170 full-time employees who contribute to the City’s success. The City’s general fund budget is $17.5 million, with a total City budget, including enterprise funds, of $26.0 million.

The City of Richmond has operated under a Commission form of government from 1913 until 2013, when a charter election was held and the citizens elected to become a Home-Rule City. The Charter provided for a Commission-Manager form of government. The Commission is comprised of a Mayor and four Commission members. Members are all elected at large for staggered three-year terms, with no term limits. All of these elected positions are unpaid volunteers.

The Position The Economic Development Director is responsible to the Development Commission of Richmond (DCR) Board and serves as the Board's chief administrative officer, with dotted line accountability to the City Manager. The position serves as an extension of City staff, working closely with the City Manager and the leadership team.

This position serves as the principal point of contact on public-private partnerships for economic development activities while negotiating, developing, and monitoring agreements and other forms of economic and business development incentives. This position serves as the main point of contact on economic development issues and aggressively solicits developers, site selectors, businesses, business owners, and other economic development professionals encouraging them to locate or expand in the City of Richmond.

The ideal candidate should possess a strong working knowledge of municipal zoning, infrastructure development, and planning programs and processes. Additionally, thorough knowledge of state and federal laws and other influencing governmental rules and regulations relative to economic development.

Challenges & Opportunities The primary focus of this position is commercial development and redevelopment, which includes: 1) business retention and expansion; 2) formation of new businesses; 3) attracting new businesses; and 4) any eligible project authorized by Chapters 501and 505 of the Texas Local Government Code.

Key Objectives for First Year:

Get to know DCR Board and gain their trust/buy-in to ideas;

Establish clear lines of communication with the City Manager;

Implement the digital marketing campaign developed by the DCR;

Implement key aspects of the target industry study;

Marketing the City to promote business retention and growth with a focus on the “right” growth as defined by the DCR;

Source, write and promote grants that facilitate development of business opportunities.

Most Challenging Aspects of Job:

Securing privately-owned land for targeted development;

Blending historic downtown with targeted commercial business opportunities.

The Development Corporation of Richmond

We promote business and community expansion to build a stronger, more diverse economy.

The Development Corporation of Richmond (DCR) is a Type B economic development corporation. The DCR was created by voter referendum in 1995 to promote private and public investments that generate new employment opportunities, improve the quality of life in Richmond, and help to preserve and capitalize on the community’s heritage and culture.

The mission of the DCR is to serve the community by promoting private and public investments that generate multiple public revenue streams to fund quality of life enhancements and activities that preserve and capitalize on the City’s heritage.

The Ideal Candidate The City of Richmond is seeking an innovative Economic Development Director to proactively build relationships with the business community and seek opportunities for continued development and future growth.

The ideal candidate will possess personal traits and experience that will translate to greater success, including:

Self-starter, innovative, and results-driven; Goal-oriented and highly motivated; Proven record of building strategic and collaborative

business partnerships; Proven and verifiable background in business

retention and expansion, business support, and downtown revitalization;

Excellent interpersonal skills to create and maintain open, collaborative, and successful working relationships within and outside of the organization;

Strong negotiation skills; Strong marketing and persuasion skills; Politically astute, yet apolitical; Articulate communicator with exceptional listening

skills that produce measurable results; Small business recruitment, retention and

management practices; Marketing of downtown and retail areas; Supporting and expanding tourism opportunities; Commercial real estate markets and practices,

including current lending practices, economic analysis techniques related to market, and feasibility and impact studies;

Public finance and economic development tools and sources of economic development;

Grant/loan funding in the State of Texas; Pertinent federal, state, and local laws, codes, and

regulations; Innovative incentive concepts for economic

development and business recruitment; 4B economic development corporations and

associated funding parameters. The full job description for the position can be found at: LogicCompGroup.com

Experience & Education Education: Bachelors degree in Public Administration, Urban Planning, Business Administration, Real Estate Development or related field. Masters degree with two (2) years’ experience performing municipal work preferred.

Experience: Two plus years of experience in economic development, business retention, real estate brokerage, retail development or municipal government. Advanced education above a Bachelors degree may be substituted for up to two years of experience.

The candidate should have a proven track record of researching, coordinating and assisting in the implementation of a wide range of economic development programs, projects and initiatives (or projects similar in nature and execution).

The Compensation & Benefits The City offers a competitive base salary (anticipated salary range for this position is M-03, depending on qualifications). A superior benefits package is also offered, including Texas Municipal Retirement System at the 7% employee contribution level with a 2-to-1 match by the City upon retirement. Other benefits include medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance as well as vacation, sick leave, holiday pay, an optional Valic 457 deferred compensation plan, and other highly competitive benefits.

The Recruitment Process Interested candidates may apply for this outstanding opportunity by emailing your cover letter and resume to Lori.Messer@LogicCompGroup.com. You may also go to http://LogicCompGroup.com to download the brochure and job description.

This position will be open until filled with the first review of applications beginning June 12, 2020.

Resumes will be screened in relation to the criteria articulated in this brochure. Applicants deemed to possess the stated qualifications will be invited to participate in preliminary interviews with Logic Compensation Group. Candidates deemed to be the best qualified will be invited to interview with the City of Richmond in late June.

The City reserves the right to alter the interview and selection process in response to the evolving impacts of the COVID-19 virus.

This recruitment incorporates existing rules and regulations that govern public sector recruitments in the State of Texas. In accordance with public disclosure/open record laws, information submitted for consideration may be made available to the public upon request by interested parties.

Additional information about the City of Richmond can be found at:

https://www.richmondtx.gov/ http://www.richmondecodev.com/

The City of Richmond is committed to equal employment opportunity as a way to recruit,

hire, and retain the most qualified employees.