City Seeks Community Development Director

As a member of the City’s executive management team and under the general direction of the Mayor and the supervision of the City Administrator, the Director of Community Development Services has overall responsibility for land-use planning, zoning, economic development, various grant programs, and compliance with building and property maintenance codes. Additional activities include oversight of the Arts and Culture Program and Urbana’s Market at the Square. Specifically, the Director has responsibilities in four areas:

Strategic Leadership

• Establishes the strategic direction for the department in alignment with the City’s strategic priorities
• Builds partnerships that foster better citizen services, eliminate barriers to achieving results, build alliances with key decision makers, and take full advantage of available resources

Department Operations

• Manages, monitors, and evaluates all Department service delivery methods and procedures and allocates resources accordingly Develops, recommends, and administers policies and procedures
• Engages department managers to plan, direct, and coordinate the department work plan
• Serves as a technical advisor to the Mayor, City Council, City Administrator, citizen groups, individuals, contractors, and others on departmental issues
• Assists in the preparation of new City ordinances and the revision of existing ordinances
• Oversees all financial aspects of the department

Team Management

• Provides effective work direction to subordinate supervisors and employees
• Facilitates group problem-solving, recognizing positive results, managing conflict, and negotiating satisfactory outcomes
• Assesses and monitors workload and, within City policy, establishes appropriate service and staffing levels
• Works with department staff to develop and retain highly competent, customer service-oriented staff through selection, compensation, training, and day-to-day management practices

Community Engagement

• Maintains effective relationships with governmental officials, community leaders, City boards and commissions, residents, news media representatives, and other key stakeholders
• Represents the City in negotiations with other agencies, community groups, and individuals on a wide variety of issues pertaining to the full range of community development activities

Qualifications

Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

• Completion of a Bachelor's degree in urban planning, architecture, business or economic development, engineering, or related field and
• Five (5) years of work experience in community development as a director or assistant director or
• Comparable management experience in either building safety, economic development, or urban planning.

A Master’s degree in urban or land use planning or related field (e.g., public administration) is preferred.

The ideal candidate will display a respect for and commitment to identifying and meeting the needs of diverse and underserved communities and to continuously improving customer service as well as a demonstrated ability to apply a comprehensive understanding of community development services toward strategic goal setting, complex problem solving, and diverse service delivery.

Qualified candidates will also possess the following skills, abilities, knowledge and commitments:

• The ability to collaborate, relate, and communicate effectively to a broad range of people both inside the organization and in the community
• Commitment to staff development and involvement, with intentional focus on developing future leadership for the department and City
• Exceptional aptitude to anticipate and solve problems, identify alternative courses of action, and prepare, present, and defend proactive recommendations
• Excellent communication skills, including skillfulness in listening actively, presenting effectively, and creating written documents that are clear and concise
• Knowledge and understanding of a wide variety of capital improvement projects and operational and administrative services
• Comprehensive knowledge of municipal finance and budgeting as they apply to operations and activities

Read the Urbana Director of Community Development Brochure in its entirety. 

The City of Urbana is partnering with POLIHIRE to identify its next Director of Community Development Services. Interested individuals should submit a letter of interest and resume to: Urbana_Director_CDS@polihire.com. Please include only your name (Last, First) in the subject line when submitting these materials.