Vice President, Partnership Gwinnett and Gwinnett Chamber Economic Development

Position to be filled by: January 31, 2025

Company: Gwinnett Chamber

Location: Gwinnett County, Georgia

Category: Economic Development

Position Type: Full-Time

Education Requirement: Bachelor's

Experience Requirement: 10+ years

Salary: Depends on Experience

How to Apply: Contact Nick Masino at Nick@gwinnettchamber.org

Job Description & Details:

The Vice President, Partnership Gwinnett and Gwinnett Chamber Economic Development will be a proven, highly-skilled leader in the field, with extensive experience implementing comprehensive community and economic development strategies and bringing diverse local leaders and constituencies together in a public-private partnership for sustainable success. The VP will demonstrate the highest levels of integrity, honesty, and openness to create strong and enduring relationships with key leaders in the local, county, state and federal arenas.

Specific responsibilities of the VP will likely include:

• Effective implementation of the Partnership Gwinnett and Gwinnett Chamber Economic Development strategy, including carrying out the current five-year work strategy into annual work programs.
• Understanding the competitive dynamics of best practice community and economic development programs, including an equal focus on competitiveness dynamics, existing business retention/expansion, nurturing small businesses and entrepreneurs, and effective external marketing and recruitment.
• Working closely with representatives of Gwinnett County, Gwinnett’s cities, Gwinnett CIDs and economic development departments, local chambers of commerce & business associations, and other relevant organizations and groups such as the ARC and GDEcD, to advance the Strategy and Implementation Plan.
• Serving as a key advocate and partner for community-focused efforts in the arenas of quality of life, education and workforce, land use, transportation, infrastructure capacity development, redevelopment strategies and community sustainability practices.
• Creating and effectively leading a focused and dedicated team that is committed to the development and execution of highly effective programs and partnerships.
• Serving as the organization’s principal spokesperson to ensure that a strong communications effort is in place that meets internal and external needs.
• Monitoring and evaluating on a regular basis the organization’s financial status and taking appropriate actions to ensure its fiscal sustainability as the key revenue generator.
• Serving as a tireless promoter of the Gwinnett-county, its population, assets and businesses to local, statewide, national, and international audiences.
• Advocating to local, county, statewide, and federal governments for projects and investments that further Gwinnett’s regional competitive capacity.

The ideal candidate for the VP position will be:

• A strong leader and skilled manager with a proven, measurable track record of success in highly regarded economic development nonprofit, private sector or governmental organizations. This individual must be able to clearly demonstrate how those organizations prospered as a result of his or her leadership and direction.
• Experience in a mission-driven organization with a scope and complexity that is commensurate with Partnership Gwinnett and Gwinnett Chamber Economic Development.
• An individual with the ability to transfer previous experience into the current community and economic development challenges in Gwinnett.
• A proven leader with a successful track record in building and developing a successful staff, an active/involved Senior board and volunteers.
• An individual with experience dealing with complex economic, political, and financial issues and the sensitivity to function in the role of a leader in those issue areas.
• A visionary with a demonstrated ability to think outside the box and develop creative approaches to complex issues.
• An individual with extensive knowledge of public policy dynamics, particularly technological, political, and economic challenges for today’s modern communities.

Desired Education, Skills, and Experience:

• College degree preferred;
• 10+ years of relevant work experience required;
• Private Sector Leadership preferred, but not required;
• Skills include strategy development and implementation, financial analyses and budgeting, and impact assessment/evaluation;
• Exceptional interpersonal, writing and verbal communication skills, with the ability to serve as an external voice for the work of the Partnership Gwinnett initiative;
• Excellent analytical skills;
• Deep understanding of urban/suburban economic development issues preferred;
• Demonstrated leadership and proven ability to lead a complex, cross-sector, multi-dimensional, results-oriented agenda;
• Demonstrated success managing teams, including the supervision, development and evaluation of staff and consultants;
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a demanding environment;
• Proven track record of setting Key Performance Indicators for self, team and organization;
• Proven track record of exceeding budget goals;
• Professional certification (CEcD) would be a plus, but not required.

Personal Characteristics:

• A creative thinker with strong problem-solving skills;
• Ability to work under the pressure of tight deadlines;
• Ability to make decisions about how to manage and organize own and team’s workload quickly and effectively;
• Participative work style; ability to receive feedback; and
• Mature interpersonal style, ability to interact well with a diverse range of people