Director, Inclusive Cities

HR&A Advisors; New York (NY); On-site; USD 132,000 - 154,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee stock ownership plan

Discretionary bonus

Competitive benefits package

Job summary

HR&A Advisors, an employee-owned firm in New York, seeks an Inclusive Cities Director to lead impactful projects that advance equity and urban transformation. You will manage multiple engagements, shape new work streams, mentor staff, and build external partnerships while guiding policy and economic development efforts across cities.

Strong client engagement and leadership are essential to deliver measurable outcomes.

Qualifications

• 8–12 years of experience in government, urban planning, economic development, real estate, housing, public policy, or related consulting fields.
• Commitment to proactively address and advance racial justice, equity, and anti-racism.
• Background in public policy, economic development, city government, campaigns, or nonprofit management.
• Experience in consulting or client-facing leadership in a social justice-focused organization or local government.
• Experience managing fast-paced, collaborative project teams.
• Strong writing and presentation skills, client interaction, and mentorship.
• Ambitious and creative about applying knowledge to new work.

Responsibilities

• Create project work plans.
• Manage project budgets.
• Direct analytical work of project teams.
• Ensure quality and timeliness of deliverables.
• Interface with clients.
• Partner with the Head to grow the practice and incubate new work streams.

Skills

Management experience

Leadership

Critical thinking

Public policy knowledge

Economic development

Client-facing experience

Mentorship abilities

Job description

ABOUT US

HR&A, an employee‑owned company, guides decision makers in cities, including mayors and agency heads, real estate owners and developers, and nonprofit leaders, to create impact when the stakes are high and the path forward isn't clear.

We bring rigorous analysis and creative problem‑solving to questions that don't have easy answers, combining data‑driven and equity insights with a deep understanding of how cities function.

Our work drives lasting impact by unlocking investment and expanding opportunities in communities.

THE PRACTICE

HR&A’s Inclusive Cities studio leverages our deep understanding of government, knowledge of local and private economic forces, and analytical rigor to promote social and economic justice.

Cities are where class, race, and geography converge — often to the exclusion of many of the communities that make them vibrant. We help translate the ideas of communities and their advocates into meaningful systems change to create more inclusive and thriving cities. Leveraging analytic rigor and robust civic engagement, we work with partners inside and outside government to disrupt the traditional processes of economic development, build greater civic influence for marginalized communities, increase accountability of local governments, and institutionalize mechanisms for more just and equitable cities.

Examples of recent work in our studio include:

• Detroit Mayoral Transition — Led the most inclusive and rigorous mayoral transition in Detroit's history, supporting the city's first Black woman mayor with deep community engagement, equity-centered staff recruitment, and first-term governing plans to prepare the new administration to lead from day one.
• NYC Municipal Grocery Stores — Partnered with the Economic Security Project to develop an operational roadmap for New York City to launch the nation's first network of municipal grocery stores, a tangible, scalable win for the City's affordability agenda.
• Oakland People's Budget Coalition — Translated a community coalition's advocacy agenda into specific, actionable budget asks, helping secure City Council wins including restored funding for violence prevention and the arts, expanded affordable housing investment, and a first step toward police restructuring.

To learn more about the Inclusive Cities studio and recent/current projects, visit http://bit.ly/HRAInclusiveCities.

THE ROLE

Reporting directly to the Head of the Inclusive Cities studio, the Director will manage Inclusive Cities projects in impactful ways that embody our values; develop new practice areas, projects, methodologies, and relationships; and serve as internal and external go-to for the practice.

At HR&A, Directors manage multiple projects and business development efforts concurrently. Project timelines and scopes are highly variable and often span several weeks to several months, with Directors managing between three and six projects at a given time. They will be responsible for:

• Creating project work plans
• Managing project budgets
• Directing the analytical work of project teams
• Ensuring the quality and timeliness of deliverables
• Interfacing with clients

Responsibilities of the Inclusive Cities Director will also include:

• Close partnership with the Partner on the growth, strategy, and concurrent priorities of the Inclusive Cities studio.
• Playing a critical role in incubating new lines of work, memorializing methodologies, training staff, and establishing the systems and structures that support HR&A's practices to scale.
• Support the growth of HR&A's Transition practice, helping newly elected city and county leaders design governing agendas across the practice's three pillars — community, policy, and talent.
• Support the growth of HR&A's Talent practice, running equitable, rigorous executive searches that recruit values-aligned, diverse leaders into local government, and designing onboarding processes that help them deliver on administration priorities.
• Serving as a leader in the Inclusive Cities practice by building key external and internal relationships and identifying new project types and services that support those on the front lines of making cities equitable and just.
• Representing HR&A and the Inclusive Cities practice externally at events, professional associations, and in networks.
• Training and mentoring staff across the firm, including in multiple offices.
• Engaging in internal firmwide activities that advance HR&A's commitment to anti-racism

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

We are looking for candidates with management and leadership experience in the public, private, or non-profit sector, who bring deep curiosity about the challenges facing cities today, with a passion for equity and systems change, and who are committed to leveraging the unique opportunities we are given to work closely with clients to help them accomplish their goals and who have a demonstrated ability to forge authentic relationships.

Successful candidates:

• 8–12 years of experience in government, urban planning, economic development, real estate, housing, public policy, or related consulting fields.
• Possess exceptional critical thinking skills, a deep curiosity about the challenges and opportunities of economic opportunity, quality of life, and the built environment, and a commitment to proactively address and advance racial justice, equity, and anti-racism.
• Bring a strong background and/or foundation in public policy, economic development, city government, political campaigns, or nonprofit management as an important reference point for our work.
• Bring experience in consulting or comparable client-facing functions in a relevant field and/or a leadership setting within a social justice-focused organization or local government agency such that they can demonstrate the ability to manage multiple projects at one time in ways that are impactful, adaptive, persuasive.
• Experience managing fast-paced, collaborative project teams.
• Possess substantial writing and presentation skills, sufficient poise for direct client interaction, and mentorship capabilities.
• Are ambitious and creative about new ways in which our firm’s knowledge and expertise can be deployed.

COMPENSATION

The base salary range for this position is $131,600–$153,779, plus the opportunity for a discretionary year-end bonus. Where an offer falls inside this pay range is dependent on experience. We offer competitive compensation packages, based on qualifications and experience. We are an employee-owned company, meaning you will have the opportunity to benefit from the firm’s growth over time through participation in our Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Each year, the firm will contribute funds to this long‑term wealth‑building account and may make contributions to other retirement accounts. We also provide a comprehensive benefits package that goes well beyond coverage of 90-95% of healthcare premiums, including dental and vision coverage.

HR&A is committed to attracting and retaining a talented, diverse, competitive team of professionals dedicated to solving the challenges of urban life. Women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.

All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital status, medical condition, veteran status or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local law.