Downtown & Urban Development Manager

City of Fayetteville; Fayetteville (NC); On-site; USD 77,000 - 98,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Fayetteville seeks a Downtown & Urban Development Manager to lead downtown revitalization, drive economic vitality, and manage coordination across public and private partners for a vibrant city center.

Responsibilities include developing long-range strategies, securing grants, fostering placemaking, preserving historic assets, and ensuring a safe, attractive urban core that supports residents, businesses, and visitors.

Qualifications

• Five years of progressively responsible professional experience in downtown management, economic development, redevelopment, planning, public administration, commercial real estate, community development, Main Street management, business improvement district management, or closely related fields.
• Experience leading complex projects and working collaboratively with diverse stakeholders.
• A Master's degree is preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate activity of downtown by facilitating engagement and activity between the City and downtown entities, ensuring that communication between stakeholders is well established.
• Serve as the City's primary coordinator for downtown revitalization, redevelopment, placemaking, and economic competitiveness.
• Develop and implement long-range strategic initiatives that increase downtown investment, business activity, residential development, tourism, and economic vitality.
• Recruit, retain, and assist restaurants, retailers, office users, entertainment venues, hospitality businesses, and other commercial enterprises.
• Manage all administrative aspects of the downtown program, including purchasing, record-keeping, budget development and accounting, preparing all reports required for approved grants, assisting with the preparation of reports to funding agencies and supervising part-time employees or consultants.
• Identify redevelopment opportunities and work proactively with developers, investors, brokers, property owners, and City departments to facilitate public and private investment.
• Coordinate implementation of downtown capital improvement projects including streetscapes, public spaces, lighting, gateways, public art, pedestrian amenities, parking improvements, and beautification projects.
• Develop and/or support strategies for downtown economic development while maintaining historic preservation.
• Develop and maintain productive working relationships with downtown property owners, business owners, developers, neighborhood organizations, educational institutions, Fort Bragg, regional partners, state agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
• Coordinate closely with Cool Spring Downtown District, Downtown Alliance, Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Arts Council, Fayetteville Public Works Commission, Cumberland County, NCDOT, and other strategic partners.
• Coordinate with Police, Fire, the Office of Community Safety, homeless outreach providers, behavioral health organizations, and community partners to improve both actual and perceived public safety while supporting coordinated, compassionate responses to quality-of-life issues affecting downtown.
• Represent the City before elected officials, advisory boards, business organizations, neighborhood groups, developers, investors, state agencies, media representatives, and the public.
• Develop and implement marketing, branding, and destination development initiatives that strengthen Downtown Fayetteville's identity and regional competitiveness.
• Pursue, prepare, administer, and manage local, state, federal, and private grant opportunities that advance downtown revitalization objectives.
• Develop and maintain data systems to track the process and progress of the downtown program. These systems should include economic monitoring, individual building files, and information on growth, activity, job creation, and business retention.
• Constantly review the physical appearance of the downtown infrastructure (streets, lights, sidewalks, parking lots, etc.) and coordinate with existing City departments to ensure that a high level of maintenance is adhered to at all times.

Skills

Downtown management

Economic development

Stakeholder collaboration

Education

Public Administration

Urban Planning

Community Development

Economic Development

Master's degree preferred

Job description

Downtown & Urban Development Manager

Hiring Range: $77,122 - $98,331/Year D.O.Q.

The City of Fayetteville is currently recruiting for a Downtown & Urban Development Manager to serve as the City's chief steward of Downtown Fayetteville and provides visionary leadership to advance the downtown as the community's economic, cultural, civic, entertainment, and tourism center. The position is responsible for fostering economic vitality, encouraging redevelopment and private investment, enhancing placemaking, strengthening public-private partnerships, preserving the community's historic assets, and ensuring exceptional stewardship of the downtown experience and public realm.

Serving as the City's lead professional for downtown revitalization, the Downtown & Urban Development Manager plans, directs, implements, coordinates, and evaluates comprehensive strategies and initiatives that promote business recruitment and retention, redevelopment, destination development, place management, historic preservation, placemaking, and quality-of-life improvements. The position leads the City's day-to-day downtown management function by proactively identifying, prioritizing, and coordinating the resolution of issues affecting the public realm, including cleanliness, litter, graffiti, landscaping, sidewalks, streetscapes, lighting, parking, accessibility, signage, wayfinding, code compliance, beautification, and other quality-of-life concerns. Working collaboratively across multiple City departments—including Public Services, Engineering, Traffic Services, Police, Fire, Community Safety, Transit, Parking, Parks and Recreation, Code Enforcement, and other City departments—as well as elected officials, partner organizations, businesses, property owners, developers, and community stakeholders, the position ensures Downtown Fayetteville remains clean, safe, welcoming, economically competitive, and attractive for residents, visitors, businesses, and investors.

The Downtown & Urban Development Manager serves as the City's principal advisor on downtown revitalization strategies, redevelopment opportunities, economic development initiatives, placemaking, urban design, and downtown policy. The position exercises considerable independent judgment, initiative, and professional discretion while developing innovative solutions, building consensus among diverse stakeholders, facilitating public-private partnerships, and coordinating complex, cross-departmental initiatives that advance the City's strategic priorities.

Success in this position is measured through demonstrable improvements in private investment, redevelopment activity, business recruitment and retention, commercial occupancy, downtown housing, public realm quality, cleanliness, safety, visitor experience, activation of public spaces, stakeholder satisfaction, and the overall vitality, competitiveness, and long-term sustainability of Downtown Fayetteville.

1. Coordinate activity of downtown by facilitating engagement and activity between the City and downtown entities, ensuring that communication between stakeholders is well established.
2. Serve as the City's primary coordinator for downtown revitalization, redevelopment, placemaking, and economic competitiveness.
3. Develop and implement long-range strategic initiatives that increase downtown investment, business activity, residential development, tourism, and economic vitality.
4. Recruit, retain, and assist restaurants, retailers, office users, entertainment venues, hospitality businesses, and other commercial enterprises.
5. Manage all administrative aspects of the downtown program, including purchasing, record-keeping, budget development and accounting, preparing all reports required for approved grants, assisting with the preparation of reports to funding agencies and supervising part-time employees or consultants.
6. Identify redevelopment opportunities and work proactively with developers, investors, brokers, property owners, and City departments to facilitate public and private investment.
7. Coordinate implementation of downtown capital improvement projects including streetscapes, public spaces, lighting, gateways, public art, pedestrian amenities, parking improvements, and beautification projects.
8. Develop and/or support strategies for downtown economic development while maintaining historic preservation. Become familiar with all persons and groups directly or indirectly involved in the downtown commercial district being mindful of the roles of various downtown interest groups.
9. Develop and maintain productive working relationships with downtown property owners, business owners, developers, neighborhood organizations, educational institutions, Fort Bragg, regional partners, state agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
10. Coordinate closely with Cool Spring Downtown District, Downtown Alliance, Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Arts Council, Fayetteville Public Works Commission, Cumberland County, NCDOT, and other strategic partners.
11. Coordinate with Police, Fire, the Office of Community Safety, homeless outreach providers, behavioral health organizations, and community partners to improve both actual and perceived public safety while supporting coordinated, compassionate responses to quality-of-life issues affecting downtown.
12. Represent the City before elected officials, advisory boards, business organizations, neighborhood groups, developers, investors, state agencies, media representatives, and the public.
13. Develop and implement marketing, branding, and destination development initiatives that strengthen Downtown Fayetteville's identity and regional competitiveness.
14. Pursue, prepare, administer, and manage local, state, federal, and private grant opportunities that advance downtown revitalization objectives.
15. Develop and maintain data systems to track the process and progress of the downtown program. These systems should include economic monitoring, individual building files, and information on growth, activity, job creation, and business retention.
16. Constantly review the physical appearance of the downtown infrastructure (streets, lights, sidewalks, parking lots, etc.) and coordinate with existing City departments to ensure that a high level of maintenance is adhered to at all times.

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

Experience

Five years of progressively responsible professional experience in downtown management, economic development, redevelopment, planning, public administration, commercial real estate, community development, Main Street management, business improvement district management, or closely related fields, including experience leading complex projects and working collaboratively with diverse stakeholders.

Preferred

Experience working within a municipal government or public-private partnership environment.

Training

Equivalent to a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Public Administration, Urban Planning, Community Development, Business Administration, Economic Development, Architecture, Historic Preservation, Real Estate, or a closely related field; A Master's degree is preferred.

Licensing & Certifications

Required

None.

Preferred

Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), Project Management Professional (PMP), National Main Street Credential or equivalent downtown management certification or International Downtown Association professional credentials.

• SBI/Fingerprinting Criminal History Record Check Requirement: To comply with Sessions Law 2025-16, applicants offered a position with the City may be subject to a criminal history record check of State and National Repositories of Criminal Histories conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) in accordance with G.S. 143B-1209.26. The City may consider the results of these criminal history record checks in its hiring decisions.

From the time of closing, the selection process is anticipated to last approximately 4 - 6 weeks. The process will consist of a panel interview with the selected candidate being subject to a pre-employment drug screen, background check, and driving history check.

An Equal Opportunity Employer