Economic Development Director (Unclassified) (Mayor’s Office)

City of San Jose; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 215,000; Full time

Job summary

City of San José seeks a Mayor’s Economic Development Director with a proven track record in leading major economic development and investment efforts. The role requires building relationships across business, government, and community sectors to advance San José’s economic future.

The candidate will lead senior relationships with key employers and investors, coordinate with OEDCA and private partners, and drive outcomes from initial interest to concrete commitments.

Qualifications

• Experience leading major economic development, investment attraction, real estate, or urban revitalization strategies.
• Established relationships across relevant industries and a demonstrated ability to convert business interest into significant investment and development outcomes.
• Ability to inspire confidence in San José’s economic future and drive private capital commitments.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Mayor’s senior relationship owner for major employers, corporate real estate executives, brokers, developers, and other investors.
• Collaborate to develop industry-by-industry relationships identifying opportunities and barriers.
• Build and maintain a network of brokers, site selectors, bankers, venture capital investors, and developers.
• Engage with arts, culture, tourism, and business communities to advance economic goals.
• Lead policy work under the Growing our Economy Focus Area through budget to implementation.
• Support policy memos, speeches, and business retention/attraction efforts; coordinate cross-departmental teams to remove bottlenecks.

Skills

Economic Development

Investment Attraction

Stakeholder Engagement

Public-Private Partnerships

Government Relations

Strategic Communication

Negotiation & Deals

Education

Bachelor’s degree in political science, public administration, business administration, finance, economics, real estate, public relations or related field

Master’s degree in public or business administration or real estate development desirable

Job description

The City of San José, the Capital of Silicon Valley, is one of the nation's best managed cities and one of the top ten cities in which to live, work, and do business. Moreover, San José is the center of cultural, government, and economic activity for the region. The employees of the City of San José have embraced the following values: Integrity, Innovation, Excellence, Collaboration, Respect and Celebration.

The San José City Council consists of ten Councilmembers elected by district and a Mayor elected at‑large, each for four-year terms. The Mayor serves as the political leader of San José, and under the City Charter, is responsible for recommending policy, program, and budget priorities for the City. The Mayor and Council are responsible for representing the residents of San José, providing accountability, reviewing public policy and programs, and adopting those policies which best meet the needs of the residents, visitors, and businesses in San José.

The Mayor serves as the political leader of San José, and under the City Charter, is responsible for recommending policy, program, and budget priorities for the City.

ABOUT THE POSITION

The Mayor’s Office is seeking a Mayor’s Economic Development Director with experience leading major economic development, investment attraction, real estate, or urban revitalization strategies; established relationships across relevant industries; and a demonstrated ability to convert business interest into significant investment and development outcomes.

The position works directly with business leaders, developers, small business owners, labor representatives, cultural institutions, public agencies, and community partners to engage and align stakeholders around a shared vision for the City’s economic future. The successful candidate will serve as one of the Mayor’s principal economic ambassadors—making a compelling case for investing in San José, cultivating relationships with key decision-makers, and moving employers, developers, and investors from initial interest toward concrete commitments in the City.

The role requires both deep economic-development knowledge and strong business-development instincts. The successful candidate must be able to inspire confidence in San José’s economic future, understand what drives private investment decisions, identify the individuals who can authorize capital commitments, and help create the conditions necessary for them to act.

The position will work closely with the administration’s Director of the Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs (OEDCA) and the Mayor’s strategic public/private partnerships function to coordinate engagement with companies and investors, establish clear relationship ownership, avoid duplicative outreach, and ensure that the Mayor’s Office presents a unified strategy to external partners.

The position will report to the Mayor’s Chief Policy and Intergovernmental Relations Officer. The position further:

• Serves as the Mayor’s senior relationship owner for major employers, corporate real estate executives, commercial real estate brokers, developers, professional sports organizations, hotels, utilities, financial institutions, and other significant investors and capital allocators.
• Collaborates with the Director of OEDCA to develop an industry-by-industry relationship that identifies key companies, decision-makers, intermediaries, opportunities, and barriers affecting San José’s competitiveness.
• Builds and maintains a comprehensive network of commercial brokers, site selectors, corporate real estate professionals, bankers, venture capital investors, developers, and other individuals who influence where private capital is deployed.
• Interfaces regularly with the development, real estate, arts, culture, tourism, and business communities to identify opportunities and challenges, build trusted relationships, gather actionable intelligence, and develop partnerships that advance the City’s economic goals.
• Leads the policy work under the Growing our Economy Focus Area work through the budget process to implementation.
• Supports the Mayor in drafting policy memos and major speeches on economic development and cultural affairs.
• Supports business retention, attraction, and appreciation efforts through site visits, engagement strategies, and collaboration with OEDCA and other regional economic-development partners. Ensures that major companies and investors have a clear point of contact within the Mayor’s Office when navigating City processes, while maintaining appropriate coordination with City departments and respecting established administrative and legal responsibilities. This includes convening and coordinating cross-departmental teams to address entitlements, permitting, infrastructure, and incentive structures, while proactively removing bottlenecks and championing project progress.
• Ensures that ongoing troubleshooting, departmental coordination, and follow-through are assigned to the appropriate staff member or City partner.
• Partners closely with the Director of Innovation and Public Private Partnerships, Chief Innovation Officer, and other Mayor’s Office leaders when engaging companies that may offer economic investment, philanthropic support, workforce partnerships, technical assistance, or other forms of collaboration.
• Measures success and reports on key results through tangible outcomes such as investment commitments, employer retention and expansion, projects advanced, jobs and housing enabled, infrastructure barriers resolved, partnerships secured, and private capital activated in support of San José’s economic priorities.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

Success in the Mayor’s Office requires a commitment to service, focus, integrity, collaboration, intellectual curiosity, pragmatic problem-solving, and accountability for results. In addition, the ideal candidate will:

• Combine economic development and land use expertise with the presence, persuasion, and commercial instincts of an effective business development executive.
• Have demonstrated success cultivating senior level relationships and converting those relationships into investments, transactions, expansions, partnerships, or other measurable commitments.
• Understand how companies, developers, lenders, investors, and corporate real estate leaders evaluate markets and allocate capital.
• Be a compelling advocate for San José who can communicate the City’s assets, opportunities, and competitive advantages in a way that inspires confidence and prompts action.
• Know when to personally own a relationship, when to engage the Mayor, and when to transition an opportunity to an account manager or implementation lead for sustained follow-through.
• Be comfortable making direct asks, navigating objections, negotiating and maintaining momentum between initial engagement and final investment.
• Bring—or demonstrate the ability to rapidly build—a strong network across the industries most important to San José’s economic future.

The total salary range for the Economic Development Director is $170,000 - $215,000. This amount includes an approximate five percent (5%) ongoing non-pensionable pay. The actual salary shall be determined by the final candidates’ qualifications and experience.

Employees in this classification are not members of the classified civil service and appointment would be on a contract “at-will” basis and is for a specified period of time to be determined by the appointing elected official and does not extend past the end of the elected official's term. Candidates must be willing to work frequent evenings and weekends, and as exempt management employees, are not eligible for overtime compensation. This unclassified position requires a disclosure of outside investments, real property interest, income and business positions.

Any combination of training and experience that provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities to advise the Mayor on matters of public policy.

Required Licensing:

Possession of a valid California Driver’s license is required.

Employment Eligibility:

Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

Desirable Qualifications

The ideal candidate will possess the most desirable combination of training, skills, and experience, which will allow them to serve as a member of the Mayor’s Team.

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in political science, public administration, business administration, finance, economics, real estate, public relations or related field. A Master’s degree in public or business administration or real estate development; or a degree in a technical field related to a municipal function is highly desirable.

Selection Process

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to the Job Specific Questions. Only the candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews with an applied project.

You will be prompted to answer the following job-specific questions during the online application process. Please note that there is a total 2-page, single spaced limit for your responses. Please note: Applicants must write their own responses. Use of AI content in responses may result in disqualification.

1. Describe a specific initiative in which you played a significant role in creating private-sector jobs, attracting investment, retaining or expanding businesses, or growing economic opportunity. What was your role, what strategies did you employ, who were the key stakeholders, and what measurable outcomes resulted from your efforts?
2. Identify a specific opportunity or challenge facing an employer, developer, or investor considering locating or expanding operations in San José. Explain why you believe this issue is important, how you would evaluate it, and what specific actions you would take to capitalize on the opportunity or overcome the challenge to secure investment and create jobs in San José.
3. Why are you our next Economic Development Director?

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Sarah Zarate at [e-mail].

Link to California Equal Pay Act.

This position will remain open until filled . The Mayor’s Office will begin reviewing applications as of November 30, 2026, and applications will be reviewed continuously. Therefore, we encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible.