ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

City of Lynchburg; Lynchburg (VA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Lynchburg is seeking an Economic Development Manager to lead the BRE program, cultivate investment prospects, and manage the business development pipeline. You will engage existing businesses, coordinate resources, and maintain data in CRM and PM systems with accountability for measurable outcomes.

The role requires initiative, independence, and proficient relationship management in an externally facing environment, reporting to the Assistant Director of Economic Development.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years in economic development or related external-facing roles.
• Ability to initiate work, manage multiple priorities, and deliver outcomes.
• Experience engaging businesses, partners, and stakeholders.
• Experience with CRM, project management or similar systems.
• Strong written, verbal, organizational and analytical skills.

Responsibilities

• Execute the BRE program with emphasis on existing business engagement and follow-through.
• Conduct targeted business engagement to meet visitation goals.
• Serve as primary day-to-day contact for existing businesses and coordinate resources.
• Identify and cultivate new investment prospects aligned with priorities.
• Manage the pipeline in CRM and project tools with status and next steps.
• Prepare prospect materials, coordinate site tours, monitor property inventory.
• Support incentive compliance and grant tracking with accuracy.
• Track activity and deliver monthly and quarterly performance metrics.
• Other duties as required.

Skills

CRM experience

Project management

Relationship management

Communication skills

Analytical skills

Organizational skills

Independent initiative

Tools

CRM software

Project management software

Job description

The Economic Development Manager serves as a primary business development officer responsible for executing the City’s business retention program, cultivating new investment opportunities, and managing the business development and prospect pipeline.

This position requires strong personal initiative, external relationship building, disciplined pipeline management, and consistent follow-through. The Manager is expected to proactively engage existing businesses, identify needs and challenges, cultivate prospective investment opportunities, and maintain accurate project and performance data within CRM and project management systems.

The Manager operates with independence in executing assigned responsibilities within established departmental strategy, priorities, workflows, and decision authority. This is an externally focused, performance-driven role requiring accountability for activity, follow-through, and measurable outcomes. This position reports to the Assistant Director of Economic Development.

The City of Lynchburg is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and encourages all to apply.

• Execute the City’s strategic Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) program, with primary responsibility for existing business engagement, actionable intelligence, issue identification, and measurable follow-through.
• Conduct targeted business engagement aligned with established annual visitation goals and departmental priorities, ensuring interactions result in documented follow-through and appropriate coordination.
• Serve as a primary day-to-day point of contact for existing businesses, identifying business needs and challenges and coordinating appropriate resources and responses.
• Identify and cultivate new investment prospects aligned with established priority industry sectors and support the advancement of recruitment projects under the direction of departmental leadership.
• Manage and maintain the qualified business development and prospect pipeline within CRM and project management systems, including activity, project status, next steps, and outcomes.
• Prepare prospect materials and data responses, coordinate site tours, and monitor commercial property inventory and proactively market strategic sites.
• Support incentive compliance and grant tracking with accuracy and timeliness.
• Track business development activity and deliver monthly performance metrics and quarterly KPI reports aligned with departmental goals.
• Other duties as required.

Additional duties and responsibilities may include the following:

• Other duties to provide direct or indirect service to businesses and citizens may be assigned.
• When unusual situations occur and/or the City Manager declares a State of Emergency, all City employees may be required to accept special assignments and perform as needed to ensure appropriate service delivery.

Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• High initiative without constant direction.
• Ability to work independently within established priorities and decision authority.
• Professional maturity in cross-functional and external-facing environments.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and competing priorities.
• Confidence in external relationship management.
• Sound judgment regarding when to act, coordinate, or escalat
• Strong ownership of commitments and follow-through.
• Accountability for measurable activity and outcomes.

QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Minimum Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of experience in economic development or a complementary field such as business development, sales, commercial real estate, workforce development, government relations, account management, or other externally facing roles involving relationship management and representation of organizational interests.
• Demonstrated ability to independently initiate and execute assigned work, manage multiple priorities, and deliver measurable outcomes.
• Experience working directly with businesses, clients, community partners, or other stakeholders in a relationship-driven environment.
• Experience with CRM, project management, or comparable systems used to manage pipelines, track activity and project status, and ensure follow-through.
• Strong written, verbal, organizational, and analytical skills.

Operating Environment & Expectations

Work is performed within the City’s established operational framework, including defined workflows, reporting structures, and decision authority. This role requires consistent use of CRM systems, adherence to project management processes, and alignment with departmental communication and coordination standards.

• Possession of a valid driver's license issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia and an acceptable driving record according to City criteria.
• Must successfully complete IS100 and IS700 National Incident Management (NIMS) training within 90 days of employment.
• May also be required to complete higher levels of NIMS training as determined appropriate for the position.