Business Development Specialist

• Proactively call on and build relationships with businesses in Minneapolis. Visit businesses and attend networking events. Understand the businesses’ needs. Provide information and connections to help meet their needs, create opportunities, and expand existing relationships into even broader ones.
• Help businesses understand the potential real estate, financing, workforce, and regulation navigation support resources from the City, other levels of government, and partner organizations.
• Connect businesses to other complementary businesses, groups, initiatives, events, and opportunities occurring in our market.
• Identify businesses that are considering expansion or relocation out of or into the City and seeks ways to retain and attract desirable businesses to Minneapolis.
• Assist businesses with searches for commercial and industrial real estate.
• Collaborate with colleagues at the City, Hennepin County, GREATER MSP, Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, Minneapolis Downtown Council, and State of Minnesota on business and redevelopment expansion, retention, and attraction projects.
• Improve Business Development’s marketing materials and website describing our business support programs and the benefits of doing business in Minneapolis in collaboration with other City staff.
• Attend City Council, neighborhood group, and business organization meetings to gather and provide information.
• Conduct or participate in workshops or seminars on business and development support programs as needed.

Working Conditions:
Normal office setting.

Required Qualifications:
Required Education:
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, or a related field or a combination of training and experience that is substantially equivalent.

Required Experience:
Five (5) years of experience in business development, sales, marketing, real estate, or related fields.

Licenses/Certifications:
Valid driver’s license.

Desirable Qualifications — Cultural competency:
Ability to relate and work effectively with people from diverse cultural, economic and ethnic backgrounds.

Drug and Alcohol Testing:
All job applicants must pass a pre-employment drug and alcohol test once a conditional offer of employment has been made. Applicants will be required to sign a notification and consent form prior to undergoing drug and alcohol testing. Applicants who do not consent to undergo drug and alcohol testing will not be required to do so and the City will withdraw the conditional job offer, resulting in the job applicant no longer being considered for the position.

Selection Process:
Eligibility to be considered for the position will be determined by a rating of training and experience and/or oral examination (100%). It is very important to fully describe your education and work experiences it relates to this opening on your application form. The City of Minneapolis Human Resources Department reserves the right to limit the number of applicants in any phase of the selection process.

Background Check:
The City has determined that a criminal background check and/or qualifications check may be necessary for certain positions with this job title. Applicants may be required to sign an informed consent form allowing the City to obtain their criminal history and/or verify their qualifications in connection with the position sought. Applicants who do not sign the informed consent form will not be considered further for the position.

Union Representation:
This position is represented by a collective bargaining agreement between the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Professional Employees Association .

THE ELIGIBLE LIST WILL EXPIRE THREE (3) MONTHS AFTER IT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Motivated by the mission to help create opportunities for businesses and workers in Minneapolis.
• Experience and success with originating and building relationships with businesses, strong networking skills.
• Curious about understanding a business’ needs, creative in finding ways to help meet those needs, and dependable to follow-through on ideas and commitments.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with peers, other City colleagues, other governmental partners, business clients, and persons from diverse economic, social, and ethnic backgrounds to achieve outcomes is critical.
• Strong listening, verbal explanation, business writing, and professional presentation skills.
• Knowledge of local and national trends in real estate, financial, and particular business sector markets is important.
• Well read on current events in our local business community.
• Knowledge of economic development, urban planning, and public administration is helpful.
• Knowledge of various government business assistance programs, including those from the City of Minneapolis, is very helpful.
• Experience developing and/or analyzing business plans and business financial statements is helpful.
• Experience with commercial and industrial real estate site searches is helpful.
• Experience with Salesforce or similar CRM software for tracking business relationships and outcomes is helpful.
• Strong internet research skills are important.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office products is assumed.