Business Outreach Coordinator

Information about this position:

The City of Saint Paul’s Department of Planning and Economic Development is seeking a Business Outreach Coordinator to join a team that is passionate about building a vibrant, dynamic Saint Paul by leveraging the strengths of a diverse urban core city.

The Business Outreach Coordinator is a key member of the City’s Economic Development team, leading the business outreach efforts of a team of six to eight staff, all reporting to the Economic Development Director. The Business Outreach Coordinator is responsible for developing and executing strategies to retain and expand businesses in Saint Paul and attract new investment to the city. This is a functional team lead role, directing the business outreach work of Economic Development staff and collaborating with partners including the Saint Paul Port Authority, the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce and Greater MSP. The successful candidate will be entrepreneurial and possess a strong background in business outreach or sales.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Market Saint Paul as a great place to do business.
• Develop and execute measurable strategies for effectively landing new and expanding businesses in Saint Paul, and meaningfully spurring job and tax base growth, consistent with the Economic Development Strategy .
• Oversee the business outreach work of a team of Economic Development staff:
  • Develop and lead a strategic approach to identify, prioritize, and initiate business retention, expansion, and attraction visits that will provide the right support and engagement to businesses at the right time.
  • Devise and maintain systems for the Economic Development Division to track business relationships and prospects, and to quantify outcomes.
  • Develop marketing materials that promote Saint Paul to business investors.
• Perform ongoing analysis of business market trends to identify opportunities to catalyze business investment in Saint Paul.
• Solicit business investment in Saint Paul through contact with business leaders and senior management of business organizations and regional economic development partners. Partners include: local companies, Greater MSP, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, the Saint Paul Port Authority, and professional and trade associations.
• Serve as a strategic business advocate for companies ranging from start-ups to small-to-midsize businesses to large employers, actively engaging in problem solving when barriers arise to business investments.
• Provide guidance to businesses on navigating city regulatory processes, obtaining funding (private and public), searching for real estate, accessing hiring and training resources, and making connections with potential business partners.
• Identify businesses for contact by the department leadership, Mayor and City Council members.
• Facilitate meetings for city leaders with businesses, developers, and investors.
• Seek ways to improve city processes, policies and regulations related to doing business in Saint Paul.
• Act as a liaison between businesses and city departments and other levels of government.
• Establish working relationships with commercial real estate professionals and brokers.

Preferred qualifications for the current opening include:

• Strong leadership and networking skills.
• Knowledge of business, business market trends and commercial real estate.
• Knowledge of sales and marketing as it relates to the business community and the practice of economic development.
• Ability to track, quantify, and report on details of business visits, requests, and projects.
• Results orientation and ability to quantify results and see work outcomes in quantitative terms.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to a variety of audiences.
• Skilled at persuasion and negotiation.
• Ability to work with a diverse business and real estate community.
• Ability to establish and sustain strong working relationships across a wide network of contacts, including business leaders, elected officials, community organizations and the public.
• A drive to do what it takes to get the job done, including taking on different roles and responsibilities and adapting to changing environments.
• Ability to work effectively with minimal supervision while meeting deadlines.
• Strong research skills and familiarity with research principles.
• Experience with Salesforce or other Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems.

About Us:

Saint Paul, the most livable city in America, and the capital of Minnesota, is the second most populous city in the state, with a population of 300,000 people. Saint Paul is noted for its strong and stable neighborhoods and business districts, each with its own texture of historic interest, cultural landmarks, ethnic heritage, and time-honored traditions. More than 80 languages are spoken in the homes of Saint Paul school students, with the four most used languages being English, Hmong, Somali, and Spanish. The city has a thriving commercial center and is home to countless small businesses as well as multinational corporations and large regional enterprises. Saint Paul has a strong mayor form of government.

The Department of Planning and Economic Development strives to actively create opportunities and encourage investment for the benefit of Saint Paul residents and businesses, which preserve, sustain and grow the city’s diverse neighborhoods.

REQUIREMENTS:

A Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Public Administration, or a related field, and four years of experience in business management, sales, commercial or industrial real estate brokerage, business site selection, and/or economic development.

OR

A Master’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Public Administration, or a related field, and two years of experience in business management, sales, commercial or industrial real estate brokerage, business site selection, and/or economic development.

Experience may be substituted for education.

BY CLOSING DATE, YOU MUST:

• Submit a City of Saint Paul online application.
• Upload or submit a legible copy of your resume (required) via the online application system. (Zip files and web links will not be accepted. Each uploaded attachment is limited to 10MB). Please ensure that your application and resume address the job duties and preferred qualifications for this position.