Vice President of Economic Development

Position:
Vice President of Economic Development at the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development

Reports to: President and CEO of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development

Supervises: The Vice President leads a team of five full-time staff and 1-2 interns. This position has three direct reports:
Director of Business Development, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Director of Talent Development.

The Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development (LPED) exists to make Lincoln and the Lincoln MSA the best place to start a business, grow an existing business, locate an expanding business and foster the talent to provide workforce to grow the economy. LPED is a 501c(6), public-private partnership that provides economic development services for the Lincoln, Nebraska metro area. LPED is housed within the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce (LCOC) organizational umbrella along with the Lincoln Young Professionals Group (YPG) and Visit Lincoln.

The Vice President of Economic Development serves as the senior economic development executive for the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development (LPED) and reports directly to the President and CEO. The position provides strategic leadership for the organization's Business Development, Talent Development and Innovation & Entrepreneurship functions while cultivating strong partnerships with business leaders, educational institutions, government agencies, investors and regional organizations.

The Vice President is responsible for developing and executing LPED's comprehensive economic development strategy to drive business investment, job creation, talent development, entrepreneurship and long-term regional competitiveness. The Vice President supports the execution of the Vitality Lincoln strategic plan and will participate in development of plan updates as needed. The Vice President develops a more detailed annual plan of work to achieve Vitality Lincoln objectives.

The Vice President oversees the Economic Development Department, ensuring alignment of programs, resources and staff to advance LPED's mission and deliver measurable economic outcomes for the Lincoln region. The Vice President develops the annual budget (currently approximately $1.5 million) in partnership with the President and CEO. The Vice President is responsible for supporting fund raising activities of the Investor Relations Director and President and CEO to meet the funding goals of the organization.

• Plan, develop and implement the overarching economic development strategies of the Partnership to attract, retain and expand jobs and capital investment for the Lincoln region. This includes:
• Relevant portions of the Vitality Lincoln Strategic Plan
• Updates to the Lincoln Target Industries for economic development related marketing
• Updates to the Community Capacity plan for sites, buildings and infrastructure
• Annual plan of work for LPED
• Participate in all activities of the 6 staff member Leadership Team of the Lincoln Chamber
• Lead efforts to market Lincoln as a destination for business investment and manage all projects evaluating Lincoln as a potential investment location.
• Champion comprehensive talent strategies to grow, recruit and retain workforce in support of regional business needs.
• Support ecosystem initiatives in entrepreneurship, innovation and startup support across the Lincoln metro.
• Support the President and CEO to advocate for regional investments in infrastructure to support proactive site development.
• Provide strategic direction, leadership and professional development support to the LPED team in delivering business growth services.
• Develop and manage an annual budget (approximately $1.5 million).
• Collaboratively set annual goals with LPED team members and support their successful completion.
• Directly supervise and guide key leadership roles and signature program portfolios:
• Director of Business Development: Overseeing business recruitment, retention and expansion (BRE) programs, and site selection services.
• Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Overseeing startup…