Project Director - Denver, Colorado
: Job Details :

ECOnorthwest has an immediate opening for a full-time Project Director. This position will collaborate with firm leadership to continue to build off a growing book of housing policy and economic development work in Colorado and the Intermountain West, and to execute a strategy for growth.

If you love public policy, there are few better fits anywhere in the U.S. ECO has weighed in on everything from tax reform and rent control to dam removals and drug legalization. This Project Director will have the opportunity to make a deep impact on Colorado's housing and land use policies, helping to shape the neighborhoods, walkable communities, and equitable cities of the future. It's the rare job that allows you to get paid to think about how to improve the community in which you live.

We are a highly networked and interdisciplinary firm, and our concept of “team” is geographically and topically diverse. We do not yet have a physical office in Denver, although our body of work in the region is expanding quickly. The following are examples of regional and topical projects relevant to this position.

• —Louisville Colorado Housing Action Plan
• —Denver Regional Council of Governments Regional Housing Needs Assessment
• —AARP Livable Communities Middle Housing Policy
• —Missoula Midtown Master Plan

• Lead business development efforts in collaboration with Practice Leads, including developing networks with potential clients and teaming partners, understanding the competitive landscape and ECO's role within it, and representing project work externally.
• Balance billable project work, along with business development, culture-building, and thought leadership.
• Develop a business pipeline equal to or greater than the project director's revenue target for the year.
• Develop project teams, ensuring the clarity of roles for members of the project team; provide feedback on staff performance on project work; ensure appropriate flow of information to all team members; mentor and support project teams as they collaborate to execute project work.
• Ensure all work products are accurate, relevant, and meet the client's needs, consistent with ECOnorthwest's mission and operating values.
• Lead and provide quality control for a team's technical analysis and research.
• Understand client needs, set realistic expectations, manage difficult situations within a project, reach agreement with client from outset of project.
• Understand and communicate the strategic and political implications and consequences of work.
• Be visible in the community, offering thought leadership on ECOnorthwest's portfolio of work in presentations and networking events.
• Support the creation of a staff team in Colorado, consistent with ECOnorthwest's expectations for firm culture.

We recommend that your resume and cover letter address these qualifications to the fullest extent possible.

Desired Competencies: TECHNICAL

• Ability to understand and implement established policies, procedures, and corporate tools.
• Ability to communicate complex technical findings in written deliverables and presentations.
• Ability to manage project documentation (technical and management) and data (or information) requirements.
• Knowledge of long-range planning, housing policy, and economic development systems, tools, and policies in Colorado.

• Ability to communicate tactfully and candidly, inform senior staff and/or clients of pertinent issues, define clear roles and manage difficult situations within a team, be an excellent listener.
• Ability to effectively lead a diverse staff team, working with the project team to set achievable objectives, maintain a positive outlook, make decisions, reinforce a culture of inclusivity, and provide and receive constructive and regular feedback.
• Ability to analyze and define a problem, evaluate alternatives, find a solution, and understand how to communicate tradeoffs.
• Ability to share information, coach team members, delegate responsibility, promote supportive team interactions.
• Understand how to obtain and ensure quality results for client satisfaction.
• Ability to take corrective actions and perform verification of project standards.

• Model the firm's mission and operating values in all interactions, internal and external.
• Proactively contribute to a collegial and inclusive work environment.
• Intellectual curiosity and rigor; thought leadership.
• Political acumen.
• Open-minded approach; listens to understand.
• Takes responsibility for own work.
• Reliability, timeliness, and efficient management of time and workload.

Qualifications:

• Degree in economics, planning, political science, environmental policy, public policy, public administration or a related field (Master's or PhD preferred).
• Minimum of eight years of professional experience in consulting, government service, or related field.
• Demonstrated excellence in written and oral presentation.
• Ability to understand and apply economic and public policy frameworks, fluency with a range of quantitative and qualitative research methods, and an ability to interpret and communicate findings in a policy context.

• The salary for this full-time exempt position will be commensurate with experience and market rates, roughly ranging from $110,000 – $135,000.
• This position is eligible for full company benefits including medical/dental/vision/life/disability insurance, flexible spending accounts, 401(k), and paid holidays. The position also is also eligible for quarterly production bonuses and year end profit sharing.

• Ability to work for long periods at a computer.

• Denver, Colorado.
• ECOnorthwest offers a hybrid work schedule, asking non-remote employees to prioritize in-office work Tuesday through Thursday. Until ECOnorthwest sets up a fully-staffed Denver office, this position will be fully remote, with an expectation to travel to our HQ in Portland at least twice per year.

• Generally full-time, Mon-Fri 8-5.

All materials should be submitted in PDF format. Please contact ...@econw.com if you have any questions or concerns about these requirements.

Resume and Cover Letter (1 page limit)

ECOnorthwest is committed to improving its diversity and inclusiveness as a workplace. Our best work draws on teams within and beyond ECOnorthwest who have diverse backgrounds and experiences that reflect the multifaceted communities we work in. Thus, we encourage applicants who would expand the diversity of lived experiences within our team and who share our values and commitments to advancing equity through research and data justice. ECOnorthwest is not a sponsoring organization. ECOnorthwest is an Equal Opportunity Employer.