IMPORTANT NOTICE: Arlington County requires all applicants to thoroughly complete each section of the application, including prior job responsibilities, duties, and supplemental questions. While you may attach a resume, it will not replace a completed application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

The Arlington Economic Development (AED) Division is seeking an experienced urban real estate professional to fill the role of a Commercial Development Specialist in the Strategic Investment Group (SIG) of Arlington Economic Development (AED).  AED is a department within Arlington County that reports to the County Manager and interacts regularly with the County Board on major legislative and policy issues. The mission of AED is to support and grow a dynamic economy in focus areas such as business attraction and retention, small business support, growth in the tourism and hospitality sector, real estate development, and cultural investment and placemaking.

The SIG is often at the forefront of major County initiatives given its focus on Arlington’s commercial market resiliency and the related impact on Arlington’s fiscal base, as well as supporting major tenant attraction and retention deals, small business support, and placemaking efforts. The work SIG does by nature requires extensive intradepartmental and interdepartmental collaboration and management.

The SIG division of AED provides a wide range of services to Arlington’s business and real estate development community, with the primary areas of focus:

Business Support and Strategic Partnerships: Working to quickly and creatively solve regulatory hurdles and delays that impede business or real estate investment in Arlington County. This will include assisting businesses/landlords on occupancy permits, sign permits, etc., and/or commercial real developers on land use entitlement issues related to active site plan projects or long-range neighborhood plans. SIG also works with internal colleagues and external stakeholders to help implement the workplans of the County’s BIDs and Partnerships.
Market Intelligence and Policy Formation: SIG provides recurring, core data reporting as well as thought leadership and unique data sets for emerging trends that impact Arlington County’s economic and real estate base. An outcome of the research and analysis is to drive policy formation. As an example, the SIG team comprises the core staff of the County Manager’s Commercial Market Resiliency Initiative (CMRI), which among other accomplishments authored the policy and guided the implementation that allowed for the adaptive reuse of obsolete office buildings.
Urban Placemaking: The SIG team seeks out opportunities to manage and collaborate within AED and across County departments on placemaking efforts that enhance and sustain the economic strength of Arlington’s mixed-use, urban neighborhoods. This includes an existing and extensive public art collection and program.

Specific Duties Include:

Acting as the primary point of contact for requests to the County or AED to assist businesses seeking to occupy commercial spaces, including large office users, small businesses and the retail/restaurant sector;
Implementing policy priorities and regulatory changes to improve land use flexibility and County responsiveness and increase the County’s commercial market resiliency, which could include project management of interdepartmental staff initiatives, creation of policy documents, and writing of zoning text amendments, for further information click here;
Reviewing site plan projects and long-range planning efforts to provide an economic development perspective;
Identifying and facilitating solutions to challenges for retail and commercial office tenant occupancy, including land use policies and ordinances, and signage and permitting; 
Assisting in the implementation of placemaking elements generated by SIG, AED, other County departments or external stakeholders such as the BIDs and Partnerships;
Tracking and reporting the state of the commercial market in Arlington; 
Communicating with property owners and retail brokers on real-time leasing trends and transactions;
Briefing the AED director, senior County leadership, and the County Board; and 
Supporting other new programs and policy efforts.

The ideal candidate will be a self-starter with a passion for supporting businesses and commercial property owners, possess the knack for problem solving regulatory and policy challenges often under tight timeframes, and have an adeptness at relationship building with both internal and external stakeholders. They will also have the ability to articulate and concisely brief senior County leadership, a strong knowledge of real estate development economics, and a strong understanding of public finance tools.

Minimums:

Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning, Business/Public Administration, Real Estate Development, or other closely related field; and
Significant experience in one or more of the following areas; project management; direct experience in retail development or brokerage fields; local government Real Estate processes and practices; and Public speaking/presentation.

Substitutions: Additional qualifying experience can be substituted for the educational requirement on a year-for-year basis.

Desirables: Preference may be given to candidates with significant work experience and/or further education/training in related field and experience in one or more of the following:

Economic development, real estate consulting, or commercial real estate development or leasing; 
Planning and zoning processes and practices;
Urban planning with a focus on regulatory change;
Business improvement districts or similar organizations; and, 
Public speaking/presentation experience.

Special Requirements:

Please attach a Resume to your application.

Driver’s License: Applicant must possess, or obtain by time of appointment, a valid driver license, or the ability to use alternative methods of transportation to perform duties at other locations and if applicable, must provide or authorize Arlington County to obtain a copy of official driving record. Any offer of employment may be contingent upon favorable review of the applicants driving record.

Background Check: A pre-employment criminal records check will be conducted. It may include checks of the following: criminal record, driving record, education, professional licensure, and credit history. You may be required to sign a release authorizing the County to obtain your background information.

Additional Information:

Work Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a hybrid office policy requiring employees to be in office at least three days a week. The employee must be able to travel and attend local, state, and national events even if outside normal working hours.

All employees are eligible for County government employee benefits that include health, dental, vacation and sick leave, commuter transportation subsidies, tuition reimbursement, as well as a generous retirement plan. For more information, click here.

Arlington County is committed to advancing diversity, equity, access, and inclusion across all our services, activities, and programs. Learn more about our commitment.

Your responses to the Supplemental Questionnaire are considered part of the selection process. Please do not enter "see resume" as a response to the questions. Each section of the application must be completed. A resume may be attached; however, it will not substitute for the completed application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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