Economic Development Officer

About Our Organization:
When you join the City of Guelph, you join a team of over 2000 employees who deliver services the community relies on every day. Together, we are bringing to life Guelph’s vision of an inclusive, connected, and prosperous city where we look after each other and our environment.

As a regional top employer, the City of Guelph values its employees and offers competitive salaries, excellent benefit packages, opportunities for professional development, a healthy work-life balance, and many roles with flexible work options. Our corporate values are integrity, service, inclusion, wellness, and learning. Guelph is consistently ranked as one of the best places in Canada to live, work, and play—all good reasons to consider a career in this beautiful city.

Job Summary:
Reporting to the Manager, Tourism and Destination Development, the **Economic Development Officer - Tourism** will be responsible for developing and leading economic development programs that enhance Guelph's position as a competitive and prosperous location for private and public investment in the tourism and cultural industries and will positively contribute to the City's employment and non-residential tax base.

**Your role**
- Create and implement viable programs and opportunities that enhance and increase Guelph's tourism and cultural industry competitiveness, investment readiness and business climate, including business retention and expansion, and other related economic development projects through the implementation of the Municipal Accommodation Tax.
- Develop a working knowledge of tourism and cultural industry growth sectors in Guelph and identify prospective investment and expansion leads and follow up with outreach calls, visits, and meetings.
- Respond to requests for information and investment/expansion inquiries and prepare responses in a timely manner.
- Deliver service excellence and act as the City's champion/advisor for tourism and creative business investment/expansion clients and address queries regarding municipal fees, development approval processes (zoning, planning, and permitting processes, etc.), timelines and other municipal matters.
- Leverage tourism development opportunities for women, BIPOC, people who identify as members of LGBTQ2+ community, Indigenous and other underrepresented groups.
- Facilitate meetings with clients and staff, collect required information and attend pre-consultation, site plan review, committee of adjustment and/or Council meetings, with tourism and cultural industry clients and work with staff to find possible solutions where barriers exist.
- Maintain tourism and cultural industry networks and connect businesses and potential investors to municipal, provincial, and federal government resources, funding programs, business support services and resources that offer solutions and support their growth.
- Provide input on corporate policy and program changes and ensure that relevant business stakeholders are appropriately engaged.
- Represent the City and participate in various committees of local economic development organizations with a lens of tourism and cultural industry development.
- Manage project timelines, budgets, and metric reporting requirements.
- Other related duties as required.

**Qualifications**
- Ability to retain and grow tourism and cultural industry business and attract investment.
- Relationship building skills and the ability to initiate, develop, influence, and maintain collaborative relationships with a diverse group of stakeholders both internally and externally, including staff, council, higher levels of government, business, community organizations and academia sectors.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to communicate and work with all levels of staff, stakeholders, and the general public.
- Ability to use data to make sound decisions and solve problems.
- Resourceful and creative thinker with excellent research and analytical skills.
- Project management skills to manage projects within set timelines and budgetary constraints.
- Ability to think and act strategically in a political and community-based service environment.
- Exceptional judgement and political sensitivity in complex situations.
- Experience with Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook).
- Ability to manage and use database programs such as SalesForce or Microsoft Dynamics. Experience using AMANDA would be considered an asset.
- An affiliation with Economic Development Council of Ontario, Economic Development Association of Canada, Ontario Professional Planners Association and/or Canadian Institute of Planners would be considered an asset.
- Bilingualism is an asset.

**Rate**
Non-Union Grade: 5 $81,486.60- $101,858.25

**How to apply**

The City of Guelph is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity in the workplace. We are therefore happy to accommodate any individual needs in keeping with the Ontario Human Rights Code an