Assistant City Manager bei City of Charlottesville, VA

About the Department

The Assistant City Manager is an executive staff management position and a member of the City Manager’s Cabinet. Assists the City Manager in a variety of assignments relating to organizational goals and objectives, strategic planning and priorities, capital improvement planning, city wide initiatives, special projects, operational efficiencies, fiscal affairs, and administrative operations. Assignments may include the oversight of specific departments and responsibility for executing certain community engagement initiatives. The Assistant responds to inquiries from the City Council and the public and oversees and participates in the planning and administration of major projects and programs.

This position works collaboratively with Deputy and Assistant City Managers, Department Directors, Assistant/Deputy Directors, and other senior leadership within the organization to support the City Manager. This is accomplished by serving as a trusted advisor and analyst to the City Manager, overseeing internal and external commitments, ensuring priorities are strategically managed and results measured, and service delivery meets and aligns with established organizational performance standards. The City Manager has direct supervision of the City's departments; however, the Assistant City Manager will have oversight of a specific portfolio of City departments and/or offices, the City's community engagement initiatives, responding to inquiries from the City Council and the public, and overseeing and participating in the planning and administration of major projects and programs.

The Assistant City Manager must demonstrate transparency, accountability, and trust-building in supporting the City Manager’s vision while ensuring staff feel equipped and empowered to deliver. The Assistant City Manager will be an openly disciplined, empathetic, strategic advocate, and empowering leader who models the organizational excellence performance standard.  Reports to the City Manager.

The hiring amount for the Assistant City Manager position(s) is not to exceed $205,000.00 annually. Starting offer is based on applicable education, experience, and internal equity. This is a full-time, exempt, position which provides excellent benefits including 13 paid holidays plus 1 floating holiday, paid vacation and sick leave, health insurance options with employer contribution, employer-paid life insurance, City's retirement options, gym membership reimbursement, tuition reimbursement, and continuing education/training opportunities. This position is eligible to receive 80 hours of discretionary leave per calendar year. 

• For a general summary of benefits offered by the City, please click the 'benefits' tab on this posting, or visit https://www.charlottesville.gov/1047/Employee-Benefits.
• The City of Charlottesville manages its own retirement system which offers both a defined benefit and a defined contribution option.  While the City does not participate in VRS, the City has a Portability Agreement with VRS and there are certain provisions that must be met. For questions pertaining to the Portability Agreement, please contact the City's Benefits Administrator at 434-970-3462.

Position Duties

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations will be considered to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The essential functions of the job are not limited to those listed in the job description.  The City retains the discretion to add to or change the duties of the position at any time.

• Plans, organizes, and coordinates the operational and administrative functions of key city departments and/or management support divisions, as assigned by the City Manager.
• Leads and directs department directors, facilitates a congruent administrative services team within the organization and ensures continuous improvements across organizational-wide programs and special projects by fostering psychological safety, active listening, and collaboration across portfolios, ensuring diverse perspectives are valued in decision-making.
• Manages the development, analysis, and administration of budgets for reporting departments, evaluates policies and procedures, presents recommendations for revisions to the City Manager, administers assigned projects and monitors progress.
• Coordinates staff and consultant presentations, ensuring timely preparation and delivery of agenda materials to the City Council, coordinating, and facilitating briefings to Council Committees and monitoring completions of assigned tasks with clarity about roles and responsibilities to prevent assumptions about expectations or authority.
• Participates in annual planning retreat, Councilor orientation, onboarding new employee program and office staffing.
• Recruits and manages staff leadership to execute programs, policies and systems and provides broad policy oversight of administrative support services including budgetary and human resources needs.
• Consults and collaborates with executive staff and senior departmental leadership and provides advice and counsel on complex management issues, organizational structure, feasibility and the potential impact of varying courses of action; coordinates interdepartmental program elements with City-wide goals.
• Works as a strategic partner with executive management team to assist with defining action plans and developing ideas/strategies to fill business process gaps that impact the organization's mission and strategic plan.
• Manages and monitors annual action plans of assigned department in support of Council's strategic priorities. Ensures that departmental goals are incorporated into performance objectives and provides direction and oversight for monthly progress reporting.
• In collaboration with the City Manager, provides leadership and management direction to planning and executing team building, professional development and annual retreats for executive and senior level staff while equipping staff with independence and tools to lead, not just participate.
• Represents the City Manager at various internal and external events to further the City's employee and community engagement initiatives and uses these opportunities to serve as a strategic advocate, aligning messaging with long-term community outcomes.
• Collaborates across City departments to determine quality and adherence of work, manages workflow and the exchange of information and ensures compliance with established policies and procedure.
• Reviews and analyzes major City studies and reports for impacts upon the community and organization.
• Assists in community engagement events that showcase City departments and priorities and produces and records meaningful community dialogue and conversations and ensures curiosity-driven dialogue that incorporates community voices into decision-making.
• Supports the facilitation and implementation of City Council's Strategic Plan and monitors organizational and stakeholder performance toward strategic plan goals and priorities.
• Recommends and develops policy changes to the City Manager.
• Embeds transparency and clarity in role expectations.
• Fosters active listening, curiosity, and psychological safety.
• Aligns advocacy with long-term community outcomes.
• Equips staff with independence and tools, not just oversight.
• Models feedback as growth opportunities, not as a threat. 
• Responsible for appropriate use and maintenance of City equipment, tools and other resources, including work time.
• Regular and reliable attendance.

Other Duties

• May serve as Acting City Manager in their absence.
• Performs additional duties to support operational requirements as apparent or assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience: Candidates may qualify by demonstrating the required knowledge and skills outlined for the job through experience(s) other than formal education.

• Any combination of education and experience equivalent to a Bachelor's Degree in public administration, accounting, economics, business, or other related field. AND at least 4 years of experience in a director-level, or equivalent or higher-level, position.

• An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered in lieu of the specific requirements listed above.

Certifications/Licenses/Other Requirements:

• Demonstrated experience as a senior member of a management team.
• Required to successfully pass a pre-employment background check and pre-employment drug screen.

Preferred:

• Master’s degree.
• Preference for experience with collective bargaining and finance.
• 5 or more years in a director-level or equivalent position.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities And Other Characteristics: 
Job Knowledge

• Comprehensive knowledge of general laws and administrative policies governing municipal financial practices and procedures.
• Comprehensive knowledge of the principles and practices of accounting and budgeting in government.
• Comprehensive knowledge of the principles and practices of a municipal purchasing system and employee and general liability insurance administration.
• Thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of effective personnel management, interpersonal communication, human relations, budget management, and strategic planning.
• A subject matter expert with whom other managers and professionals throughout the organization may consult in matters of management decisions, law, budget, operations, programs, or other areas of specialized knowledge and expertise.

Reading

• Advanced: ability to read and understand complex written materials such as books, reviews, scientific or technical journals, abstracts, financial reports, and/or legal documents. Ability to effectively analyze facts and provide oversight and direction of information for assessments.

Writing

• Advanced: ability to develop materials such as researched editorials, journals, speeches, manuals, or critiques. Ability to prepare detailed recommendations or reports from analyzed data, information, and assessments. Ability to tailor writing to specific audiences and explain complex thoughts and ideas in writing.

Math

• Intermediate: ability to deal with number systems; simple formulas, practical application of fractions, percentages, ratios/proportions and measurement.

Communication Skills

• Advanced: Ability to foster, establish, and maintain good working relationships with City Officials, city staff, external/internal stakeholders, and the general public. Excellent oral and written communication. Requires competent public speaking and presentation skills and ability to present facts and recommendations effectively. Makes recommendations regarding policy and process development and implementation. Contact may involve support of controversial positions or the negotiation of sensitive issues or important presentations.  Evaluates customer satisfaction, develops cooperative associations, and utilizes resources to continuously improve customer satisfaction. Analyzes complex or difficult communication situations and formulates effective responses.
• Promotes positive solution-oriented communication while encouraging staff to view feedback as learning, not criticism, and creating conditions for psychological safety.
• Encourages feedback as a growth tool, not a threat, and builds a culture of curiosity-driven dialogue.

Independence and Decision-Making

• Requires Administrative Direction: normally completes work with substantial discretion and within broad parameters defined by general organizational requirements and accepted practices. Uses a wide variety of inter- and intra-departmental resources to address problems and to carry out decisions. Resolves issues using discretionary judgment in the absence of any explicit protocol. Overall results determine job performance.
• Anticipates and identifies potential problem situations and develops strategies or policy for resolution. Makes final decisions on conflicting priorities and resource needs, communicating reasoning behind decisions openly to foster clarity and trust.
• Identifies and addresses gaps in the organization's current state of performance and the desired future state of performance needed to meet the changing demands of the customer and the business environment.
• Heads or directs efforts to improve processes, procedures, methods, technologies, tools, equipment, terminology, standards, performance measures, and outcomes of work teams, units, and specialty areas on an organizational level.

Technical Skills

• Skilled: comprehensive, practical knowledge of a technical field with use of analytical judgment and decision-making abilities appropriate to the assigned and apparent job responsibilities. Intermediate computer skills using Microsoft Office applications and organization systems/software.

Fiscal Responsibilities

• Oversees budget preparation of assigned division or department budget.  Reviews and approves expenditures of significant budgeted funds assigned areas or does research and prepares recommendations for organization-wide budget expenditures.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Manages, monitors, and directs the work performance of assigned departments and staff. Oversees distribution of responsibility for program and work processes and evaluates program/work objectives and effectiveness, establishes organizational goals and realigns work and staffing assignments in one or more departments.
• Equitably and effectively assigns responsibilities to others to accomplish projects and meet service demands, ensuring projects are guided by clearly defined roles.

Other Characteristics

• Disciplined, empathetic, strategic advocate, and empowering leader who models the organizational excellence performance standard.
• Models transparency and trust-building in decision making. Highlights listening, psychological safety, and feedback culture.
• Clarifies when to guide/decide/contribute in performance management.
• Effectively coach, mentor, and inspire colleagues by modeling self-awareness and openness to feedback and practicing curiosity-driven dialogue to uncover blind sports and strengthen relationships.
• Ability to engage with a diverse set of stakeholders and be committed to working collaboratively with other senior colleagues to craft a common vision and direction.
• Effective teamwork skills and reinforcement of curiosity-driven leadership practices, with the ability to equip staff and the community with tools and independence, fostering a space for feedback, reflection, and dialogue.
• Ability to connect advocacy and representation to long-term outcomes.
• Ability to set strategic objectives for the achievement of multi–functional, department–wide, or organization–wide priorities.
• Ability to assess multiple, complex, tasks or projects and service demands and develops processes to address them.
• Effective time management and organizational skills, sometimes under strict time constraints.
• Independently perform multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Works effectively with sensitive and confidential issues and information.
• Tact, diplomacy, and resourcefulness in resolving problems and managing stressful situations.  
• May require dealing with angry, frustrated and/or upset individuals.
• May require additional hours outside of normal schedule, which may include evenings, nights, holidays, and/or weekends.

Other Qualifications

Physical Demands:

• Light Work: exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to lift, lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects.
• Must constantly operate a computer and other office productivity machinery, such as a calculator, copy machine and computer printer. Must be able to move about inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc.
• Must be able to communicate information and ideas so others will understand.  Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations.
• Ability to observe details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Machines, Tools, Equipment, Software and Hardware:

• Typically requires use of standard office equipment and telephone, and related software and hardware; and any other equipment as appropriate or as assigned.  

Work Environment:

• Work is performed in an office environment where there may be exposure to computer screen for extended periods of time, monitor glare and dust.
• The noise level is usually moderate.

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