Assistant City Manager

Closing date: October 18, 2024

The close-knit, cohesive community of the City of Lincolnton, just outside of the Charlotte metropolitan area in NC, seeks an empathetic and empowering municipal professional with a generalist approach to serve as its next Assistant City Manager.

Lincolnton’s Assistant City Manager is tasked with planning, directing, managing, and reviewing the activities and operations of multiple City departments under the general guidance of the City Manager. This vital position joins a hard-working team committed to supporting and encouraging one another. The Assistant City Manager successfully coordinates services and activities among city departments and with outside agencies, provides highly responsible and complex administrative support to the City Manager, and assumes the duties of the City Manager in their absence.

Though the City of Lincolnton has been operating without an Assistant City Manager for four years, the reinstated position of Assistant City Manager has an essential and strategic focus to support the organization’s succession planning efforts, preparing for the retirement of the City Manager and several department heads in the next three years. As a result, the city has identified a tiered approach to the Assistant City Manager’s responsibilities. Within the first two years, the Assistant City Manager will be assigned and oversee specific departments based upon the needs of the City while supporting special events and projects.

In their next Assistant City Manager position, Lincolnton desires candidates who are passionate about serving their community, are customer-service minded, who manage and mentor with a team approach, and who solve challenges and pursue opportunities proactively. Intentionally establishing relationships within the community is not only a cultural norm within the organization but is paramount for this position. This position is for the team player who thrives in a fast-moving environment, remains calm under pressure, and doesn't shy away from hands-on work.

Demonstrating excellent leadership, people, project management, and operational skills, Lincolnton’s next Assistant City Manager will prioritize the following overlapping responsibilities over the next three years:

• Acclimate themselves to the organization, learning the culture of the organization, its operations, systems and processes, and its most valuable resource, its dedicated and talented staff; integrate the position into the organization and offload responsibilities of the City Manager, establish collaborative, mentoring relationships with department heads, and learn the organization’s budget process.
• Support the city’s administration and its staff in greater capacity, engage and work with the City Council, and enhance community relations by growing relationships within the community, demonstrating a sincere interest in networking and garnering community input.
• Assume full responsibilities of the Assistant City Manager position, including preparing the city's annual budget with the City Manager serving as an advisor, creatively managing/controlling the budget's growth with limited opportunities to grow revenues outside of the tax rate.

Lincolnton’s next Assistant City Manager will facilitate the organization’s overall succession planning efforts to retain institutional knowledge and recruit and retain viable candidates for department head retirements. Additionally, this position will be actively involved in downtown development/economic development and supporting and enhancing the city’s relationship with Lincoln County.

About the Community:

The charming City of Lincolnton, established in 1785, is in the Piedmont region of NC and is home to 12,000 people. Lincolnton is just minutes from I-40 and I-85 and is ideally located just northwest of Charlotte where professional athletics and world-class cultural activities are easily accessible, and the mountains are just an hour away. The city’s proximity to rivers, lakes, and state parks provides an abundance of recreational opportunities. A portion of the Carolina Thread Trail, the Cloninger Rail Trail, passes through the heart of downtown Lincolnton and connects three city parks.

As downtown Lincolnton welcomes new businesses, the redevelopment and repurposing of historic buildings brings exciting opportunities for growth while paying homage to the city’s founders and early leaders. The Downtown Lincolnton Development Association refers to Lincolnton as “a hidden gem of opportunity as the hub of distinctive arts and artisans and active living.”  The city offers many grants to entrepreneurs to bring their businesses to downtown Lincolnton to help encourage the growth and revitalization of its downtown area.

About the Organization and Position:

The City of Lincolnton operates under the Council-Manager form of government, with the City Manager reporting to the mayor and City Council. The City Council has five members elected at-large, including a non-voting mayor and one council member from each of four wards. The city employs 173 full-time and approximately 50 part-time employees across 11 departments. Approximately half of the positions are public safety personnel (police and fire). The FY 24-25 budget of $34.7M ($17.5 General Fund) is supported by a tax rate of $.50 per $100 of assessed tax value. The city provides water and sewer utilities and is an ElectriCities City. Budget growth over the past ten years has been small, about 2% or less each year and changes to water and electric rates have also been limited.

Like many small communities, Lincolnton is tasked with balancing economic growth while preserving its roots. City leaders envision a downtown district serving as the epicenter for arts, shopping, dining, leisure, and history. They work collaboratively with many stakeholders, including internal staff, the Downtown Development Association of Lincolnton, and the Lincoln Economic Development Association, to bring growth and opportunities sustainably and successfully.

Lincolnton’s Assistant City Manager will support the City Manager in facilitating the development of the city’s next strategic plan process. City leadership is focused on improvements and enhancements to the city’s facilities and infrastructure (especially water and parks/recreation), employee benefits, downtown development, and recreation. The Assistant City Manager will bring a fresh perspective to the city's growth challenges and opportunities, explicitly balancing growth with the desire to retain its small-town culture. Growth opportunities are primarily residential, with limited commercial growth centralized in the city's downtown area. Land resources are limited for industrial development. The Assistant City Manager will approach funding for these projects with innovation and strategy.

Qualifications:

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree in public or business administration or a related field and 5 - 7 years of progressively responsible municipal government management experience is required. Any combination of education, training, and experience that provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the job's essential functions will be considered.

Preferred qualifications include an MPA, MBA, or other related master’s degree. Prior North Carolina experience as a City/Town Manager, Assistant City/Town Manager, or department director in a small to medium-sized community, and completion of the Municipal/County Administration Course from the School of Government, UNC Chapel Hill.

Salary and Benefits: The salary range for this position is $108,456 (min) – $135,567 (mid) – $162,684 (max).The City of Lincolnton offers a comprehensive benefits package, including health and dental insurance.

To apply, please visit:

https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/developmentalassociates/jobs/4664000/assistant-city-manager-city-of-lincolnton?pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs

Please note the following:

• All applications must be submitted online via the Developmental Associates application portal (link above) – NOT the city’s employment application portal or any other external website.
• Resumes and cover letters must be uploaded with the application.
• Applicants should apply by October 18,
• The hiring team will invite successful semi-finalists to participate in virtual interviews and skill evaluations on Nov 12-13, 2024. Candidates are encouraged to reserve these dates for virtual meetings should they be invited to participate.
• Direct inquiries to hiring@developmentalassociates.com.

 The City of Lincolnton is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Developmental Associates, LLC manages the recruitment and selection process for this position. To learn more about our selection process, visit https://developmentalassociates.com/client-openings/ and scroll down to "Important Information for Applicants."

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