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Job Description
Economic Development Manager - Small Business
at The City of Fort Worth
Economic Development
Pay Range: $51.74/hr. - $58.48/hr. | $107,619.20 - $121,638.40 Annually
Job Posting Closing on: Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Workdays & Hours: Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm; Some evening/weekend work required.
Benefits for this position include: 11 Paid Holidays, Medical, Dental, Vision, Paid Time Off, Pension Plan, Professional Development Opportunities. Find out More!
The City of Fort Worth is one of the fastest growing large cities in the U.S. Our employees serve the needs of over 1,000,000 residents, promoting our values of exceptional customer experience, mutual respect, embracing our diversity, continuous improvement, ethical behavior, and accountability.
An Economic Development Manager position is available with the City of Fort Worth Economic Development Department. The department is dedicated to pursuing high-wage job growth and fostering a sustainable tax base that drives less on residential property valuation and more on commercial and industrial investment, with a strong commitment to "quality of place" throughout the community.
This position will oversee the Small Business Development Program division of the Economic Development Department to include oversight of initiatives that strengthen, grow, and sustain small businesses within the City of Fort Worth. Responsibilities include program planning, policy implementation, compliance monitoring, and resource coordination to ensure small business owners and contractors have access to the tools, funding, and technical support necessary for success. The Economic Development Manager will collaborate across city departments, state and federal agencies, and community partners to advance equitable economic development and ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and funding requirements.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, Economic Development, Urban Planning, or a related field
- Five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in economic development, government programs, small business support, or public administration including two years management/ administrative experience
Preferred Qualifications:
- Strong knowledge of government regulations, procurement policies, and compliance standards
- Familiarity with Small Business Administration (SBA) programs, Small Business Enterprise (SBE) certification programs, and other public funding sources
- Ability to interpret and apply federal, state, and local laws to program administration
- Strong leadership, analytical, and communication skills
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite; experience with program tracking databases preferred
- Master's degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, Economic Development, Urban Planning, or a related field
- Seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in economic development, government programs, small business support, or public administration
- Experience with Salesforce, PeopleSoft, B2G software preferred
The Economic Development Manager job responsibilities include:
- Manage staff and oversee the development, implementation, and evaluation of small business programs that align with the City's economic development strategies and goals.
- Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations, including procurement rules and reporting requirements tied to small business programs.
- Oversee the Small Business Development Program, ensuring accurate documentation, performance tracking, and reporting.
- Provide direct guidance to small business owners on navigating permitting, licensing, procurement, and regulatory processes.
- Connect businesses with local, state, and federal resources such as SBA programs, workforce initiatives, and capital financing opportunities.
- Conduct research and recommend policies to support small business growth, retention, and resiliency.
- Build and maintain strong partnerships with chambers of commerce, trade associations, financial institutions, certifying agencies, and community organizations.
- Lead outreach initiatives to engage the small business community and promote awareness of available programs and services.
- Collect and analyze program performance data to measure impact, recommend improvements, and prepare reports, briefings, and presentations for City leadership.
Working Conditions and Physical
Depending on assignment, positions in this class typically require touching, talking, hearing, seeing, grasping, standing, walking and repetitive motions.
Sedentary Work - Depending on assignment, positions in this class typically exert up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, a negligible amount of force frequently, and/or or constantly having to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.
Apply Now! Come be part of something special in Fort Worth.
Conditions of Employment
The City of Fort Worth is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. It is the policy and practice of the City to recruit, hire, train and promote a diverse workforce without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, parental status, military service, or another non-merit factor.
The City of Fort Worth is committed to full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to participate in the job application or interview process and to perform essential job functions.
Candidates who do not meet the Education requirement, may be considered if they have more relevant work experience than the position requires. Those selected for employment will be required to pass Pre-Employment checks depending on the position requirements. Those could include, but are not limited to: criminal background check, drug screen, education verification, etc. criminal convictions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Employees are paid by direct deposit only.
Closing Date/Time: Wednesday, October 8, 2025 -
ABOUT THE COMPANY
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City of Fort Worth
Show moreThe Community
The City of Cowboys & Culture is known for its Texas hospitality. The stunning and sprawling City of
Fort Worth is one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. And it’s no wonder — With great neighborhoods, scenic terrain and a rich history of arts and culture, paired with world-class opportunities for business and education, it’s not only fun to visit Fort Worth, it’s even more rewarding to call it home.Fort Worth truly offers all the benefits and amenities of a bustling metropolitan city, while keeping the small- town charm that keeps it unpretentious and charismatic in all the right ways. Designated as one of America’s “Most Livable Communities” by the Partners for Livable Communities, the city truly offers a melting pot of culture, commerce, community and yes, cowboys.
There are over a dozen remarkable districts full of treasured history among modern luxuries and unique places to have fun, making it the No. 1 tourist destination in Texas and welcoming more than 9.4 million visitors annually.
Being one of the fastest-growing among large cities in the country, Fort Worth has received multiple accolades, including number one downtown (Livability), and the second-best City in the nation for job seekers (Forbes). Our employees serve the needs of over 900,000 residents representing culturally diverse communities.
Exciting Growth & Future Development
One of the most fascinating aspects of the City of Fort Worth is its almost unprecedented growth over the past several years. Both in terms of population and industry, and as the 12th largest city in the United States, Fort Worth is truly booming — which presents both challenges and opportunities to truly develop this city in the right way. Every 30 minutes a new person moves to Fort Worth, so we’re looking for candidates who can embrace an evergrowing and changing environment and improve on it with solutions that work for the entire community of Fort Worth.
Mission
We are working together to build a strong community that others can look to as a pillar of unity and excellence. Through grassroots efforts within the community, and large scale construction and transportation plans that continue to add the infra- structure a growing city like Fort Worth needs, we’ll provide the public services our community requires to continually cultivate the unique city we call home.
Vision
Fort Worth’s vision is to be the most livable and best managed city in the country. We’ll do this by taking care of our citizens, implementing the highest quality standards in our schools, continually improving the neighborhoods we thrive in and the facets of the city that make our town so unique.
Benefits That Are Well Worth It
The City of Fort Worth continues to be dedicated to its employees’ well-being by providing competitive health benefits, a well-rounded wellness program and a Zero Accident Philosophy® workplace. All regular full-time employees and those employees who work 30–39 hours per week are eligible for all City of Fort Worth Benefits. Part-time employees who work 20–29 hours per week are eligible for dental, basic life insurance, supplemental life insurance, flexible spending accounts, 457 Deferred Compensation plan and other voluntary benefits.
Medical Program
The City offers two plan options through Meritain Health, an Aetna company.
The Health Center Plan – Offers employees and their family’s
primary health care services that are 100% completely free and unlimited. Employees can visit any one of the three City of Fort Worth Employee Health Centers and receive guaranteed same or next day appointments for sick visits. Also, services are available at any one of the five satellite locations that serves employees across the city.
The Consumer Choice Plan – Is offered to employees at no cost or low monthly premiums to cover eligible dependents and provides the financial benefits of a Health Savings Account (HSA).
• Preventative services are covered at 100% on both plans.
• Prescription Drug coverage including mail order pharmacy are also included.Vacation
Eligible for 3 weeks of vacation: After successful completion of probationary period (usually
6 months), employees may take time off for rest, relaxation, vacation, illness, religious observances, and personal business.Holidays
Available on the first day of employment, the city provides employees with paid holidays, including two personal holidays.
Wellness Program
The city’s Healthy Challenge Wellness Program rewards all full-time, benefit-eligible employees on the city’s health insurance. The Healthy Challenge Program utilizes a points system. Participants may earn points throughout the year (Jan. 1-Dec. 15) for completing specific program activities and participants can redeem points at the end of the year for a cash reward. By participating, individuals can earn $150, $200 or $250 by accumulating program points.
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