Economic and Community Development Specialist – Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association (OMEGA)

POSITION TITLE: Economic & Community Development Specialist
IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR: OMEGA’s ARC Program Manager
SALARY RANGE: $50,000 – $54,000 annual

The Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association (OMEGA) has an immediate opening for an Economic & Community Development Specialist (Development Specialist). A bachelor’s degree in planning, public or business administration or related fields and three years of experience in public economic development or city and regional planning is required.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Economic & Community Development Specialist (Development Specialist) will be responsible for executing critical community engagement and grant-writing management tasks within OMEGA’s Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) service areas. The Development Specialist will work under the supervision of OMEGA’s ARC Program Manager as well as the Senior Development Specialist, with tasks divided between ARC and EDA grant-writing and related tasks. The position is ideal for an early- to-mid-level professional seeking an opportunity to engage in impactful local planning and grant-writing as they relate to infrastructure and industrial development in communities throughout mid-eastern Ohio.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

The selected candidate will play a critical role in prioritizing and executing three key areas of OMEGA’s workplan in service to its local communities:
1) ARC “READY LDD” – In September 2023, OMEGA received an ARC READY LDD grant to add capacity to OMEGA’s ability to engage and serve local communities along the Ohio River Corridor and within the 27 census tracts labeled as “Distressed” throughout the 10-county OMEGA local development district (LDD). The general premise of READY LDD is that assistance to Appalachian communities should be accelerated and expanded as they face unprecedented infrastructure grant opportunities via federal programs like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), ARC’s Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE), the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and others. READY LDD will be a focused program at OMEGA throughout 2024. The Development Specialist will assist the Senior Development Specialist with the following READY LDD tasks:

a. Local Planning – The Development Specialist will help design and implement a local outreach program to the river corridor and 27 distressed census tracts featuring focused, guided work sessions to engage stakeholders on large infrastructure topics as well as multi-state partnership concepts with West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
b. Mega-Site Workshops – The Development Specialist will assist the Senior Development Specialist in engaging local public officials and private sector owners of large and vacant power plant sites and other industrial development opportunities. The end result should be ½-day workshops for public and private sector leaders to create a marketing and development plan for four-to-six 100+ acre sites throughout the region.
c. Grant Writing – The Development Specialist will assist the Senior Development Specialist with federal grant writing, as several local infrastructure and/or workforce development grant application concepts are expected to emerge from the local outreach. OMEGA regularly provides full grant-writing services to its member communities, and this will be a focus of the READY LDD program.

2) ARC Program Management – OMEGA administers the annual ARC/GOA (Governor’s Office of Appalachia) Area Development Program and competitive ARC grants, including POWER, INSPIRE and READY LDD. With federal ARPA funds, the yearly ARC allocation for OMEGA has increased,
resulting in an increase in grant applications and funding opportunities. The Development Specialist will assist OMEGA staff with the preparation of ARC and GOA grant applications in Salesforce and help administer grants via administration agreements with ARC/GOA grantees. In addition, the Development Specialist will assist with preparing competitive ARC grant applications and administration of competitive ARC grants.

3) EDA – OMEGA has developed a robust EDA service area, having authored successful grants totaling more than $7 million dollars in recent years for projects like the Belmont College Industrial Trades Building and The Wilds RV Campground expansion. At least 2-3 new EDA proposals are expected from our local communities over the next two years, and the Development Specialist will provide important assistance throughout the complex EDA grantwriting process. Additionally, OMEGA provides full administrative services for all EDA grant recipients, including quarterly and semi-annual reporting. The Development Specialist will be expected to provide leadership in gathering data for prompt report submissions to EDA officials.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR APPOINTMENT

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

A high degree of competency in local community engagement, with a proven ability to guide local planning and development officials through successful infrastructure and/or workforce development grant applications is critical. The ideal candidate will convey strong interpersonal and writing skills, a superior
ability to organize complex processes such as grant-writing, and an overall attention to detail and time management to aid in OMEGA’s reporting to the federal government.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Candidates must hold a Bachelor of Arts or Sciences degree from an accredited college or university in the fields of political science, public administration, economics, city planning, business administration, or a similar field. Candidates should have a minimum of three years of experience in the economic development and/or city and regional planning fields, as well as in federal and state grant writing. Appalachian community and/or regional Appalachian experience is preferred, along with a comprehensive understanding and appreciation for the demographics of OMEGA’s Appalachian region.

Ability to lead and facilitate community and economic planning activities and strong communication skills (verbal and written) are required. Evening availability and regional travel are required. This is a full-time, 40-hour per week position, and salary is based upon education and experience. Please submit a cover letter, resume/CV, and contact information for at least three relevant professional references by January 12, 2024, to Executive Director, Dr. Vicki King-Maple, VMaple@omegadistrict.org

OMEGA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin (ancestry), disability, genetic information, age (40 years or older), sexual orientation, or military status (past, present, or future.