JOB DESCRIPTION

OUR OPPORTUNITY:

This is a unique opportunity to join a small, passionate, collaborative team of professionals committed to the future of one of the world's most iconic national parks in our region. By joining the Foundation, you will play an integral part in moving our mission forward as the conservancy for Gateway Arch National Park.

We are seeking a dynamic, creative, and passionate professional to lead, manage, and collaborate on major capital and planning projects. Projects include conceptual planning, community engagement, land acquisition, design, and construction. These projects span partnerships with the City of St. Louis and include initiatives such as the Central Riverfront reimagining, the I-44 downtown corridor, Millennium Hotel redevelopment, Kiener Plaza improvements, and collaborations with the National Park Service involving park expansion to Illinois, capital improvements, and museum maintenance.

This Director of Special Projects is responsible for leading and collaborating with a wide range of external and internal partners to accomplish critical projects the Foundation is leading or participating in. These public-private partnership projects, align with the organizations mission and will be transformative for the St. Louis region. The Director is expected to manage multiple major capital and planning projects from inception to completion, including documentation, project oversight, budget coordination, and collaborating with project partners on programming, operating, and maintenance. While there are no formal supervisory responsibilities for this position, the Director will manage a team of consultants and collaborate with partners to move projects forward. This individual reports to the Executive Director.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Collaborate with staff across all departments and partners to evolve projects per the organization's and the project's goals.
  • Establish clear expectations and desired outcomes with partners and team members at the conception of projects through a planning and design process to ultimately result in the desired outcome for the St. Louis community.
  • Continuously champion goals and maintain relationships with partners, stakeholders, and community members to ensure wide buy-in to mitigate risks.
  • Integrate with other internal teams and follow best practices and standards for urban planning, design, long-term results and other organizational policies and procedures.
  • Motivate and inspire project stakeholders in conjunction with the Executive Director to ensure project success.
  • Follow policy and procedures to establish budgets, timelines utilizing internal systems to track and monitor progress to ensure success. Work with Foundation leadership and internal teams in the preparation of annual budgets, project schedules and tracking of capital projects and associated risks.
  • Procure, hire, and manage vendors/consultants to support project progress, proactively managing contract negotiations, budgets, timelines and deliverables to ensure good stewardship and excellent results.
  • Work with public agencies and other partners on securing necessary public approvals.
  • Coordinate with regulatory agencies and follow all permitting and compliance requirements.
  • Manage daily operations of projects including identifying and addressing possible risks, troubleshooting challenges, re-evaluating goals and outcomes, and regularly communicating to internal teams, partners, staff, the Foundation's board and other stakeholders.
  • Identify, pursue and manage federal, state, and local government funding grants and opportunities, including alignment of project scope, timing, and partnerships to maximize competitiveness.
• Advance the mission and vision of Gateway Arch Park Foundation by researching best practices, leveraging alternative resources, and serving the region as a whole, when appropriate.
  • Maintain professional development and seek out innovations in the industry to bring best practices to Downtown development.
  • Investigate alternative resources ranging from partnering, in-kind resources, federal, state and local grants, private, and cost-saving measures – work with teams and partners, to evaluate and seek opportunities to leverage resources.
  • Serve on local, community and regional committees and initiatives as appropriate to represent the Foundation and coordinate with other efforts and initiatives as closely as possible.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

• Bachelor's degree in urban planning, public administration, parks and recreation, public relations, project management, or related field plus seven (7) to ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience related to the duties of the position.
• Experience in and a deep understanding of public-private partnership models and related processes.
• Experience with governmental procurement and contracting procedures.
• Ability to represent and reflect organizational values.
• Ability to execute strategic plans and high-level projects, and duties in a timely and accurate manner with minimal supervision or support staff.
• Demonstrated experience in community development, construction, and contract and project management.
• Firm grasp on championing project goals, managing budgets, timelines, and deliverables with internal and external partners, vendors, contractors, and stakeholders.
• Working knowledge of project management software, computer word processing, presentation and spreadsheet/database management applications (Word, Excell, PowerPoint, etc.).
• Ability to learn additional software applications as necessary, and work on a mobile device to access internal programs and reports.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with various public groups, stakeholders, and organizations, and within the framework of a team made up of people of various backgrounds.
• Strong organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail and ability to disseminate information clearly and concisely.
• Ability to read, analyze, interpret, and work within Foundation and NPS procedures and guidelines.
• Team-oriented with a commitment to sustaining strong, productive working partnerships with all staff, board members, volunteers, and the community.
• Proven track record of discretion and good judgement while working with confidential and sensitive information.
• Ability to coordinate a variety of unrelated functions and handle multiple projects concurrently.
• A self-motivated individual with proven leadership abilities.
• Must possess a valid driver's license with a safe driving record.

Physical Requirements:

The individual must be able to perform the essential functions of the job satisfactorily as outlined in this job description; where necessary for a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of the job, reasonable accommodation will be provided.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is at times exposed to outside weather conditions while moving between various projects and offices or at outdoor events.
• Noise level in the office environment is moderate to quiet.
• Employees are regularly required to stay stationary in an office environment.

See full position description at archpark.org/careers.

BENEFITS

Benefits include health insurance, parking stipend, 401K, long & short-term disability coverage. 

BENEFITS

Benefits include health insurance, parking stipend, 401K, long & short-term disability coverage.