Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer Full Time NEW

Our Mission

The BDC is the lead economic development organization for the City of Baltimore. Our mission is to grow the city’s economy in an inclusive manner by retaining, expanding, and attracting businesses, and promoting investments, thereby increasing career opportunities and wealth creation for residents.

Our Commitment

The BDC is committed to a more equitable economy by supporting people of color and women-owned businesses. We promote investments in Baltimore businesses and entrepreneurs that have been negatively impacted by institutional, structural, and systemic racism. We develop and implement strategies and facilitate collaboration among our partners to intentionally create an inclusive and equitable economy for all Baltimore businesses. 

Position Overview:

The Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer (SVP/CSO) develops and implements comprehensive economic development strategies that position Baltimore as the national leader in business development for historically underserved communities. Reporting to the Executive Vice President & Chief Economic Development Officer (CEDO) and serving as a member of BDC’s Senior Leadership Team, the SVP/CSO leads the Strategy Division and serves as the organization’s principal architect of strategy, research, data, and innovation.

In this pivotal year, the SVP/CSO is responsible for completing and transitioning the Baltimore Together / cEDS management cycle and re-architecting BDC’s strategy around the Mayor’s five pillars. The role directs BDC’s research agenda and data and GIS infrastructure, designs and launches pilot programs, and builds university and institutional research partnerships.

The ideal candidate is a systems thinker and disciplined executor who moves fluidly between high-level strategy and rigorous analysis, and who is deeply committed to BDC’s mission of inclusive, equitable economic development. 

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Framework & the Mayor’s Five Pillars

• Re-architect the strategy. Establish the Mayor’s five pillars as BDC’s organizing strategic framework, translating each pillar into agency objectives, workplans, and measurable outcomes.

• Align the enterprise. Ensure BDC’s programs, investments, and team priorities map clearly to the five pillars, and provide leadership and the Board with pillar-aligned strategy and progress reporting. Baltimore Together / cEDS — Final-Year Execution & Transition

• Close out the cEDS. Lead the final-year implementation and successful close-out of Baltimore Together, including outstanding 2026 goals, drafting the close-out Baltimore Together document and evaluation, a clear transition plan into the pillar framework, and collaboration and coordination with the regional economic development organization’s drafting of the Economic Development Administration’s required regional cEDS.

• Preserve the equity core. Carry forward Baltimore Together’s inclusive-prosperity commitments as the foundation of Pillar 01 and across the broader strategy.

Research, Data & GIS Infrastructure

• Direct the research agenda. Set and execute BDC’s research and development agenda, producing actionable analysis on Baltimore’s economy, industry clusters, real estate market, and demographic trends.

• Oversee data & GIS. Direct BDC’s data infrastructure and GIS workplan through the VP and technical specialists, delivering dashboards and decision-support tools for leadership, the Board, and partners. • Utilize econometrics to apply statistical and mathematical models to economic data, transforming raw numbers into actionable policy for Baltimore. Quantify the exact impacts of urban policies, forecast growth, and optimize public resources based on evidence.

Pilot Programs & Innovation

• Design and launch pilots. Develop and implement a minimum of three pilot programs annually that test scalable, equity-centered approaches to economic development, with clear success metrics.

University & Institutional Partnerships 

• Build research partnerships. Establish and steward a minimum of two university or institutional research partnerships per year, including with HBCUs and anchor institutions, to strengthen BDC’s evidence base and talent pipeline.

Policy & Economic Impact Analysis

• Analyze and assess. Evaluate proposed local and State legislation and policy for economic and fiscal impact, develop BDC’s positions in partnership with Government Relations, and maintain standardized economic impact assessment methodologies. Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead the division. Manage, mentor, and develop the Strategy Division with true distributed accountability and a culture of precision, equity, and execution.

• Advise leadership. Serve as a trusted advisor to the CEDO, President & CEO, and Senior Leadership Team on strategy, prioritization, and resource allocation, and represent BDC with external partners. 

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, public policy, public administration, urban planning, business, or a related field; an advanced degree (Master’s or higher) is strongly preferred.

• A minimum of 8–10 years of progressively responsible experience in strategy, economic or community development, public policy, or research, including team leadership. 

• Demonstrated community economic development expertise and a track record of advancing inclusive, equity-centered outcomes in historically underserved communities.

• Experience leading or transitioning a multi-year strategy and translating high-level frameworks into measurable objectives and accountability.

• Strong analytical capability, with sufficient understanding of economic and fiscal analysis, data infrastructure, and GIS to direct and quality-check technical specialists.

• Experience designing pilot programs and building research or institutional partnerships.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex information clearly to executives, a Board of Directors, and external partners.

• Knowledge of Baltimore’s economic and civic landscape and familiarity with the Mayor’s strategic priorities is a strong plus. 

Salary & Benefits: The salary range for this position is $175,000 – $225,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications. BDC offers a comprehensive benefits package, including health, dental, and vision coverage; retirement plan contributions; paid time off; and ongoing professional development opportunities. 

Office Environment: BDC offers a collaborative, fast-paced, and mission-driven work environment in the heart of downtown Baltimore, with a modern, professional office setting. This is an in-office position; standard hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Weekend and evening meetings occur as necessary to meet the needs of the businesses we serve. The position may also require occasional regional travel.

Physical Requirements: This is a primarily sedentary role performed in an office environment. The position requires the ability to operate standard office equipment, communicate effectively in person and virtually, and occasionally move about the office and travel to off-site meetings and events. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.