Economic Development Senior Consultant

Who We Are

Fourth Economy is a consulting firm that specializes in equitable community development at different scales, from neighborhood to regional economies. Our work spans a variety of topics including economic resilience, inclusive and equitable development, job transformations, talent attraction, housing access, and placemaking. We are a fully remote organization with 20 staff located across the United States.

The Opportunity

Fourth Economy is seeking candidates for a Senior Consultant position to join the analysis team, with a focus on project management, and economic and demographic data collection, analysis, and visualization (See the Research and Data Synthesis section below for more details). We are looking for a motivated, organized professional who is excited about making a difference in communities through work that is analytical, collaborative, and challenging. We are especially looking for individuals interested in advancing non-traditional community and economic development models and the systems they interact with.

Senior Consultants at Fourth Economy provide critical leadership for client projects, guiding a team to develop client strategies and recommendations. Qualified applicants will demonstrate an aptitude in business development, managing multiple projects, leading teams on research, analytics, engagement, and strategy development.

Our work often supports economic growth and advances equitable economic development. We want an entrepreneurial, passionate, and rigorous professional to join our collaborative and growing team. You will drive innovative problem-solving for clients, manage complex client and stakeholder interactions, produce industry-enhancing thought leadership, and ensure the excellence of client deliverables.

We are especially looking for individuals interested in advancing non-traditional community and economic development models, and the systems they interact with, to join us in making a difference in communities. Our work spans a variety of topics, such as economic resilience, inclusive and equitable development, job transformations, talent attraction, housing access, and placemaking including outdoor recreation economy and creative economy,,that intersect with communities at different scales, from neighborhoods to regional economies. 

How you’ll spend your time

Externally, for clients of Fourth Economy (75% of your time):

• Engage clients directly through meetings, emails, and in-person meetings
• Analyze and interpret demographic and economic data (see Research and Data Synthesis below)
• Research best practices and community-level data
• Write sections of client deliverables pertinent to your role on specific projects
• Contribute to frequent team and client meetings that help drive consulting projects forward
• Prepare materials and actions for client projects that help drive impacts

Internally, for Fourth Economy (25% of your time):

• Directly manage consultants, assistant consultants, and/or interns as part of your role, ensuring their growth and alignment with project goals.
• Attend networking events, conferences, and other industry-related events, meeting KPIs set for networking and visibility within the economic development sector.
• Build meaningful connections within the Fourth Economy team
• Participate in weekly staff meetings 
• Participate in bi-weekly Diversity Equity Inclusion and Belonging learning sessions and lead 1-2 sessions/year
• Dedicate time and allocated resources to your own professional growth and development
• Lead proposal development
• Author blog posts or other forms of thought leadership on behalf of the company
• Engage with an international array of colleagues from Fourth Economy’s parent company, Steer
• Attend 1-2 multi-day team retreats/year in various cities across the United States

Diversity and Inclusion Statement

We welcome all candidates regardless of race, color, ancestry, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, Veteran status, or any other legally protected status. Any other human expressions and experiences not mentioned here are equally welcome. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants, unless such accommodation would cause an undue hardship for the company.

Location

In general, we are location agnostic for his role but would be very interested in candidates who live in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, California, and Louisiana. We work East Coast hours but have employees in various locations and time zones across the US. 

The Application Process

When you apply, we kindly ask you to remove your schools from your resume. There is no need to reformat your resume and leave your degree as is; i.e. simplify to “B.A. Economics,”. Additionally, while we value knowledge and qualifications gained in traditional academic settings, we recognize that other experiences can serve as substitutes for formal academic learning. As such, we encourage candidates with non-traditional professional backgrounds to apply for this role.

This “bias blind” process is aimed at opening this opportunity to more candidates, reviewing applicants on performance assessments instead of resume proxies (e.g., where you went to school).

If you are selected to advance through the process, you can expect:

• 30-minute first-round teams interview with senior staff member 
• 1-hour second-round interview with peer consultants at Fourth Economy
• A sample of work product that you led or provided substantial contributions to

Our evaluation processes are designed around merit and capability. We don’t select people based on the prestige of their educational establishments or other background information. Our interviewers are trained on how to manage selection processes fairly and without bias and to conduct processes that do not selectively appeal to one or more demographics to the detriment of any others.

Who Should Apply?

Who Should Apply?

We expect that individuals with 5+ years of professional experience will thrive in this role. Those from underrepresented groups often only apply to jobs if they meet all of the qualifications. However, we encourage you to apply, even if your experience doesn’t match 100% of the qualifications.

Proficiency with spreadsheet software and other analytical tools, like GIS, PowerBI, or Tableau. Ability to access and analyze open source data is foundational to this role. Basic programming ability, preferably in R or Python is required for this role. 

The ideal person for this role is someone who values or possesses the following competencies:

• Passion for Social Change and Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging: You are driven by the desire to make a change in our society, making the economy work for all people. You are committed to implementing principles of diversity, equity and inclusion into your relationships, project work and processes.
• Strategic Thinking: You’re a strong conceptual thinker, critical thinker, and problem-solver. You can quickly grasp and navigate a range of abstract concepts, relate them to one another, and translate those concepts into strategic and practical actions.
• Ability to Implement Multiple, Complex Projects: You’re a confident project manager, leading and executing a portfolio of interconnected projects with high attention to detail across multiple stakeholders.
• Research and Data Synthesis: You have a strong ability to recognize learning opportunities independently, design and conduct research, gather data, structure quantitative and qualitative analyses, and draw and apply actionable recommendations.
• Knowledge and experience with the uses and limitations of public data sets from sources such as the Census, BLS, and BEA; and an understanding of the key social and economic variables that inform policy issues such as poverty, education, housing, and unemployment. Experience using APIs to access data is a plus.
• Understanding of basic Census and administrative geographies.
• Understanding of common concepts and definitions in public policy, statistics, and economics (e.g. how unemployment is counted, how the labor force is defined, when a household experiences a housing cost burden).
• Ability to find new data sources and digest their suitability (i.e., understanding how the data is collected, what the data dictionary and definitions reveal about the uses, and what the limitations of the data are).
• Data visualization skills — specifically the ability to cleanly and cohesively present analyses in a visual way (charts, graphs, infographics, etc.). If candidates are interested, there is potential to work on more advanced, in-depth data visualizations.
• Listening, Speaking and Writing: Your written and verbal communication skills are excellent, with an ability to independently create original public content and deliver verbal presentations in multiple settings and with diverse audiences.
• Self-motivation: You thrive in an environment where you have the autonomy to drive your work. You proactively take the initiative, identify problems and opportunities across your portfolio, develop recommendations, and take action.
• Learning Mindset: You desire continuous improvement, have an innate sense of curiosity, and are grounded by a foundation of self-awareness that provides space for learning and growth. You are willing to ask hard questions, look at information from new perspectives, and explore how you can make something better.
• Credentialed: You have achieved or are working towards a professional credential such as AICP, CeCD, PMP or other documented skill set that relates to the planning field. 

Salary and Benefits

This is a full-time position with a salary range of $86-$100k/year plus benefits, which include:

• Health, dental, vision, disability & life insurance
• Short-term & long-term disability
• 3% of salary automatic contribution to employee 401K retirement plan
• Monthly phone stipend 
• 20 Days PTO, 9 holidays, 3 floating holidays and 10 sick days annually
• Paid parental leave
• Workplace ergonomic assessment and resulting accommodations
• Professional development funds for training and pursuit or maintenance of a recognized credential. 

Be advised that this is an estimated benchmark salary of good faith. All compensation, regardless of location, may be subject to change as skills, abilities, internal equity and geographic location are taken into account. In addition to base salary, all employees will be eligible for an annual discretionary performance bonus. Fourth Economy reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional compensation.