Economic Development Fellow, Bloomberg Associates

Background

Bloomberg Philanthropies works to create catalytic change across five areas of focus: arts and culture, education, the environment, government innovation, and public health. Our mission is to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. Our approach is rooted in Mike Bloomberg's unique experience and success across the field of business, government, and philanthropy. 

Bloomberg Associates (BA) is Bloomberg Philanthropies’ pro bono consulting service founded by Michael Bloomberg, the 108th Mayor of New York City and Founder of Bloomberg LP, as a philanthropic venture. We provide services to cities that help governments improve the quality of life of their citizens. BA works across nine (9) different focus areas: Cultural Assets Management, Marketing & Communications, Media and Digital Strategies, Municipal Integrity, Social Services, Sustainability, Transportation, Economic Development and Urban Planning, with teams that have deep subject matter expertise and extensive experience in municipal government.    

The Position

The Economic Development Team at Bloomberg Associates is seeking a Fellow to support the team on a range of economic and workforce development projects with US client cities. The Team supports clients on economic strategy, sector-based business development, small business support, neighborhood development, workforce development, commercial property regeneration projects, tourism promotion and strategic support.    

The Fellow would work about 15 to 20 hours a week, with regular hours over at least 4 days a week.  The Fellow would be on an initial 6-month contract.  The Fellow would work remotely but should be located in the New York metro area to attend periodic meetings at the Bloomberg Associates office. They will need to be a self-starter, highly organized, an excellent communicator and comfortable working with limited supervision.  

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Conduct independent in depth research, international best practice review, and policy analysis in areas which could include, but not be limited to:   
  • Business Sector Ecosystem Development: Models and strategies for business ecosystem development in tech, manufacturing, life sciences and emerging industries with a focus on startup ecosystems.    
  • Small Business and Entrepreneurship Support: Strategies and programs to support and strengthen local small businesses including financing, technical assistance, digital tools, ecosystem mapping and development.   
  • Downtown and Neighborhood Revitalization: Neighborhood revitalization strategy, commercial corridor retail activation, partner capacity building and development, downtown recovery and revitalization. 
  • Workforce Development: Programs and services mapping, labor market analysis, career pathway development, program development.  
  • Financing and Incentives: Tax incentive evaluation, land value capture mechanisms, development support, and other business financing programs. 
  • Strategy and Systems: Equitable economic development strategies, growth plans, economic development systems improvement, organizational capacity building. 
  • Destination promotion: Analyzing different destination marketing organizations’ scopes, structures, budgets, funding streams, resources, partnerships, programming and effectiveness 
  • Commercial Real Estate Development and Regeneration: Concept planning and development, site constraint analysis, programming and activation, land use strategies, community engagement, public-private partnerships.
  • Other qualitative and quantitative research as assigned 
• Develop memos, research papers, case studies and presentations based on research findings.   
• Identify, outreach to and conduct interviews with senior government, academic, nonprofit and business leaders as part of research projects. 
• Engage, coordinate with and present to project clients   

Qualifications of the ideal candidate

• Bachelor's degree in related field and a minimum of two years’ relevant professional experience in business, government and/or nonprofit organizations. Master’s degree is a plus.   
• A strategic and analytical mindset with attention to detail and a complete focus on delivery  
• A proven track record of strong project execution, policy research, project management and results driven impact   
• Strong communication, interpersonal skills and the ability to work with multiple stakeholders  
• Clear and concise writing skills  
• Ability to convey complex data in simple PowerPoint design (ability to use Tableau software would also be helpful)
• Comfortable working through ambiguity to create paths forward  
• An entrepreneurial self-starter can do approach with the ability to think and plan creatively  
• A quick learner, able to absorb and synthesize large amounts of information 

Accommodation

Bloomberg Philanthropies provides reasonable adjustment/accommodation to individuals with disabilities. Please let us know if you require a reasonable adjustment/accommodation to apply for a job. Examples of reasonable adjustment/accommodation include but are not limited to making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment. To request an adjustment/accommodation to apply for a job, please email careers@bloomberg.org.

Equal Opportunity

Bloomberg Philanthropies is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination in employment. It is Bloomberg Philanthropies' policy to provide equal opportunity and access for all persons, and the Organization is committed to attracting, retaining, developing, and promoting the most qualified individuals without regard to age, ancestry, color, gender identity or expression, genetic predisposition or carrier status, marital status, national or ethnic origin, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, parental or caring status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy or maternity/parental leave, protected veteran status, status as a victim of domestic violence, or any other classification protected by applicable law (each, a “Protected Characteristic”). Bloomberg Philanthropies prohibits treating applicants or employees less favorably in connection with the terms and conditions of employment, in all phases of the employment process, because of one or more Protected Characteristics.