Economic Development Fellow

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

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.   

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 remote but should be located in the New York metro area to attend periodic meetings at the Bloomberg Associates office. S/he will need to be a self-starter, highly organized, an excellent communicator and comfortable working with limited supervision. 

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct independent in depth research, international best practice review and policy analysis in areas which could include but not be limited to:  
  • Workforce Development: Programs and services mapping, labor market analysis, career pathway development, program development.  
  • 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 Support: Strategies and programs to support and strengthen local small businesses including financing, technical assistance, digital tools and ecosystem development.   
  • Downtown and Neighborhood Revitalization: Neighborhood retail activation / vacancy abatement, downtown recovery vis-a-vie COVID and work from home, place based redevelopment projects. 
  • Financing and Incentives: Tax incentive evaluation, development support, and other business financing programs. 
  • Strategy and Systems: Equitable economic development strategies, economic development systems improvement and organizational strengthening. 
  • Destination promotion: Analyzing different destination marketing organizations’ scopes, structures, budgets, funding streams, resources, partnerships, programming and effectiveness 
  • AI and economic development: Analyzing AI/ML tools to understand how city economic development teams and their partners can use them to be more effective, efficient and targeted 
  • AI and labor markets: Analyzing which occupations will be impacted by AI developments, how and when, and what cities need to do to get workers ready and/ or be retrained for alternative roles 
  • 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  

Desired Qualifications:

• Bachelor 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

Bloomberg Philanthropies is an equal opportunities employer and we value diversity at our organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Bloomberg Philanthropies provides reasonable adjustment/accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable adjustment/accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job. Examples of reasonable adjustment/accommodation include but are not limited to making a change to the application process work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment. If you would prefer to discuss this confidentially, please emailhumanresources@bloomberg.org.  

This role will be part-time, ranging from 15 – 20 hours per week.