All Things Urban

Through research, education and advocacy, SPUR promotes good planning and good government in the San Francisco Bay Area. We bring people together from across the political spectrum to develop solutions to the big problems cities face. With offices in San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland, we are recognized as a leading civic planning organization and respected for our independent and holistic approach to urban issues.

SPUR works to create both a prosperous and equitable region. The Economic Policy Director will lead SPUR’s work to develop and implement an agenda for shared prosperity, both at the city-scale in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose and regionally across the Bay Area. This position represents a unique opportunity to work on some of the biggest economic inequity challenges we face as a region, and to develop solutions of a scale which match the scale of the problems.

This role is perfect for someone with deep knowledge of the public policy process in California and/or the region, a strong grounding in economic policy, a personal commitment to both equity and prosperity, and a passion to establish the Bay Area as the proving grounds for how to create truly shared prosperity.

This role includes significant research, writing, and policy analysis, as well as strategic thinking, effective advocacy, and coalition-building. This role involves significant collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to develop policy ideas and strategy, and to effect policy change at the local and regional scales in the Bay Area. This role requires excellent project management and team management skills, and experience engaging with funders and with the general public. This role will serve as an ambassador to local government staff, elected officials, business and community leaders, and staff at other civic organizations.

• A minimum of five years equivalent experience, is required. A Master’s degree in economics, public policy or a related field is preferred.
• The candidate must be well-versed in the major economic policy issues affecting American cities today, including tax and fiscal policy, policy related to fines, fees and consumer protections, and wealth creation in disadvantaged communities. The candidate must also understand the relationship between local, state, and federal economic policy, and how to leverage shared-prosperity goals using local and state mechanisms.
• The candidate must be a strong writer, who can make complicated policy issues interesting and intelligible to a general audience.
• The candidate must also have strong quantitative reasoning skills and an ability to interpret and explain data, quantitative methods, trends and summary figures.
• The job requires strong meeting facilitation skills and the ability to work well with people from all different sectors of the community, and build coalitions and consensus to drive policy outcomes.
• The candidate must have an understanding of structural inequities in our region, including racial inequities in economic policy, and be motivated to redress these.
• The candidate must have experience effectively managing both projects and people.
• The candidate should have experience sourcing funding for their work.
• Because of SPUR’s role as a convening organization in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and region, staff must be able to establish positive working relationships with people across the entire political spectrum.
• We are looking for someone who has training in diversity, equity and inclusion and/or who has a demonstrated ability to work across difference. The successful candidate will be committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and manifest that commitment in their policy, facilitation, advocacy and management responsibilities.

We’re not fully sure whether this role is open to international candidates. If you would need visa sponsorship or work authorisation, we recommend checking directly with the employer before applying.