Smart City Director

  • Full-time

Company Description

With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and opportunities in more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia is the fifth largest city in the United States and one of the largest employers in Southeastern Pennsylvania. As an employer, the City of Philadelphia operates through the guiding principles of service, integrity, respect, accountability, collaboration, diversity and inclusion. Through these principles, we strive to effectively deliver services, to resolve the challenges facing our city, and to make Philadelphia a place where all our residents have the opportunity to reach their potential. 

The Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT) oversees most major technology projects for the City of Philadelphia, ensures continuity of the City's technology operations, and finds new ways to help the public interact meaningfully with technology. OIT uses technology to help City employees do their work better and helps residents get what they need from municipal government. 

Job Description

This position will support the Office of Innovation & Technology and be responsible for leading the City’s SmartCityPHL initiative. The role will manage the implementation of Philadelphia’s smart city roadmap while also contributing to its evolution as the initiative matures. The Smart City Director will work closely with the Chief Information Officer, the Innovation Management team, and other colleagues to execute the SmartCityPHL roadmap, establish and manage governance for the initiative, develop smart city strategy, and promote the City’s approach to smart city work.  

Job Description
As the Smart City Director, you will lead the City’s effort to refine, implement, and evolve the SmartCityPHL roadmap and ensure that its four guiding principles – locally-inspired, innovative, equitable, and collaborative – inform the work moving forward. As part of the City’s Office of Innovation & Technology, you will collaborate with representatives internal and external to municipal government who are charged with driving SmartCityPHL. Your work will position Philadelphia as a leader in the smart city landscape and contribute innovative practices that serve as a model for other cities.  

As the Smart City Director, your responsibilities will include:
•    Establishing and managing a governance structure for SmartCityPHL that encourages collaboration and coordination across multiple institutional entities 
•    Managing the suite of projects that are part of the SmartCityPHL roadmap
•    Finding creative ways to connect Philadelphia’s smart city work with the four guiding principles set forth in the roadmap
•    Collaborating with other OIT colleagues on the development of the Pitch & Pilot program – an emerging institutional process for soliciting, testing, and evaluating creative approaches to municipal government challenges
•    Presenting and promoting Philadelphia’s smart city approach at venues external to municipal government
•    Developing techniques for connecting private sector and university innovation with municipal government
•    Connecting and integrating SmartCityPHL programs and strategy with other innovation and digital literacy programs currently in the City’s portfolio
•    Partnering with stakeholder departments to ensure successful project implementation and budget support for sustainability


Competencies
•    Self-direction – you can prioritize your work and allocate time and resources effectively when given broad responsibility
•    Collaboration – you interact well with others, can work with the team to make decisions, and believe that multiple perspectives strengthen a program
•    Systems thinking – you understand how connecting programs can create a strategic portfolio, and you can see beyond individual projects to focus on a broader ecosystem 
•    Orientation to process – your attention to detail and process allows you to turn a concept into a working model 
•    Resilience – you have a sense of humor, can adapt quickly to setbacks, and understand that innovation does not always proceed as expected
•    Public speaking – you are comfortable talking about your work in formal settings and can make others enthusiastic about it
•    Sociable – you enjoy meeting with other people to talk about your work and consider it a critical part of the role
•    Risk tolerance – you are comfortable with an element of uncertainty in your work and understand that innovation doesn’t always produce successful outcomes 

Qualifications

·         Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience required; graduate degree a plus

·         Experience/knowledge with the broad landscape of smart city work in municipal government

·         Experience/knowledge with stakeholder engagement and coalition building

·         Experience and success managing programs and projects

·         Experience/knowledge with institutional procurement, contracting, and budgeting

·         Desire to work in a mission driven environment

Additional Information

Please submit a resume and cover letter with your application.

Salary Range: $75,000 - $85,000

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx

The successful candidate must reside in the City of Philadelphia or establish primary residence in the City of Philadelphia within 6 months of employment.