A best-in-class city that attracts best-in-class talent, Philadelphia is an incredible place to build a career. From our thriving arts scene and rich history to our culture of passion and grit, there are countless reasons to love living and working here. With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia offers boundless opportunities to make an impact. 

As an employer, the City of Philadelphia values inclusion, integrity, innovation, empowerment, and hard work above all else. We offer a vibrant work environment, comprehensive health care and benefits, and the experience you need to grow and excel. If you’re interested in working with a passionate team of people who care about the future of Philadelphia, start here.

What We Offer:

  Impact - The work you do here matters to millions. 

  Growth - Philadelphia is growing, why not grow with it? 

  Diversity & Inclusion - Find a career in a place where everyone belongs.

  Opportunities in Tech - Don’t wait for the future, shape it.

  Benefits - We care about your well being.

Agency Description

A division of the  Commerce Department, the Workforce Development Office seeks to foster systemic solutions to employers' human capital challenges and strengthen Philadelphia’s workforce development ecosystem.

The  Commerce Department  is responsible for implementation of  the 2018 Fueling Philadelphia’s Talent Engine (FPTE) and the most recently implemented  2021 Respond & Recharge Commitment, a citywide workforce development strategy aimed at addressing employers’ talent needs and preparing residents for careers in family-sustaining jobs and addressing this more aggressively in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 Workforce Respond and Recharge Commitment is guided by three objectives:

1.      Build upon critical work outlined in three previous strategies.

§  FPTE (2018)

§  Growing with Equity: Philadelphia’s Vision for Inclusive Growth (2019)

§  Respond, Restart, Recharge, Reimagine: An Equitable and Inclusive Economic Recovery for Philadelphia (2020)

2.      Refine and reimagine the roles of the Department of Commerce, Philadelphia Works, and PIDC within Philadelphia’s workforce development ecosystem to better connect job-seekers to employers and increase accountability.

3.      Set ambitious, achievable goals that leverage partnerships to help residents prepare and succeed in quality jobs.

Respond and Recharge commitment – developed in partnership with multiple stakeholders from the private, public, non-profit sectors and employers,  aims to bring the unemployment rate and the number of jobs back to January 2020 levels, while working to eliminate the racial and ethnic disparities that compose the city wide unemployment rate and growing sustainable, living wage jobs.

The FPTE strategy has three overarching goals:

1. Prepare Philadelphians with the skills employers need for a world-class workforce.
2. Address the barriers that prevent Philadelphians from accessing meaningful career opportunities.
3. Build a workforce system that is more coordinated, innovative, and effective.

Fueling Philadelphia’s Talent Engine — developed in partnership with stakeholders from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors — will drive workforce development efforts in Philadelphia through 2020 and beyond.

The City of Philadelphia’s Commerce Department division of Workforce Development, is seeking an Employer Engagement Manager, who will play an essential role as the developer, convener and manager of key workforce development program partnerships, employer incentives promotion, and coordinating  employer partners. The Manager will also serve as the central liaison from Commerce to the six established sector industry partnerships (Information Technology, Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing, Healthcare, Hospitality & Entertainment; and Logistics & Distribution).  Along with the Senior Director of Workforce, the Leadership team and Business Development staff, the Employer Engagement Manager will work with the Business Engagement team of Philadelphia Works to   inform and implement the employer-based incentives of the Commerce Department and Philadelphia Works, a key partner and stakeholder.  As the Workforce office is a systems convener, not a practitioner, building cross functional collaborations and working connections and pipelines between systems and on behalf of employers, is a key aspect of this work. 

In addition to initiative/incentive program development and relationship management, a critical responsibility of this role will be to serve as the arbiter of quality, ensuring that the systems created by the connecting agencies, working in partnership with Philadelphia Works Inc. and other workforce and training entities, meet expected outcomes and quality standards. The ultimate goal being supporting the businesses talent needs and connecting more Philadelphia job seekers to high quality, living wage employment and careers.

A successful candidate for this position is capable of operating effectively in a dynamic, fast paced government department; understands the power of team building internally and with cross sector partners; and has a passion for helping get Philadelphians back to work.  Strong attention to bottom line results and metrics is a must.

The Employer Engagement Manager will plan, oversee and be familiar with current workforce development initiatives and share information on incentives for identified employers that will    spur hiring from the Philadelphia talent pool who are seeking employment. 

 Business Development & Incentive Promotion

Development of needs analyses that influence the creation of training systems that prepare individuals to meet the workforce needs of our employer partners.  This work will include

• Identifying and analyzing employer training needs and matching with the current training programs available.
• Leverage and coordinate resources from key partners including Philadelphia Works and assist employers in navigating those systems to meet their business needs.
• Negotiating with the hiring management of local small, medium and neighborhood employers to create customized program approaches, develop and provide appropriate training, and identify the resources required to effectively execute the program.
• Support the development of curriculum, assessment, completion criteria and program evaluation methods as designed by training partner staff and ancillary professionals   identified and resourced by the team.
• Support and develop systems to ensure consistent, high-quality program management and evaluation. 
• Ensure ongoing programmatic excellence.  This includes overseeing implementation of programs, managing timelines and resources to achieve program and organizational goals;   and the access, use and outcomes of the incentives and business services brokered.

Relationship Management

• Cultivate existing employer relationships and develop new relationships with current and prospective employers  in the emerging and high growth sectors  to ensure the delivery of high-quality programs aligned with  employing more Philadelphia residents.
• Provide on-going support to the development of inter-team communication and cohesiveness, sustaining a can-do culture and supporting staff while working seamlessly with the key anchor partners.

Strategic Coordination

• Conduct basic research into the local and regional landscape of emerging sector jobs to help inform business relationships with workforce training providers.
• Support the development of the necessary employer relationships, processes and tools to support the facilitation of employer and provider incentive programs.
• Participate in the Workforce Professional Alliance as the employer voice to share program best practices and lessons learned with a broad range of communities and employer stakeholders.
• Work collaboratively with the Commerce Office of Business Services,  and Business Development teams to implement short- and long-term goals that will help meet the objectives of the city-wide Respond and Recharge Commitment  and workforce development strategy.

Essential Functions

The Employer Engagement Manager will:

1.      Serve as the primary broker of employer incentives and other workforce development initiatives and programs that will spur the hiring and retention of Philadelphia residents with private sector businesses. 

2.      Work directly with Philadelphia Works (PWI) Business Engagement team to ensure that incentives provided by both PWI and Commerce will be provided to new and retained businesses, and the use of chosen incentives will be implemented and fully executed to the benefit of all parties involved. 

3.      Represent the Commerce Workforce team as the subject matter expert to support the Quality Jobs Incentive and its implementation, and track and use of funds.

4.      Serve as the liaison between the local Industry Partnerships and the Commerce Department.

5.      Establish and serve as the point of contact for internal colleagues in Office of Neighborhood Economic Development to provide support and render similar incentive information and follow up with small and medium sized businesses and those on the commercial corridors.

6.      Work directly with the Office of Policy & Strategic Initiatives for Criminal Justice and Public Safety- Director of Economic Mobility and Workforce Development to coordinate joint efforts.

7.      Coordinate with integral City departments including Managing Director’s Office, Mayor’s Office of Education, and Office of Children & Family and its related sub divisions.

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

 The Office of Workforce Development is looking for a highly motivated individual who possess the following skills and competencies:

• Strong analytical skills, business sensibilities and attention to bottom line results are a must
• Able to operate effectively in a diverse and fast paced work environment
• Committed to strengthening collaboration within the Commerce  management team and cross-sector partners
• Strong work ethic and enthusiasm for connecting Philadelphians to good jobs
• Outstanding verbal, written and on-line communication skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Demonstrated ability to manage time efficiently and meet deadlines
• Outstanding integrity, positive attitude, and self-direction
• Clearly mission driven, with a specific passion for the work of Commerce and Workforce Development

Education:

• A Bachelor’s degree is the minimum required, preferably in a related discipline (Human Resources, Talent Management, Training and Development, ODL, etc.).
• A Master’s degree is preferred.
   

Experience:

• 4-6years of experience in  private sector or non-profit business development, in a  middle-management level role.
•  Experience with creating and running workforce development, human resources and/or training programs with a verifiable track record of excellence.
• Experience in marketing or negotiation of services and business products with small and medium businesses
• Familiarity with the private sector landscape of employers and business services that spur growth

Salary Range: $55,000-$60,000

Did you know?

●        We are a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program qualified employer

●        25% tuition discount program for City employees (and sometimes spouses and dependents as well) in partnership with area colleges and universities

●        We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents

●        Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan

●        Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays

●        Generous retirement savings options are available

Successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire

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 or send an email to faqpchr @phila.gov. For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx