Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs

Job Description

The economic and community development specialist will develop and conduct applied research and technical assistance projects and participate in the collaborative design and implementation of projects with a special focus on western Virginia (Alleghany County as well as the Roanoke-Alleghany and Central Shenandoah area). This position, reporting to the Director for Research Development, is a restricted calendar year, administration and professional faculty appointment.

Forty percent (40%) of the specialist’s time will focus on Alleghany County and implementing the work of Alleghany Thrives, a community-based collective impact program, under the guidance of CECE’s Associate Director for Community Innovations.

The remaining sixty percent (60%) of the specialist’s time will include developing and implementing applied research and technical assistance projects related to Alleghany Thrives and the broader CECE project portfolio, all in collaboration with CECE project faculty.

Required Qualifications

• Experience with community development, community-based organizations or collaborative initiatives.
• Possess exemplary communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills
• Experience with relationship-building, partner development, and public engagement (engaging with, convening, and presenting to clients, constituents, beneficiaries, or similar).
• Demonstrate capacity as a highly organized, creative, entrepreneurial self-starter, capable of initiating and leading, as well as of contributing to a team.
• Experience with applied research or technical assistance projects in a collaborative, interdisciplinary setting.
• Advanced degree in planning, public administration, business, economics or a related field.
• Experience with, or demonstrated equivalent skills, to perform grant writing and generate funding resources to support new initiatives and programs.
• Willingness to be based in or make frequent and regular visits to Alleghany region and to undertake extensive travel, primarily within the state of Virginia.

Preferred Qualifications

• Leadership experience with collective impact, community change, or collaborative initiatives.
• Familiarity with Alleghany County, Virginia (including the city of Covington and town of Clifton Forge) or demonstrated experience working in a community with similar rural characteristics.
• Strong analytical skills and experience with research and practice grounded in community and/or economic development concepts and their application.
• An understanding of and interest in contributing to the scholarship of community and/or economic development.
• Possess experience with grant writing for federal funding agencies.
• Demonstrate the ability to build collaborative teams across organizations.

Overtime Status: Exempt - Not eligible for overtime

Appointment Type: Restricted

Salary Information: $52,000 to budget maximum of $58,000

Hours per week: 40

Review Date: 04/06/2026

Additional Information

Travel to Covington, Alleghany County, and other parts of the state will be required regularly.

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

About Virginia Tech

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including Blacksburg, the greater Washington, D.C. area, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, sites in Newport News and Richmond, and numerous Extension offices and research institutes. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $650 million in research annually.

Virginia Tech endorses and encourages participation in professional development opportunities and university shared governance. These valuable contributions to university shared governance provide important representation and perspective, along with opportunities for unique and impactful professional development.

Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, ethnicity or national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, or military status, or otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of other employees or applicants, or on any other basis protected by law.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Holly Carroll at hcarroll@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to the event.