116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance seeks new talent attraction director to lure workers
Role created to focus on recruiting, retaining metro workforce
CEDAR RAPIDS — Local partners are looking to hire a new talent attraction director who will work to grow the Cedar Rapids metro’s labor force as communities work to address worker shortage woes.
The Collaborative Growth Initiative partners this week are launching a search for a new full-time director-level position at the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance who will lead efforts to grow the area’s workforce population, leveraging and coordinating public and private sector resources. The initiative began last year as a public-private partnership among the cities of Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha and Marion along with the alliance.
These partners initially funded and worked on a report about demographics, perceptions of the region and strategies for growth. It recommended creating a position to focus full-time on implementing growth strategies.
Asked what the salary range is for this new position, Economic Alliance Executive Director Doug Neumann said “while we don’t have a precise salary range determined, this is a leadership level position and to attract that level of talent, this will need to be competitive with leadership level positions in this market.”
The search will start immediately, he said. It can often take 90 days or more for someone in such a position to start, Neumann said, but “we wouldn’t mind beating that goal and having something come together more quickly.”
Development Counsellors International, a firm with offices in New York, Denver, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Montreal and Toronto, conducted market research and identified five areas with potential workforce talent that the Cedar Rapids metro could draw from — Wisconsin, the Chicago area, the Twin Cities in Minnesota, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood in Colorado and Southern California, including Los Angeles.
Budgets for the initiative are set for the next three years, ranging from an “adequate” level around $500,000 a year to the “optimal” level of $1.3 million per year. Plans include addressing branding needs, communication strategies, work groups and fundraising to complement public funds that Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell has said each city will be asked to contribute.
O’Donnell highlighted the effort during her State of the City address in May and mentioned her support for creating the new position.
“We have amazing communities to promote and a strong plan for growth,” O’Donnell said. “Now that we have identified target markets filled with potential talent with the exact skills that the Greater Cedar Rapids region is seeking, our efforts can shift to implementation.”
According to the report the firm submitted in March, existing workforce talent in the Cedar Rapids metro lacks confidence “that alternative opportunities to grow professionally are available in Greater Cedar Rapids, which could cause them to consider relocation.”
Moreover, “while Greater Cedar Rapids is viewed as accepting and inclusive, there is also concern of a ‘trickle-down’ impact from state policies that could impact the ability to attract and retain a diverse workforce,” the report states. There’s also a perception that the area lacks nightlife and attractions for young professionals.
To attract more workforce talent, messaging could focus on “livability and career-related factors,” including housing availability, cost of living, jobs and salaries.
“This new position at the Economic Alliance demonstrates all our partners’ commitment to the initiative,” Hiawatha Mayor Steve Dodson said in a statement. “We have some momentum right now. Let’s keep working together to build on that.”
The earliest focus stemming from the report will be on luring talent using digital marketing strategies to target workers with specific skillsets in the communities the report highlighted.
Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssaly said in a statement these varied growth efforts must be sustained by many people and groups over a long period of time.
“Each of the cities in the region can lead on some strategies, but this is going to take a comprehensive effort by leaders from all sectors,” AbouAssaly said. “This is a great opportunity to work collaboratively as a region.”
The new position description notes the person hired will help coordinate the initiative with a similar statewide growth initiative. The director would create a new Workforce Innovation Council of stakeholders to bring public, private and expertise to the effort.
“We hope news of this leadership position generates interest from local candidates who want to lead an initiative that could have a transformational impact on this area,” Neumann said in a statement.
Details of the new position, along with experience and educational requirements being sought, are at cedarrapids.org/news-stories.
Interested candidates may submit a cover letter and resume to Audrey Wheeler, the alliance’s director of organizational development, at awheeler@cedarrapids.org.
Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com
Daily Newsletters