Executive Director

Tacony Community Development Corporation

Job Description
The Tacony Community Development Corporation is seeking a new full-time Executive Director to provide leadership for the award-winning ten-year-old revitalization organization located in Northeast Philadelphia.

About the Tacony Neighborhood

The Tacony neighborhood is located just 8 miles north of Center City Philadelphia along the Delaware River. The area boasts:

• • A growing and diverse population
• • A centralized, walkable commercial corridor
• • Access to abundant green space and riverfront trails
• • Access to regional rail and bus lines
• • Many small businesses
• • A national historic district
• • Many properties on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places
• • Beautiful historic buildings and homes
• • Partnership with Ready, Willing & Able
• • Longstanding partnerships with neighborhood organizations

About the Tacony Community Development Corporation

The Tacony Community Development Corporation is the neighborhood’s primary driver of change. TCDC was founded in 2000 by an all-volunteer group focused on preserving the neighborhood’s historic housing stock. In 2011, the organization transitioned its priorities to promoting and revitalizing Torresdale Avenue, the neighborhood’s historic commercial corridor. The mission of the TCDC is to manage and promote the continued improvement of the commercial district in Tacony and the surrounding area. The TCDC strives to maintain the historic nature of the commercial corridor, while encouraging the development of a vibrant shopping and dining district for residents.

The TCDC is the recipient of many awards, including the 2022 Young Friends of the Preservation Alliance award. Over the past ten years, the TCDC has completed 40 storefront improvement projects, placed architectural exterior lighting on eight businesses, installed more than 150 security cameras, placed 40 new banners along the corridor, planted 52 new trees, and completed other blight remediation activities. More than 100 new jobs have been created along the corridor. The TCDC continues to work with partners to eliminate blight in the district using Pennsylvania’s Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act (Act 135).

The TCDC service area is bounded by Cottman Avenue, Frankford Avenue, Robbins Avenue, and the Delaware River. The TCDC contracts with Ready, Willing & Able, a non-profit comprehensive transitional work and housing program.

The TCDC supported the nomination of the Tacony Disston Community Development Historic District to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. This district includes more than 1,000 contributing properties on 55 blocks. The CDC successfully nominated the Disston-Tacony Industrial Waterfront Historic District on the Delaware River to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 2020.

Central to the TCDC’s mission is a commitment to reinvigorate Torresdale Avenue, Tacony’s business corridor, as the center of a broad range of community activities to serve the growing and diverse neighborhood. This includes supporting legacy businesses, businesses owned by the many new Americans moving to the area, and a large number of women-owned businesses.

The TCDC has a longstanding collaborative relationship with residents, schools, businesses, property owners, local organizations, and city government and elected officials. To learn more about the Tacony Community Development Corporation, visit the TCDC website at https://www.visittacony.com/

Job Summary

The Tacony Community Development Corporation’s Executive Director leads the vision and finances of the non-profit organization and manages the organization’s staff. The Executive Director reports to the TCDC’s Board of Trustees.

The Executive Director encourages investment and small business growth along Torresdale Avenue using the Main Street Approach to promote neighborhood economic development and revitalization. A primary focus of the Executive Director position will be the implementation of creative strategies aimed at recruiting new businesses to the Avenue.

The Executive Director is imaginative, passionate about community development, and promotes excellence in neighborhood revitalization through historic preservation. The Executive Director will be supported by a full-time Corridor Manager, to be hired, who will report directly to the Executive Director.

The TCDC has a long history of hiring consultants on an as needed basis. This may include, but is not limited to, a comptroller, events planner, historic preservation consultant, strategic planning consultant, and marketing consultant.

Essential Responsibilities

The TCDC Executive Director’s duties encompass a variety of tasks as identified in the annual budget developed jointly with the Board of Trustees and outlined in the organization’s five-year Strategic Plan. Annual staff evaluations are conducted by the TCDC Board. Below is a list of tasks and responsibilities including, but not limited to:

• 1. Leads the organization, develops and implements the organization’s vision in partnership with the Board of Trustees, including developing a new five-year strategic plan. This plan will be formulated and implemented with the support of marketing and strategic planning consultants.
• 2. Develops and manages meaningful relationships with a diverse set of stakeholders.
• 3. Writes and manages grant proposals and administers contracts with funders. TCDC programs are primarily funded through neighborhood revitalization grants. Identifies new sources of funding.
• 4. Works closely and creatively with organizational partners including, but not limited to, the Tacony Civic Association, Tacony Historical Society, Tacony Branch of the free Library of Philadelphia, Mural Arts Tacony LAB, Riverfront North Partnership and all relevant elected officials.
• 5. Provides Board of Trustees with the resources and training necessary to fulfill their duties. Helps to identify new Board members with a diverse set of skills and life experiences.
• 6. Cultivates interest from new businesses and supports retention of existing businesses on the corridor.
• 7. Completes basic financial management for the $300,000 budget in partnership with the Board President and Officers, in addition to the TCDC’s CPA. Completes routine corporate filings and prepares the organization’s annual IRS Form 990 filings and audit with assistance from contracted accountant and auditor.
• 8. Manages Vendors, employees and organizations with a business/contractual relationship with the organization.
• 9. Shapes the Corridor Manager job description. Oversees the Corridor Manager (This will be full-time position, to be hired, reporting to the Executive Director. The Corridor Manager will take on the majority of day-to-day interactions with business owners and residents and will manage storefront improvements).

Education, Experience, Attributes, Skills & Abilities

• • Exposure to and a passion for creativity in community development, urban design, city planning, economic development and creative placemaking.
• • Entrepreneurial, imaginative, highly organized, energetic and capable of functioning effectively independently.
• • Ability to listen to and work with a wide range of stakeholders, including an active Board, merchants, property owners, community and government leaders and advocates.
• • Experience working in economically and racially diverse communities.
• • Working knowledge of the Main Street Approach to commercial district revitalization.
• • Capable of creatively managing multiple tasks successfully and exercising sound judgment in evaluation and decision making. Ability to handle sensitive issues with diplomacy and confidentiality.
• • Five to seven years of experience and/or education in one or more of the following areas: commercial district management, economic development, historic preservation, finance, public relations, urban planning, small business development, non-profit administration, or any related field. If your equivalent education, internships, academic papers, or experience are relevant, please discuss in your cover letter.
• • Experience leading a nonprofit organization with a $200,000 budget.
• • Strong working knowledge of finance, budget management, contract negotiation and fiduciary responsibilities.
• • Excellent computer skills and proficiency in MS Office Suite, QuickBooks, presentation and virtual meeting applications and basic desktop publishing.
• • Basic skills and familiarity with social media platforms, email, website maintenance and other applications.
• • Minority and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. Work is performed primarily in an office setting with some outdoor work required. The Executive Director is frequently required to stand and walk. The Director must occasionally lift up to 25 lbs.

Compensation, Benefits and Work Environment

Terms of employment are exempt, professional management; regular full-time 40 hours a week, with some limited remote work possible. Work hours are flexible, depending on the needs of the job. The TCDC believes in a healthy work-life balance. This job is based at the TCDC office in the Tacony Music Hall.

Salary is $90,000. Three-month probationary period.

Benefits include: a stipend of $5000 from the TCDC for health insurance of the employee’s choice. Twelve paid holidays, unlimited PTO.

Equal Opportunity

The TCDC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The TCDC does not discriminate in hiring or employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, national origin, non-job-related disability or status as a veteran. Minority and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Application Process

Qualified applicants should submit the following materials, as a single PDF document:

• • Cover letter with phone number, and email address
• • Personal resume/CV
• • Three (3) work references with name, email address and phone number for each
• • Two (2) brief (1 to 4 pages) samples of your writing (a grant application, article, short report, press release, long email, etc.)

Send materials electronically to: employment@taconycdc.org
Application deadline: Monday, July 24, 2023 at 11:59 pm
Please write Executive Director Candidate in the subject line. No telephone inquiries. We will directly contact candidates we wish to interview.

Download this job description in PDF format here.

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