Chief Economic Development Officer

City of Waco, Texas

Waco is entering a significant period in its economic evolution. The City is experiencing continued growth, advancing one of the most ambitious downtown redevelopment initiatives in its history, and coming off a five-year period that includes more than $1.8 billion in major economic development investment across manufacturing, redevelopment, corporate employment, retail, housing, and other sectors.

That creates a compelling opportunity for a seasoned economic development executive who understands how to move complex projects from opportunity to reality while building the relationships, systems, and organizational capacity necessary for long-term success.

The next Chief Economic Development Officer will lead the City's Economic Development Department at a moment when Waco has both considerable momentum and considerable opportunity. This is not simply a business recruitment position. It is a senior leadership role responsible for helping shape the City's economic strategy, evaluating and structuring development opportunities, guiding major public-private investments, strengthening Waco's retail and commercial base, cultivating new markets, and serving as a trusted advisor to the City Manager and City Council.

Just as importantly, Waco is looking for an experienced leader who can help mature the organization itself, developing a talented emerging team, strengthening processes and analytics, and positioning the Economic Development Department for its next stage of growth.

About the City of Waco as an Organization

The City of Waco operates under a council-manager form of government, with the Mayor and City Council establishing policy direction and the City Manager leading implementation across the organization.

Economic development occupies an important position within that structure because the work intersects with nearly every dimension of Waco's future: land development, infrastructure, downtown redevelopment, retail, commercial investment, major employers, workforce, tourism, quality of life, and the City's long-term financial health.

The Chief Economic Development Officer reports through the City Manager's Office and serves as the City's principal advisor and subject-matter expert on economic development and incentive policy. The position is expected to provide strategic direction to the City's economic development operations while translating Council priorities into actionable short- and long-range strategies.

The City has also intentionally built a dedicated professional team around this work. The current Economic Development organizational structure includes the Chief Economic Development Officer, an Assistant Director of Economic Development, a Senior Economic Development Manager, a Business Strategy and Intelligence Manager, and an Economic Development Compliance and Financial Manager.

The Role: Leading Waco's Next Economic Development Chapter

The Chief Economic Development Officer will direct the City's economic development strategy and operations while serving as one of the primary voices shaping how Waco approaches investment, growth, redevelopment, and business development.

The role combines strategy, relationships, deal-making, analysis, and organizational leadership.

The CEDO will develop and execute strategies for attracting new businesses while supporting existing business growth and retention; identify infrastructure and development opportunities; evaluate proposed public investments; negotiate agreements with developers and businesses; manage major incentive programs; and provide decision-ready recommendations to the City Manager and elected leadership.

This person must also understand that economic development in Waco is highly relational. The City works alongside the Greater Waco Chamber and numerous public, private, institutional, and community partners. Those organizations may occasionally approach opportunities from different perspectives, but successful economic development depends on maintaining strong relationships while continuing to move projects forward.

The City Manager has been clear that Waco needs someone with a demonstrated ability to create collaboration, not someone who measures success only by winning the immediate deal. The next CEDO must know who the stakeholders are, understand their interests, and work effectively across organizational boundaries even when priorities compete.

A Broad View of Economic Development

Waco takes a broad view of what drives economic growth.

While many economic development organizations concentrate almost exclusively on industrial recruitment, the City recognizes retail and commercial development as important components of its economic strategy, particularly because of their impact on sales tax revenue, quality of life, and Waco's ability to serve a growing regional population.

The City's Economic Development Department has historically played a significant role in retail and commercial development, while the Greater Waco Chamber has taken a larger role in traditional industrial recruitment. Those lanes are not absolute, however, and the next CEDO will have an opportunity to build upon the strengths of both organizations and pursue opportunities collaboratively.

The opportunity extends well beyond traditional retail.

Waco has attracted international investment, including companies with ties to Mexico and Germany, and has pursued relationships connected to Korean investment associated with the rapidly growing semiconductor ecosystem in Central Texas. The region's interstate, rail, utility, and geographic position also create significant opportunities in logistics and distribution.

For the right leader, this is an opportunity to help broaden Waco's economic development portfolio while maintaining the City's existing strengths.

A Track Record of Economic Development Success

The next Chief Economic Development Officer will inherit meaningful momentum.

Over the past five years, Waco has advanced a diverse portfolio of economic development projects representing more than $1.8 billion in announced or committed investment across manufacturing, corporate headquarters, redevelopment, retail, housing, logistics, and community-serving projects.

Recent wins and major projects include:

Graphic Packaging International - approximately $1.026 billion in investment and 190 new jobs, representing one of the largest projects in Waco's recent economic development portfolio.

Electrolit - approximately $220 million in investment and 149 new jobs, adding a significant new manufacturing operation to the community.

Barron's Branch Phase 1A - approximately $154 million in investment, advancing a major component of Waco's broader downtown redevelopment initiative.

Riverway - approximately $130 million in investment, adding another large-scale redevelopment project to Waco's pipeline.

Floyd Casey Development - approximately $100 million in investment, transforming the former stadium property into a major new development opportunity.

Envases II - approximately $55 million in investment and 71 new jobs, building on an existing international manufacturing presence in Waco.

VanTran/MGM Transformers - approximately $31 million in investment and 184 new jobs.

Cornerstone Caregiving - approximately $12 million in investment and 218 new jobs, strengthening employment growth within Waco's urban core.

Coca-Cola/Refresco - approximately $19.8 million in additional investment, continuing investment by an established employer.

Historic Waco Lofts - approximately $20 million in investment, contributing to downtown residential and redevelopment activity.

Central Texas Food Bank - approximately $20 million in investment in a significant community-serving facility.

Downtown Grocery - approximately $5 million in investment, helping add an important amenity to Waco's growing downtown residential and commercial environment.

The portfolio also includes projects such as Brookview Hills, Cypress Village, Rapoport Academy, Alamo Structural Steel, and Tru Jamaica, reflecting the breadth of the City's economic development work.

Taken together, these projects demonstrate a strategy that is not dependent on any one sector. Waco has successfully attracted major industrial investment while simultaneously supporting downtown redevelopment, corporate employment, commercial activity, housing, and community infrastructure.

For the next CEDO, the opportunity is to build on an already active pipeline, strengthen how Waco competes for its next generation of projects, and continue translating public investment and market momentum into private-sector growth.

Development with a Return

Waco is willing to be creative in economic development, but the City expects its investments to produce a meaningful public return.

The Economic Development Department manages and works with tools including Tax Increment Financing, Chapter 380 agreements, tax abatements, development agreements, and other incentive programs.

The City evaluates these investments through an ROI-oriented lens. Financial return is important, but the analysis can extend beyond direct tax revenue to include outcomes such as job creation, catalytic development, redevelopment of strategic areas, and the broader economic impact generated by a project.

One recent example involved attracting the world headquarters of a home-care company to downtown Waco, with expectations of approximately 400 jobs over five years. The project illustrates the City's willingness to consider the broader economic and catalytic effects of a development rather than looking at a transaction through a single financial measure.

The next CEDO will need the technical knowledge to structure sophisticated agreements while also bringing the judgment to know when a project creates enough public value to justify the investment, and when it does not.

Downtown Waco: A Generational Redevelopment Opportunity

Few assignments will better illustrate the scale of opportunity facing the next CEDO than the transformation underway in downtown Waco.

The City of Waco is partnering with Hunt Real Estate on a long-term redevelopment initiative covering more than 100 acres along the Brazos River. The effort is expected to unfold over approximately 12 to 20 years and encompasses five distinct districts designed to accommodate new businesses, improved walkability, public gathering spaces, green space, and stronger connections to Waco's existing culture and urban fabric. (Waco Downtown Redevelopment (https://www.wacodowntownredevelopment.com/Home) )

Plans envision signature public spaces including a new town square, central events lawn, ballpark, enhanced green spaces, and a more connected, parks-oriented urban center. (Waco Downtown Redevelopment (https://www.wacodowntownredevelopment.com/Home) )

Importantly, the effort is moving from vision to implementation.

The City has already committed to approximately $200 million in Phase 1A infrastructure investment intended to create development-ready sites and unlock additional private investment. The City is simultaneously working through future phases and complex public-private financing considerations as the broader redevelopment progresses.

In 2026, the City also advanced a new downtown form-based code designed to establish standards for building design, walkability, public space, and downtown character as private development follows the public investment. (Waco Downtown Redevelopment (https://www.wacodowntownredevelopment.com/Home) )

For an economic development professional, this represents a rare opportunity: helping translate a major public investment into private development, employers, residents, retail activity, and a fundamentally different urban core.

Why This Opportunity Is Distinctive

Significant momentum already exists.

The next CEDO will not be asked to create an economic development platform from nothing. Over the past five years, Waco has advanced more than $1.8 billion in major projects, including a $1 billion-plus Graphic Packaging International investment, Electrolit's $220 million project, major downtown redevelopment investments, and significant new and expanding employers. The opportunity is to build on that momentum, broaden the pipeline, and elevate the sophistication of how Waco identifies, evaluates, competes for, and executes its next generation of projects.

The City is willing to do deals, but expects discipline.

Waco understands that economic development frequently requires creativity and public-private partnership. At the same time, City leadership expects incentives to produce demonstrable value.

The next CEDO will have room to think creatively while operating within a culture that expects sound analysis, defensible recommendations, and a clear understanding of return on public investment.

Downtown redevelopment creates a once-in-a-generation assignment.

The scale of Waco's downtown redevelopment means the next CEDO can have a tangible role in shaping the physical and economic future of the community for decades.

This is not conceptual planning. Major public investment is moving forward, development opportunities are being created, and the City is actively positioning downtown for substantial private-sector investment. (Waco Downtown Redevelopment (https://www.wacodowntownredevelopment.com/Home) )

There is room to broaden Waco's economic development reach.

Retail and commercial development will remain important, but Waco's geography, infrastructure, growing reputation, international relationships, and proximity to major Texas markets create opportunities across additional sectors.

The next CEDO can help identify where the City should become more aggressive, where partnerships should lead, and how Waco can compete more strategically for high-value investment.

The organization is ready for an experienced mentor.

The Economic Development Department has talented professionals and developing leadership depth. What the City needs now is someone who has seen enough deals, political environments, negotiations, successes, and failures to help accelerate the development of the people around them.

What the City Is Looking for in the Next Chief Economic Development Officer

Waco is seeking a seasoned economic development professional with strong technical knowledge, mature judgment, and the interpersonal skill to operate successfully in a relationship-driven community.

This is not a role for someone who needs to learn economic development fundamentals after arriving. The City needs a leader who understands how development projects actually work, including incentives, negotiations, development agreements, financing structures, public-private partnerships, and the political environment surrounding significant public investment.

The strongest candidates will bring:

Deep, practical experience with municipal economic development and development agreements;

Strong command of tools such as TIF, Chapter 380 agreements, tax abatements, public improvement districts, and related incentives;

Experience analyzing and negotiating complex development projects;

An ability to assess incentives through an ROI and community-benefit lens;

A demonstrated record of building productive relationships across organizations with competing interests;

Political and organizational judgment in working with City Managers, elected officials, attorneys, developers, and community stakeholders;

A broad understanding of economic development that encompasses retail, commercial, business attraction, redevelopment, and major investment;

Strong executive communication skills and the ability to present complex recommendations clearly in public settings; and

A record of coaching, mentoring, and developing economic development professionals.

The City Manager is particularly interested in someone with the maturity to understand that being the subject-matter expert does not mean always being the loudest voice in the room. The successful candidate will know when to lead, when to advise, when to ask questions, and when to allow elected officials and executive leadership to work through a decision.

Key Responsibilities

The Chief Economic Development Officer will be expected to:

Provide overall leadership and strategic direction for the City's Economic Development Department.

Develop and execute short- and long-range economic development and revitalization strategies.

Develop strategies for attracting new businesses while supporting expansion and retention of existing businesses.

Serve as the City Manager's principal advisor and subject-matter expert on economic development, development opportunities, and incentive policy.

Evaluate proposed development projects and recommend appropriate levels and structures of public participation.

Manage and provide oversight of TIF agreements, tax abatements, Chapter 380 grants, and other economic development incentive programs.

Negotiate incentive and development agreements with businesses and developers and review agreements negotiated by staff.

Identify infrastructure and development needs that can unlock additional private investment.

Use research, analytics, market intelligence, and performance measures to identify opportunities and evaluate results.

Develop strong relationships with developers, businesses, educational institutions, community organizations, governmental partners, and other economic development stakeholders.

Present economic development strategies, projects, recommendations, and agreements in public meetings.

Lead, mentor, and develop the Economic Development team while strengthening organizational systems, processes, and accountability.

Required Qualifications

Candidates must have:

A bachelor's degree in Economics, Planning, Social Sciences, Business, Public Administration, or a related field; and

At least seven years of experience in economic and community development and regulatory program management, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Candidates should also demonstrate substantial knowledge of federal, state, and local laws affecting economic development and experience with Texas economic development tools including Tax Increment Financing Districts, Public Improvement Districts, Chapter 380 grants, and tax abatements.

Preferred Experience

The strongest candidates will likely bring significant experience in several of the following areas:

Municipal or public-sector economic development leadership;

Complex development and incentive negotiations;

Retail and commercial development;

Downtown or catalytic redevelopment;

Corporate recruitment and business attraction;

Public-private partnerships;

Economic development finance and ROI analysis;

Development agreements and infrastructure participation;

Working directly with elected officials and executive leadership;

Partnership with chambers of commerce and regional economic development organizations;

International business recruitment or investment; and

Leadership and development of professional economic development staff.

Why Waco, and Why Now

For the right economic development executive, Waco offers something increasingly difficult to find: the ability to work on consequential projects in a community with real momentum while still having enough runway to materially shape what comes next.

The downtown redevelopment alone represents a generational opportunity. But the assignment is broader than downtown.

It is about determining where Waco competes next. It is about using public investment strategically. It is about building relationships strong enough to survive difficult negotiations. It is about strengthening an emerging economic development organization. And it is about helping a growing Central Texas city translate its location, infrastructure, institutions, identity, and momentum into sustained economic opportunity.

The City of Waco is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants selected as finalists for this position will be subject to a comprehensive background check.

Mackenzie Eason & Associates jobs

Chief Economic Development Officer for the City of Waco