Director of Research 

Department: Public Improvement Districts (#1 & #14), Economic Development, and TIF #3

Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. (DFWI) is dedicated to being the catalyst for transforming Downtown into a vibrant place to live, visit, enjoy, and conduct business through aggressive leadership of programs, projects, and partnerships. The Director of Research will lead the in-house research effort to provide the most up-to-date information about Downtown Fort Worth. Research to include, but is not limited to, office, retail, development, residential, and other economic and demographic segments. DFWI is seeking a highly motivated, self-starting, curious, creative, and detail oriented professional with experience in data collection, data analysis, data management, organization, and presentation skills to support the organization’s initiatives.  Knowledge of real estate fundamentals preferred.

Responsibilities:

  • Track housing, retail, office, education, parking, transportation, and development activities
  • Manage and develop multiple in-house databases
  • Collect data from various sources to inform development efforts
  • Track local and national trends in support of business recruitment and retention efforts
  • Stay current on software trends, tools, etc. to apply the most current techniques in research collection, analysis, and reporting
  • Produce reports on data collected from various in-house surveys and external sources; collect and analyze data and produce, in conjunction with other staff, an annual State of Downtown Fort Worth publication, monthly and quarterly reports
  • Obtain data from other organizations and research professionals as needed; tailor data from secondary sources to support DFWIs initiatives
  • Stay current on issues and trends affecting Public Improvement Districts, other center cities, and other downtown organizations
  • Manage special projects & initiatives including but not limited to:
  1. Revenue Tracking:  Develop a profile of government revenues generated in Downtown
  2. Assist in office, retail, residential, and hospitality recruitment efforts 
  3. Create DFWI information databases 
  4. Maintain and build a link between geography and data in GIS
  • Fulfill internal and external special requests for information / short-term analysis developed from in-house and outside data 
  • Identify opportunities or need for new analysis within DFWI mission and help produce periodic specialized reports
  • Interpret data and participate in policy discussion/creation
  • Present data to community groups, DFWI committees, including the Board of Directors and Executive Committee

Supervisory Responsibilities:

  • Manage research interns and internal staff assigned to periodic research projects
  • Manage research consultants on an as-needed basis

Requirements:

  • BA/BS or higher degree 
  • Ability to research and analyze data and write reports 
  • Familiarity with survey techniques and statistical sampling
  • Expertise in statistical modeling and analysis
  • SPSS or equivalent statistical software skills
  • Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills
  • Understanding of commercial and residential real estate markets
  • Ability to create and manage in-house DFWI databases and design database-based analyses 
  • Familiarity with real estate, demographic, census and other data sources and general internet-based research
  • GIS proficiency
  • Microsoft Office proficiency  
  • Strong analytical skills
  • Detail-oriented 
  • Self-motivated 
  • Ability to multitask
  • Ability to perform the job independently 

Please send cover letter, salary requirements, and resume to Barbara Sprabary Barbara@dfwi.org  by December 31, 2021.