VICE PRESIDENT, at THE VIRGINIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Richmond, Virginia

Vice President, Research

Richmond, Virginia

Position Overview

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) seeks a Vice President, Research to provide strategic, operational, and cultural leadership for VEDP's Research Division. Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Marketing, Communications & Research, this role leads a diverse, multidisciplinary division of approximately 25 staff responsible for conducting solutions-oriented business analysis supporting business investment efforts, communicating Virginia's value proposition through compelling deliverables, and delivering technology-enabled operational support across the organization.

Core Responsibilities

Leadership & Division Management

• Lead and manage a multidisciplinary division of approximately 25 staff spanning analytics, client communications, business presentations, GIS, application development and Salesforce administration.
• Provide clear direction, priorities, and expectations for the division while fostering a collaborative, high-trust, mission-oriented culture.
• Provide ongoing coaching, performance management, professional development, and organizational support for direct reports and broader team members.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, responsiveness, curiosity, and continuous improvement.
• Promote thoughtful cross-team collaboration and avoid operational silos across the division.
• Ensure effective allocation of staff resources, workloads, budgets, and operational priorities across teams and initiatives.
• Help shape and strengthen organizational culture by modeling maturity, professionalism, sound judgment, authenticity, and collaborative leadership.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen organizational structure, workflows, processes, and team effectiveness over time.

Strategic Insight & Analysis

• Serve as a strategic thought partner to VEDP leadership on issues related to economic development, competitiveness, industry trends, business climate dynamics, and organizational strategy.
• Provide high-level analytical support, strategic framing, and problem-solving support for executive leadership, major initiatives, and priority projects.
• Help strengthen VEDP's ability to deliver distinctive insights, communicate Virginia's competitive advantages, and support informed decision-making for both internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintain situational awareness regarding major projects, organizational priorities, and pipeline activity to ensure Research Division efforts remain aligned with business needs and organizational objectives.
• Support the development and continuous refinement of Virginia's industry, competitiveness, and business value proposition materials and related strategic resources.
• Help ensure the Research Division delivers clear, compelling, and strategically aligned support that helps VEDP solve problems, support business investment efforts, and communicate effectively with clients and stakeholders.
• Represent VEDP credibly in select interactions with the Board of Directors, administration officials, partners, and the broader economic development practitioner community.

Operational Excellence & Service Delivery

• Lead efforts to continuously improve how the Research Division delivers services and support across the organization.
• Strengthen operational processes, quality assurance, workflow coordination, prioritization approaches, and service delivery models across teams.
• Continue strengthening the division's consultative, strategically aligned, and high-value partnership model across the organization.
• Work closely with internal stakeholders to define service expectations, ensure appropriate intake and prioritization processes, and strengthen alignment between organizational needs and Research capabilities.
• Ensure high-quality, timely execution of project support deliverables and analytical products supporting VEDP's business development and marketing efforts.

Technology & Data Systems

• Provide strategic oversight for VEDP's Salesforce CRM platform, GIS capabilities, application development efforts, and related technology-enabled operational tools.
• Partner with technical teams and organizational stakeholders to help translate business needs into effective operational and technology solutions.
• Foster a culture of innovation and thoughtful experimentation around technology, analytics, automation, and operational improvement.
• Help ensure technology and data resources are aligned with organizational strategy, operational priorities, and user needs.

Organizational Performance

• Support the use of organizational metrics, operational analytics, and performance reporting to strengthen decision-making and organizational effectiveness.
• Oversee Research Division support for organizational surveys, pipeline analytics, operational reporting, and other performance management initiatives.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Organizational Partnership

• Build strong collaborative relationships across VEDP divisions and with external partners where appropriate.
• Partner closely with Marketing, Lead Generation, Business Investment, Economic Competitiveness, Talent, External Affairs, and other teams to support integrated organizational objectives.
• Help bridge communication and operational gaps between technical teams, analytical teams, and business-facing functions.
• Support organizational initiatives requiring cross-functional coordination, strategic analysis, operational problem-solving, or executive-level communication support.
• Help ensure the Research Division remains highly responsive, collaborative, and solutions-oriented while maintaining focus on long-term effectiveness and sustainability.

Experience Required

• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in research, analytics, economic development, strategy, consulting, operations, technology-enabled business functions, or related fields.
• Significant leadership and people-management experience overseeing multidisciplinary teams and complex operational functions.
• Strong strategic thinking, analytical reasoning, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Experience managing or partnering closely with analytical, operational, and/or technology-oriented teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to synthesize complex information clearly and persuasively for executive audiences.
• Strong organizational judgment and decision-making skills, including the ability to balance competing priorities and operate effectively in fast-moving environments.
• Experience operating in a fast-paced, client-service-oriented or project-driven environment.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and building collaborative relationships across teams and stakeholders.
• Operational management experience, including process improvement, workflow management, resource allocation, and organizational coordination.
• Comfort working with metrics, operational reporting, CRM systems, organizational analytics, and performance management concepts.
• Strong presentation and executive communication capabilities.

Personal Attributes

• Strong emotional intelligence, maturity, and interpersonal judgment.
• Authentic, collaborative leadership style.
• Strategic and systems-oriented thinker.
• High degree of initiative and accountability.
• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-moving, high-profile environments.
• Comfortable balancing strategic thinking with operational execution.
• Strong organizational instincts and sound judgment.
• Curious, thoughtful, and intellectually engaged.
• Innovative and technology-savvy with an interest in operational improvement and practical applications of emerging tools and technologies.
• Strong relationship builder capable of leading through trust, credibility, and collaboration.
• Ability to maintain composure and perspective under pressure.
• Commitment to continuous improvement, team development, and organizational effectiveness.

Within 12-18 months, success looks like . ..

• The Vice President has developed strong, trusting relationships across the Research Division and broader organization and is viewed as a collaborative, thoughtful, and highly credible leader.
• The Research Division is operating with strong alignment, clear priorities, healthy culture, and effective cross-team coordination.
• Research capabilities are increasingly viewed as a strategic differentiator for VEDP, helping strengthen Virginia's value proposition through distinctive insight and operational excellence.
• The division has continued improving its operational processes, service delivery models, prioritization approaches, and organizational responsiveness.
• Internal stakeholders view the division as proactive, solutions-oriented, collaborative, and strategically valuable.
• Technology, analytics, CRM, GIS, and application development capabilities are increasingly integrated into broader organizational strategy and operational improvement efforts.
• The Vice President has successfully balanced strategic leadership, operational management, organizational partnership, and substantive analytical contribution.
• The division continues to strengthen its culture of trust, collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• The Vice President and team are regarded as highly effective partners capable of delivering thoughtful, high-quality work in a fast-paced, high-profile environment.

Education

Bachelor's degree in economics, business, public policy, statistics, geography, information systems, communications, management, or related field required