Assistant Director - Illinois

ILLINOIS MAIN STREET OVERVIEW 

Illinois Main Street works with communities across the state to foster local economic development and enhance overall quality of life. Illinois Main Street does this by providing hands-on training, statewide workshops, networking opportunities, and access to resources of community organizations focused on revitalizing their older or historic commercial districts. 
 
Illinois Main Street is a state coordinating program of Main Street America, a coast-to-coast network of organizations and individuals working to bring vitality and prosperity to downtowns across the country. Main Street America programs operate at the local, city, and state-wide levels. They are united by a commitment to preserving and enhancing the built environment, celebrating local history and culture, and creating local economic opportunity through the framework of the Main Street Approach. 

Areas of Responsibility 

• Welcome new communities; Introduce potential new communities to the Main Street Approach with information, presentations and/or services to help them achieve Main Street Affiliate or Accredited designated status; Serve on a committee during the competitive selection of local communities applying to the Illinois Main Street network. 

• Support the Director of Illinois Main Street with services provided to Affiliate and Accredited Main Street Communities; Deliver Illinois Main Street technical assistance services to communities by telephone, correspondence, written reports, presentations, and on-site visits; Provide on-site training in communities, working with local Main Street programs or business serving organization staff, board, and committee members (Transformation Strategy Visits, Main Street 101, Program Assessments, Technical Assistance Visits, Strategic Planning, and other trainings, as necessary); Develop practical, engaging, educational content for Illinois Main Street network including but not limited to Main Street managers, boards members, small business owners, and civic leaders/elected officials. Content can include PowerPoint presentations, written guides, templates, and recorded video; Provide continuous contact to communities through in-person visits, phone calls, and virtual technical assistance in order to meet the members and their stakeholders where they’re at. 
• Coordinate the Illinois Main Street annual conference and quarterly workshops. Be responsible for arranging speakers, soliciting sponsors, selecting venues, and managing the event logistics. 

• Collaborate with the Director of Illinois Main Street in public relations and educational projects, including independent research, authoring articles, technical bulletins, educational and promotional material for publication, and in making public presentations on downtown revitalization subjects.  

• Assist with grant compliance and reporting for annual funding with Main Street America staff members. 

• Lead special projects and manage other duties as assigned by the Director of Illinois Main Street. 

Requirements

Qualified candidates for the position MUST HAVE the following attributes: 

• Relationship-building: Able to connect with individuals and build alliances among wide range of players in the state. Works well with diverse or marginalized populations; can bring in allies across diverse communities 

• Project management skills: stays on top of multiple projects, plans backwards, anticipates obstacles, identifies and involves stakeholders appropriately, uses resources wisely 

• Issue familiarity: prior knowledge of or experience in downtown revitalization, Main Street management, economic development concepts. 

Extraordinary candidates may have the following NICE TO HAVE attributes: 

• Strategic thinking: Identifies opportunities and solutions that will support the state director in setting strategic direction  

• Results-oriented: Has a track record of achievement and producing results (rather than getting immersed in process), perseveres despite obstacles 

• Public speaking: Total comfort, ease and experience in advocacy, presentation and public speaking roles;  

TO APPLY: Please send a cover letter and resume through workable.

Benefits

The salary range for this position is $79,800-$82,320.

Main Street America is a dynamic, diverse, remote-first team. We hire empathetic managers, create a fulfilling work environment, and provide excellent benefits. We strive to balance achievement, connection and rest through key structures:  

• We all organize our work annually around our six long-term objectives of our strategic plan;  

• We meet in person twice a year at team retreats, and many staff attend our annual conference; and 

• We have more than 25 paid holidays (including the last week of December and the week surrounding the fourth of July), and have meeting-free weeks (“Rejuvenation Weeks”) the last week of August and first week of January for deep focus and planning.  

We keep a 35-hour work week, and most of our team works Monday through Friday during regular business hours. Some positions require additional hours and time outside regular business hours.  

Full-time, regular employees are entitled to:   

• Health Insurance: Our group benefit plans include medical, EAP, dental and vision, life, and disability plans.  

• Paid Sick Leave: Full-time employees accrue sick leave at a rate of 3.23 hours per pay period (maximum accrual at 420 hours). 

• Vacation Accrual: In addition to the more than 25 paid holidays m.entioned above, full-time employees begin with two weeks vacation, and accrue vacation at a rate of 4.85 hours per pay period for the first 3 years. At years 3-10, the accrual rate increases to 6 hours, and employees with tenures of more than 10 years accrue at a rate of 6.92 hours per pay period (for a maximum accrual at 210 hours). 

• FMLA: We follow the DC Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides 16 weeks of unpaid leave in blocks or intermittently for family leave (the birth or adoption of a child, or caring for a sick relative) and 16 weeks of unpaid leave in blocks or intermittently for medical leave (recovering from a serious illness) in a 24 month period for any employee employed for at least a year. 

• 401(a) Defined Contribution Retirement Plan: At its discretion, Main Street America makes an employer contribution typically equal to 5% of earned compensation no later than April for the prior calendar year in which you worked at least 1,000 hours. Vesting begins at 20% after two years, and increases until it reaches 100% after five years. 

• 403(b) Individual Retirement Plan: Employee pre-tax contributions are permitted up to IRS limits. For 2024, those are $23,000, plus another $7,500 in catch-up contributions for employees age 50 years and over. 

• Professional Development: At its discretion, Main Street America provides $1,500 in professional development funds to each employee annually, as well as other team-wide professional development trainings.