Special Projects Coordinator (Office of the Mayor - Recovery Office)

Overview

• Department: Office of Mayor Cara Spencer – Recovery Office
• Job Type: Full-Time, Grant-Funded – Term-Limited (two years; extension contingent on funding)
• Location: STLRecovers Outreach Center (4401 Natural Bridge Ave.) – St. Louis, MO
• Reports To: Director of Neighborhood and Resident Engagement
• Salary Range: $75,000 – $90,000 annually, commensurate with experience

The City of St. Louis Mayor’s Office seeks a resourceful, highly organized Special Projects Coordinator to build the institutional partnerships and lead the cross-functional projects that expand the capacity of the North St. Louis tornado recovery. Reporting to the Chief Recovery Officer, this role establishes and maintains working relationships with the major nonprofit service providers, funders, and intermediary organizations delivering or financing recovery work at scale—particularly in debris removal and home repair—and aligns their capacity to specific City initiatives so that programs, funding, and delivery fit together rather than run in parallel. The Manager also leads cross-functional projects with City departments and Recovery Office teams to design, launch, and operationalize new programs, carrying them from concept through handoff to a permanent owner.

Position Vision

In our vision for St. Louis, recovery is a shared effort. Nonprofit partners have played an instrumental part in the response to the North St. Louis tornado and will continue to be central to the rebuilding ahead—bringing capacity, expertise, and resources that make a faster and fuller recovery possible. Under Mayor Cara Spencer and the Recovery Office, the Special Projects Coordinator makes that partnership deliberate: negotiating what each partner will deliver, matching that capacity to specific initiatives, and turning commitments into programs that actually run.

We seek a builder—equally comfortable negotiating a partnership, mapping a process across three departments, and standing up a new initiative from a blank page. Success means City and partner efforts that work as one, fewer gaps in delivery, and new programs that launch quickly and outlast the person who built them.

Position Description

Serving as a cross-cutting leader within the Mayor’s Recovery Office, the Special Projects Coordinator owns two connected functions: institutional partnership management and cross-functional special projects. On partnerships, the Manager is the Recovery Office’s primary relationship manager for major nonprofit providers, funders, and intermediaries—vetting organizations, negotiating scopes and deliverables, aligning their capacity to specific City initiatives, and tracking commitments and outcomes. On special projects, the Manager leads cross-functional teams spanning Recovery Office programs and City departments to design and launch new initiatives—scoping the work, building workplans, driving milestones, and transitioning completed programs to their ongoing owners.

This role works at the institutional and program level, and partners closely with the Director of Neighborhood and Resident Engagement and the Neighborhood and Community Engagement Manager — who lead resident, block unit, neighborhood, and community relationships — so that partner capacity and new initiatives are directed where residents need them most.

Key Functions

• Institutional Partnership Management: Establishing, negotiating, and maintaining partnerships with major nonprofit providers, funders, and intermediaries.
• Initiative Alignment & Gap Closing: Aligning partner capacity, scopes, and funding to specific City recovery initiatives to reduce duplication and close delivery gaps.
• Cross-Functional Project & Program Development: Leading projects with City departments and Recovery Office teams to design, launch, and operationalize new programs.
• Tracking & Reporting: Maintaining records of partnership agreements, project status, and outcomes, and reporting progress to leadership.

Responsibilities

Partnership Development & Management

• Identify, vet, and establish partnerships with major nonprofit service providers, funders, and intermediary organizations with the capacity to deliver or finance recovery work at scale.
• Serve as the Recovery Office’s primary point of contact and relationship manager for institutional nonprofit and funding partners.
• Negotiate and define partnership scopes, deliverables, roles, and points of coordination, and formalize them through agreements, MOUs, or working protocols as appropriate.
• Sustain partnerships over time—maintaining contact with partner leadership, resolving issues, tracking commitments against delivery, and convening partners to build a shared picture of capacity.

Initiative Alignment & Partner Coordination

• Align partner-delivered debris removal, home repair, and other recovery work with City recovery programs so efforts complement rather than duplicate one another.
• Build referral, intake, and hand-off pathways between partner organizations, Recovery Office programs, and City departments, and identify delivery gaps—properties, services, or scopes of work not covered by an existing program or partner—and develop solutions to close them.
• Coordinate with the Director of Neighborhood and Resident Engagement and the Neighborhood and Community Engagement Manager so needs surfaced through engagement inform where partner capacity is directed, and partner activity is communicated through established engagement channels.

Cross-Functional Projects & New Program Development

• Lead cross-functional projects with City departments and Recovery Office teams to design, launch, and operationalize new recovery programs and initiatives.
• Scope projects, build workplans and timelines, assign responsibilities, and drive milestones to completion.
• Coordinate across departments—including the Building Division, Streets, Forestry, Health, LRA, and other partners—to resolve process, policy, and operational barriers.
• Design the operating details of new programs—intake, eligibility, workflow, documentation, and roles—so outside capacity can plug into City operations, then pilot, refine, and transition them to their ongoing owners.
• Take on special assignments from the Chief Recovery Officer that require rapid, cross-cutting coordination.

Tracking, Documentation & Reporting

• Maintain accurate records of partnership agreements, partner activity, project status, and outcomes, and document new program processes so they can be sustained after handoff.
• Report on partnership and project progress, risks, and results to the Chief Recovery Officer and Recovery Office leadership.

Skills and Qualifications Desired

• Institutional Partnership Management: Proven ability to establish, negotiate, formalize, and sustain productive partnerships with external organizations at the leadership level.
• Project & Program Management: Strong ability to scope, plan, and drive complex projects with many stakeholders to on-time completion, and to build new programs from concept through launch and operational handoff.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Skill in working across departments and organizations, and moving work forward with people who do not report to you.
• Nonprofit & Philanthropic Sector Knowledge: Familiarity with how nonprofit service providers, funders, and intermediaries operate, are funded, and partner with government.
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication, able to convey complex ideas clearly to partner executives, City departments, and leadership.
• Recovery & North St. Louis Focus: Preference for candidates with experience in or a strong connection to the North St. Louis tornado-impacted zone and to disaster recovery or rebuilding efforts.
• Composure: Proven ability to work under pressure, manage competing priorities and deadlines, and handle sensitive matters with diplomacy and tact.

Experience & Education

This role is experience-focused, with no specific degree requirement. We are most interested in a demonstrated track record of building and managing partnerships with external organizations at the institutional level, leading cross-functional projects to completion, and standing up new programs in complex environments. Experience working with or within nonprofit service providers, foundations, or government agencies is a strong plus, as is familiarity with disaster recovery and grant- or contract-funded service delivery. Knowledge of St. Louis city governance and the regional nonprofit and philanthropic landscape is valued. Relevant education in fields such as Public Administration, Nonprofit Management, or Urban Planning is welcome but not required, and can be substituted by comparable experience.

Salary Range

$75,000 – $90,000 annually, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Application Process

Interested candidates are invited to submit a comprehensive resume, and, optionally, a cover letter outlining their qualifications and interest in the role, to Chief Recovery Officer, Julian Nicks, at nicksj@stlouis-mo.gov. Applications are reviewed and processed on a rolling basis, and interested candidates are encouraged to apply early.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The City of St. Louis is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of St. Louis will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the City.