Business Recruitment Director- FWEDP

Business Recruitment Director – Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership (EDP) is building a dedicated outbound business recruitment function and is seeking a proactive, hunter‑style professional to lead that effort. The role reports to the President & CEO and Executive Vice President and will operate as the centerpiece of EDP’s strategy to identify, engage, and advance prospective companies that fit the city’s growth priorities.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and support proactive business recruitment activity aligned with Fort Worth EDP’s strategic goals, target industries, and market priorities.
• Build, refine, and maintain target company lists; conduct company and industry research; identify qualified prospects; support outbound campaigns; and generate new recruitment conversations.
• Build and maintain relationships with site‑selection consultants, corporate real‑estate professionals, business executives, and company representatives.
• Represent Fort Worth EDP at conferences, recruitment events, meetings, site visits, and business development travel; act as a responsive and professional point of contact for all recruitment‑related inquiries and follow‑up.
• Support recruitment efforts focused on Fort Worth’s target industry clusters—Aerospace & Defense, Anchors & Innovators, Energy, Mobility, and Culture—through research on companies, suppliers, facility types, market trends, competitor activity, workforce dynamics, and industry drivers.
• Maintain accurate records of prospect activity, consultant relationships, outreach, conference contacts, next steps, and recruitment pipeline information using HubSpot and related tools; coordinate internal lead tracking and ensure timely follow‑up across the team.
• Support conference strategy, recruitment missions, company trips, and related business development travel; prepare target lists, meeting schedules, outreach plans, collateral, and post‑event follow‑up actions.
• Participate in prospect site visits and provide coordination support in partnership with the Vice President of Economic Development and other team members to deliver a professional and business‑ready experience.
• Coordinate and maintain promotional materials, presentations, custom reports, market information, and recruitment collateral for prospective businesses, consultants, investors, and partners; collaborate with marketing and research functions to keep materials current and aligned with Fort Worth’s competitive advantages.
• Use research tools such as JobsEQ, Lightcast, HubSpot, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Office, and other platforms to gather business intelligence, workforce data, company information, and market insights; translate research into practical recruitment opportunities and decision‑ready information for internal use.
• Work collaboratively across Fort Worth EDP’s business recruitment, project management, marketing, research, investor relations, and operations functions; support investor meetings, reporting activities, organizational initiatives, and other work necessary to advance the Partnership’s mission.
• Handle sensitive company, project, and organizational information with discretion; maintain professionalism in all written communication, meetings, travel, public events, and informal interactions.

Preferred / Highly Desirable Qualifications

• Experience working in or around economic development, business attraction, corporate location, site selection, commercial real estate, chamber of commerce, regional business development, or a related public‑private environment.
• Experience using CRM platforms such as HubSpot to track leads, relationships, outreach, follow‑up, and pipeline activity.
• Experience with research tools such as JobsEQ, Lightcast, LinkedIn, company databases, market research platforms, or AI‑supported research tools.
• Familiarity with one or more of Fort Worth’s target industry clusters, including aerospace and defense, advanced manufacturing, mobility and logistics, corporate headquarters, financial services, energy, technology, life sciences, hospitality, tourism, film, or professional services.
• Demonstrated comfort representing an organization externally with business leaders, executives, consultants, site selectors, real estate professionals, public partners, investors, or civic stakeholders.
• Evidence of a hunter mindset: proactive outreach, lead generation, relationship‑building, disciplined follow‑up, and comfort initiating conversations.
• Strong writing, presentation, and collateral‑development skills.
• A growth‑oriented professional mindset, including willingness to learn, receive coaching, manage up, support teammates, and build a long‑term career in economic development.

Minimum Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a background in business, sales, real estate, marketing, public administration, economics, urban planning, communications, or a related field.
• Three to five years of progressively responsible experience in economic development, business recruitment, business development, commercial real estate, sales, corporate recruitment, marketing, project coordination, chamber work, or another relevant field.
• Demonstrated ability to support business recruitment, lead generation, relationship management, prospect engagement, or comparable business development activity.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, networking, and follow‑through skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively while managing multiple assignments, deadlines, relationships, and details.
• Professionalism and discretion in handling confidential and sensitive information.
• Ability to travel moderately and attend occasional early‑morning meetings, evening functions, conferences, and business development events.

First 12‑24 Months

Early priorities will include strengthening the target company list, learning Fort Worth’s target industries and competitive advantages, becoming proficient in the organization’s CRM and research tools, developing relationships with site‑selection consultants, participating in conferences and recruitment events, supporting site visits, and establishing the follow‑up discipline needed to move prospects through the pipeline.

Location

Fort Worth, Texas