Public Finance Project Manager

Overall purpose of the position

ECOnorthwest is seeking a Project Manager to help grow our public finance and infrastructure funding practice. In this role, you’ll lead consulting projects, applying strong quantitative and project management skills to work such as impact fee studies and assessment, fiscal impact analysis, and tax or revenue policy. We’re looking for someone with experience in one or more of these areas who is also interested in broadening their expertise across public finance and infrastructure funding.

Working under the guidance of a Project Director, you’ll manage projects from start to finish, overseeing teams, client relationships, deliverables, budgets, and timelines. You’ll also contribute to business development and help grow ECOnorthwest’s work across these interconnected policy areas.

Essential functions of the position

• Conducts and oversees financial and policy analysis on topics such as impact fees and System Development Charges (SDCs), fiscal impacts of growth and development, and tax and revenue policy.
• Leads day-to-day project delivery, coordinating staff and subconsultants and managing budgets, schedules, expectations, and communication.
• Delegates and oversees analytical work in collaboration with a Project Director, provides initial quality control, and synthesizes findings.
• Drafts and edits clear, concise, and technically rigorous reports and other client-facing materials that translate complex analysis into accessible findings and recommendations.
• Supports or leads client and stakeholder meetings and presents findings and conclusions.
• Contributes to business development by developing professional relationships, pursuing project opportunities, and drafting scopes and budgets.
• Balances billable project work with business development, culture-building, mentorship, and thought leadership consistent with ECO’s values and expectations.

Required competencies

Technical competencies

• Applies quantitative and financial analysis to public finance and policy questions, including developing revenue projections, analyzing the allocation and eligibility of costs across funding mechanisms, and evaluating the fiscal implications of alternative policies and funding approaches.
• Identifies and applies appropriate analytical methods and tools; understands methodological and data limitations and communicates their implications clearly.
• Communicates complex financial and policy analysis clearly to technical and nontechnical audiences and understands the policy, strategic, and political implications of the work.

Project and team management skills

• Commitment to excellence: Focused and passionate about producing high-quality analysis and insights, leading to productive outcomes for our clients.
• Project management: Independently manages scopes, budgets, schedules, deliverables, and competing priorities; anticipates problems and takes appropriate corrective action.
• Team leadership: Delegates effectively, creates clear expectations and roles, and supports and coaches team members.
• Client management: Builds trusted client relationships, understands client needs and context, manages expectations, and facilitates effective meetings.
• Business development: Develops professional relationships and contributes to scopes, proposals, and opportunities for new work.

Personal aptitudes/interpersonal skills

• Demonstrates sound judgment, political acumen, adaptability, and resourcefulness.
• Takes responsibility for the quality, timeliness, and efficiency of their own work and work they oversee.
• Intellectual curiosity and the desire to seek out new ideas and new solutions in creative and collaborative ways.
• Contributes to a collegial, inclusive, and effective team environment.
• Gives and receives constructive feedback and adjusts course when needed.

Required Qualifications

• Degree in economics, public administration, finance, accounting, planning, public policy, or a related field (Master’s generally preferred).
• Minimum of five years of relevant professional experience (a Master’s degree may substitute for two years), including experience managing project deliverables, scopes, budgets, and contracts.
• Demonstrated experience conducting financial and quantitative analysis in one or more areas of public finance, such as impact fees or SDCs, fiscal impact analysis, infrastructure funding, or tax and revenue policy.
• Strong analytical, written, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to interpret and communicate quantitative and qualitative findings to nontechnical audiences.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience developing or evaluating impact fee or system development charge methodologies.
• Knowledge of and experience with the state and local tax structures and infrastructure funding mechanisms in Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and/or California.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to work for long periods at a computer.

About ECOnorthwest

ECOnorthwest is a public policy consulting firm headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with offices in Seattle, Bend, Denver, and Los Angeles. For 50 years, policymakers and business leaders have trusted ECOnorthwest to inform the complex issues that shape communities. ECOnorthwest has worked with a diverse range of over 2,000 public, private, non-profit, and foundation clients in the United States and around the world to craft effective and feasible solutions. To answer the complex questions of our time, we integrate economic analysis with complementary disciplines to provide a more complete understanding of how policy choices affect people’s lives.