Assistant City Manager

The City of Elgin is seeking a collaborative, adaptive, and forward-thinking individual to serve as its next assistant city manager (ACM). This is an exciting career opportunity for a top municipal executive to assist and support the city manager in planning, directing, and reviewing the activities and operations of the city. Key areas will include high-level strategic and operational aspects contributing to the overall success of this dynamic and well-run organization.

As one of two assistant city managers, the selected candidate will provide strategic leadership across city operations, with responsibilities aligned to their strengths and prior experience in local government. This newly created role offers an opportunity to join a high-performing executive team committed to collaboration, innovation, and delivering exceptional public service.

About Elgin

Located 38 miles northwest of downtown Chicago along the scenic Fox River, Elgin is known for its natural beauty, thriving arts scene, and rich cultural diversity. With robust transportation access—including Metra commuter rail service and proximity to major interstates and O’Hare International Airport—Elgin combines big-city accessibility with small-town charm. The City is governed by a non-partisan mayor and eight-member city council and operates under a council-manager form of government.

With an annual budget of $386 million and a workforce of over 700 full-time employees, Elgin delivers high-quality municipal services while embracing innovation, sustainability and community engagement.

The Role

As part of a collaborative executive leadership team, the ACM works directly with the city manager and current assistant city manager to support the day-to-day operations of the city organization while advancing long-term strategic initiatives.

The ACM is expected to:
• Serve as a trusted advisor and thought partner to the city manager on high-level organizational matters.
• Lead and manage cross-departmental projects and priorities that further the city council’s strategic goals.
• Foster alignment and collaboration across departments, helping to translate vision into action.
• Identify operational challenges and develop creative, data-informed solutions.
• Represent the city with community stakeholders, regional partners and intergovernmental organizations.
• Provide direction, coordination, and policy guidance on major municipal projects or problem areas and coordinate activities with divisions to ensure positive project implementation and effective working relationships.
• Provide leadership during emergency situations and serve as acting city manager as needed.
• Be actively involved and contribute to key hiring and staffing decisions in support of the city manager including setting goals and metrics for deliverables and accountability of staff.

This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, complex environment and is energized by working collaboratively, solving problems and making government work better for people.

The Ideal Candidate

The next ACM will be a politically astute and thoughtful leader who listens deeply, communicates with clarity, and brings strategic judgment to complex civic issues—skilled at navigating nuance, building trust and moving work forward through influence and collaboration. Elgin is looking for someone who:

• Brings strong emotional intelligence, professional integrity and a collaborative leadership style.
• Has a demonstrated ability to work across silos and inspire trust among employees, elected officials and community members.
• Skillfully connects strategic policy decisions with practical implementation, effectively translating city council priorities into actionable operational work for the organization.
• Can anticipate stakeholder dynamics, read the room, and guide complex initiatives with clarity, credibility, and precision—someone who brings both the political judgment and communications expertise to help shape messages, navigate public discourse and lead with influence in a fast-evolving landscape.
• Embraces innovation, continuous improvement and equity as guiding principles for service delivery.
• Navigates complex and changing landscapes with confidence, keeping project goals at the forefront despite shifting requirements.
• Is a thoughtful, articulate communicator who leads strategic messaging, builds alignment, and advises on high-profile, politically sensitive issues.
• Demonstrates success leading cross-functional teams, strategic initiatives, or complex municipal projects.
• Has keen knowledge and understanding of current and future issues that impact municipal organizations.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in public administration, business, political science, or a related field is required.
• A master’s degree in public administration or a similar field is strongly preferred.
• At least seven years of executive level municipal management experience.
• An equivalent combination of education and job-related experience may substitute for the educational requirements on a year-for-year basis.