Chief Economist

The City Economist serves as the City of Richmond’s lead economic advisor, providing advanced economic analysis, forecasting, and policy evaluation to support executive decision-making and long-term fiscal sustainability.
Reporting to the Director of Finance (or designee), this position plays a critical role in shaping the City’s financial strategy by delivering independent, data-driven insights on economic conditions, revenue performance, and policy impacts.

The City Economist develops multi-year revenue forecasts, evaluates the fiscal and distributional implications of policy proposals, advises on tax and fee structures, and translates complex economic concepts into actionable guidance for executive leadership, City Council, and community stakeholders. The incumbent serves as a subject matter expert on local, regional, and national economic trends and their implications for the City’s fiscal health, equity outcomes, and long-term resilience.

This position plays a central role in advancing the City’s multi-year financial planning efforts, strengthening forecast accuracy, and supporting structurally balanced budgets.

This position is UNCLASSIFIED and serves at the will of the Appointing Authority.

• Build and maintain short- and long-term forecasts for major revenue streams, incorporating macroeconomic indicators, demographic trends, and local market conditions.
• Develop scenario analyses (baseline, optimistic, stress) to inform biennial and annual budget planning.
• Partner closely with the Financial Manager – Revenue Operations & Analysis to align economic assumptions with revenue collections data, strengthen forecast accuracy, and ensure consistency between economic models and financial reporting.
• Support the development of consensus revenue forecasts used in the City’s annual budget and long-range financial plan.
• Monitor economic conditions to proactively identify fiscal risks and opportunities.

• Serve as the City’s lead economic advisor on the fiscal and economic implications of proposed legislation.
• Provide independent economic and fiscal analysis to support the development, review, and implementation of City ordinances, resolutions, and regulatory actions.
• Evaluate the short- and long-term revenue, economic, and distributional impacts of proposed policies, including tax changes, incentives, land-use regulations, workforce initiatives, and infrastructure investments.
• Develop fiscal impact statements and economic outlook memoranda to inform sound policy making.
• Partner with the City Attorney’s Office, Budget, Finance, and departmental leadership to assess fiscal implications and identify potential financial risks or unintended consequences.
• Monitor enacted legislation to evaluate actual economic outcomes compared to projections.

• Lead the application of advanced data analytics and statistical software to develop forecasts, economic models, and policy analyses. Typical tools may include R, Python, Stata, SAS, SQL, Power BI, Tableau
  , and advanced financial modeling techniques.
• Design and manage data pipelines and econometric models using industry best practices.
• Ensure data quality, documentation, reproducibility, and model validation through established governance practices.
• Partner with Budget, Finance, IT, and performance analytics staff to enhance data integration and strengthen the City’s analytical capabilities.

• Track labor market dynamics, wages, and sectoral shifts to identify risks and opportunities for Richmond’s economic base.
• Provide insights to support economic development strategies, site selection, and business retention/expansion efforts.
• Represent the City in regional economic forums and collaborate with academic institutions, business groups, and state agencies.
• Respond to executive requests with rapid, well-sourced analysis and translate technical findings into practical recommendations.

• Prepare clear, accessible reports, dashboards, and presentations for executive leadership, City Council, and departmental stakeholders.
• Contribute…