Tourism Manager - City of Harrisonburg

Looking to make a huge impact in an eclectic, growing city known worldwide for being a friendly, welcoming Community For All? Look no further than The Friendly City - Harrisonburg, Virginia.

The Harrisonburg Department of Economic Development is currently seeking a leader who is excited to join our dedicated team of community service professionals as our next Tourism Manager. The right candidate should be a creative, strategic thinker with the ability to position Harrisonburg competitively. We are seeking a collaborative relationship-builder who can strengthen our business, arts, and regional partners. This leader shall possess a passion for placemaking and enhancing the visitor experience.

This is an amazing opportunity for an individual who has great attention to detail and is a good communicator and progressive innovator to make a difference. And you’ll do it in a vibrant, modern, and diverse college community boasting a happening atmosphere infused with a serious passion for local food and libations, cutting-edge arts and culture, and the historic roots that anchor it to the famous Shenandoah Valley landscape.

Once an agricultural hub, Harrisonburg has now evolved into a lively and distinct destination with a vibrant arts and entertainment scene. The city is home to a plethora of parks and trails and hosts community events throughout the year. Downtown Harrisonburg was designated as Virginia’s first recognized Arts and Cultural District in 2001 and the first recognized Culinary District in 2014. Downtown boasts a variety of locally owned restaurants, coffee shops, bars, craft breweries, and boutiques. The area is home to an expansive network of galleries, music venues, theaters, and museums, making it an exciting place for anyone to enjoy.

The City of Harrisonburg is an independent city located in the central Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. The city is situated in the middle of Rockingham County and encom-passes 17.4 square miles, serving a population of approxi-mately 56,879.

Harrisonburg is located along Interstate 81 and is only two hours away from both Richmond and Washington, D.C. Harrisonburg City Council and staff are currently operat-ing under the City’s 2045 Vision Plan, which calls for a fo-cus on creating A Harmonious Community and prioritizing the areas of Available Housing for All; Economic Develop-ment & Financial Empowerment; A Thriving Educational Epicenter; Fiscal Responsibility & Planning; High-Quality City Services; and Community Resiliency & the Natural En-vironment.

Additionally, City staff strive to embody these five Values: Progressive Innovation, Productive Communication, Trust-ed Service, Winning Teamwork, and Valued Employees.

Harrisonburg is a melting pot of ethnic diversity. In recent years, thousands of refugees have settled into the city. Harrisonburg City Public Schools students speak more than 60 different languages, with English, Spanish, Arabic, and Kurdish being the most common.

Within the Harrisonburg City Public Schools system is a Pre-K Early Learning Center, six elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools. Harrisonburg is also home to two university campuses – James Madison Univer-sity and Eastern Mennonite University. James Madison is a public research university with an enrollment of more than 22,000 students, and Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) is a private, Mennonite-affiliated liberal arts university with an enrollment of approximately 1,500 students.

Harrisonburg has been a Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Community since 2011 and is dedicated to adding bicycle and pedestrian facilities throughout the community, mak-ing it attractive to walkers, runners, and cyclists alike. Miles of trails and sidewalks make it a walkable and bike-friendly community. The city is also surrounded by plenty of places to enjoy nature by foot or bike, with the Shenandoah Na-tional Park and the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest nearby.

The Tourism Manager:

• Markets Harrisonburg to promote tourism and stimulate eco-nomic development;
• Leads an exceptional staff team of dedicated professionals;
• Prepares and executes national and international marketing plans, prepares and releases press kits to media, tour opera-tors, travel agents, influencers, and others;
• Oversees social media marketing plan, including all digital and print media outlets;
• Oversees operations of the Hardesty-Higgins House Visitor’s Center, which is open to the public seven days per week;
• Directs all administrative matters including budget re-quests and personnel matters related to the Visitor’s Center;
• Maintains Tourism Accreditation Standards and plans and conducts Tourism Asset Inventory;
• Gathers and analyzes data and prepares quarterly tourism sta-tistics and annual reports;
• Prepares and implements improvement plans and designs and develops educational programs for special interest groups;
• Prepares the annual budget, and prepares and submits grant applications for matching funds;
• Designs, develops, and conducts familiarization tours for media, event planning, tour operators, travel agents, influenc-ers, and others;
• Prepares and updates asset inventory, photography, and vid-eo library, print and electronic/digital media;
• Coordinates tourism programs and activities with regionaland state organizations;

• Collaborates with hotels, restaurants, attractions, and event organizers to enhance visitor experiences and maximize local economic impact;
• Provides current and updated information to the press;
• Represents the City in joint planning sessions to establish regional tourism activities and serves as the City’s liaison on many local and regional committees that enhance tourism and foster economic development;
• Works as a liaison for group tours, meetings, conferences, special events, and sports activities;
• Attends meetings, seminars, conventions, and workshops to further knowledge, stay informed of the changes in the tour-ism industry, and exchange information;
• Researches media outlets and their corresponding editorial calendars to add to pitch list database;
• Works with editors and travel journalists to plan and finalize trip itineraries for upcoming press hits;
• Prepares and delivers information to local and regional or-ganizations on Tourism;
• Designs, develops, and implements in-service training pro-grams for staff, volunteers, and interns;
• Oversees petty cash, merchandise ordering, sales and tax re-ports for gift shop;
• Oversees marketing, public relations, administrative, and travel staff;
• Responds to requests for information.

Harrisonburg Tourism & Visitor Services is a division within the Economic Development Department which serves Harri-sonburg by promoting the City as an attractive tourist destina-tion, supporting Harrisonburg’s tourism-related businesses, providing promotional materials to showcase Harrisonburg, working with travel professionals to schedule meetings and conferences, and managing the Hardesty-Higgins Visitor Center.

The mission of Harrisonburg Tourism is to promote Harri-sonburg as an attractive travel destination and enhance our public image as a dynamic place to live, work and visit. In-creased tourism strengthens the local economy, creates jobs and provides opportunities for local businesses. Visitors to Harrisonburg spend approximately $240 million in the city each year. This spending supports local businesses, approxi-mately 2,500 local jobs and results in more than $12 million in taxes collected.

The Harrisonburg Visitor Center, located in the historic Hard-esty-Higgins House in the heart of downtown Harrisonburg, highlights everything The Friendly City has to offer visitors and new community members. An additional (unstaffed) vis-itor center is located in the Valley Mall.

At the Hardesty-Higgins Visitor Center you will find:

• Free attractions such as The Civil War Orientation Center and the Valley Turnpike Museum.
• Shopping at The Rocktown Gift Shoppe.
• Local business the Heritage Bakery and Café, which rents a space within the Visitor Center.
• Restrooms and parking in the Downtown area.
• A State-certified Visitor Center offering visitor information such as local maps and brochures from around the state, in-formation on area events and a trip planner app highlighting area attractions and restaurants.

Thousands of people visit Harrisonburg every year to enjoy the surrounding outdoor recreation opportunities, enabling Harrisonburg Tourism to promote our community as a re-gional basecamp for adventuring in nature. In fact, Harrison-burg has been named one of America’s Top 10 Mountain Bike Towns by the National Geographic Society, and was ranked sixth in Travel & Leisure’s America’s Favorite Towns list. That’s not to mention all those who visit our community for JMU athletics, events at the Forbes Center and numerous other cul-tural opportunities!

Questions:

Contact Human Resources at employment@Harrisonburgva.gov