Building a Downtown Economy through Data-Driven, Strategic Growth

The City of Centerton is working to translate rapid residential growth into a more vibrant, economically sustainable downtown by expanding local amenities, supporting small businesses, and guiding intentional commercial development. The FUSE Executive Fellow will help the City build a data-driven community and economic development strategy that aligns market intelligence, planning priorities, and community engagement to proactively attract and retain desired businesses. This is a two-year fellowship, with Year One focused on discovery, strategy development, and early implementation, and Year Two focused on scaling solutions, expanded strategy implementation, and embedding sustainable practices within City operations.

Fellowship Dates: October 26, 2026 – October 22, 2027

Salary: Executive Fellows are FUSE employees and receive an annual salary of $95,000. Fellows can also access various health, dental, and vision insurance benefits. This amount is not representative of market-rate salaries for the experienced professionals in our program but is intended as compensation for a year of public service.

ABOUT THE FUSE EXECUTIVE FELLOWSHIP

FUSE is a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing the capacity of local governments to work more effectively for communities. We embed private sector executives in city and county agencies to lead projects that improve public services and accelerate systems change. Since 2012, FUSE has led over 400 projects in 58 governments across 26 states, impacting a total population equivalent to 1 in 10 Americans.

When designing each fellowship project, FUSE works closely with government partners and community stakeholders to define a scope of work that will achieve substantive progress toward high-priority local needs. Projects address today’s most pressing challenges and opportunities, including affordable housing, economic mobility, climate resilience, public safety, infrastructure, technology, and more.

FUSE conducts a full executive search for each individual project to ensure that the selected candidate has at least 15 years of professional experience, the required competencies for the role, and deep connections to the community being served.

Executive Fellows are embedded in government agencies working with senior leaders for at least one year of full-time work. Prospective responsibilities may include thorough data analytics and research, developing enhanced operations and financial models, building change management and strategic planning processes, and/or building broad coalitions to support project implementation efforts. Executive Fellows are data-driven and results-oriented and able to effectively manage complex projects. They build strong relationships with a broad array of stakeholders, foster alignment within and across various layers of government, and build partnerships between governments and communities.

Throughout the fellowships, Executive Fellows receive training, coaching, and professional support to help achieve their project goals.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Strategic community and economic development efforts are critical to ensure that rapid growth translates into improved quality of life, local opportunity, and long-term economic resilience. When cities proactively plan for commercial development, they can expand access to everyday amenities, support small business growth, and create walkable, vibrant places that foster connection and belonging. Data-driven economic development strategies also help cities prioritize inclusive growth by ensuring that new investment benefits a broad range of residents, particularly those who face barriers related to income, transportation, or access to employment. Without intentional planning and community engagement, fast-growing cities risk reinforcing inequities in access to services and missing opportunities to build sustainable local economies.

Centerton, Arkansas, has experienced significant population growth in recent years, driven largely by residential development. However, this growth has not yet been matched by corresponding commercial and downtown development. As a result, many residents regularly leave the city for shopping, dining, services, and employment, increasing travel costs and limiting access to amenities that support daily life. These challenges disproportionately affect residents with limited mobility, lower incomes, or inflexible work schedules, who benefit most from nearby services and local jobs. Historically, Centerton focused on infrastructure investment and long-range planning as it transitioned from a primarily residential community. More recently, the City has launched downtown and comprehensive planning efforts, engaged directly with developers, and strengthened partnerships with the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses. While these efforts have generated growing interest in Centerton’s potential, they have also highlighted the need for localized market data, clearer commercial positioning, and stronger internal capacity to guide investment in ways that align with community priorities.

Centerton will partner with FUSE through a two-year Executive Fellowship to build a clear, data-informed foundation for intentional community and economic development and to translate that foundation into sustained action. During the fellowship, the FUSE Executive Fellow will work with stakeholders to develop market intelligence, strengthen community engagement, and embed practical tools that support business attraction and retention aligned with the City’s downtown vision. The first year of the fellowship will focus on discovery, strategy development, and early implementation, while the second year will deepen execution, institutionalize decision-support tools, and strengthen long-term capacity within the City. Ultimately, this partnership will position Centerton to move from reactive growth to proactive development, thereby expanding local amenities, supporting small businesses, and creating a more vibrant, economically sustainable community for residents over the long term.

PROJECT APPROACH

Beginning in Fall 2026, the FUSE Executive Fellow will work with the City of Centerton’s Mayor’s Office and Planning Department to advance a data-driven community and economic development strategy that supports the City’s downtown vision and long-term growth goals. Through this two-year fellowship, the fellow will help Centerton translate rapid residential growth into expanded local amenities, strengthened small business opportunities, and a more vibrant and economically sustainable downtown. The fellow’s work will focus on aligning data, planning, and community priorities to support intentional business attraction and improved quality of life for all residents.

The fellow will begin with a 90-day period of in-depth discovery and assessment. During this phase, the fellow will conduct a comprehensive listening tour with key stakeholders, including the Mayor’s Office, Planning Department staff, City Council members, the Chamber of Commerce, local business owners, property owners, and regional partners. This process will surface insights into current development patterns, community priorities, and challenges related to commercial recruitment and decision-making. The fellow will also conduct a landscape analysis to review existing plans, zoning, and land use policies, development proposals, and relevant demographic and market data, as well as assess current practices for engaging businesses and responding to development inquiries. The fellow will research best practices from comparable fast-growing communities that have successfully strengthened downtowns and diversified local economies.

Drawing on insights from the discovery phase, the fellow will develop and propose refined project goals, priorities, and anticipated Year One deliverables for review and approval by City leadership. This step will ensure the fellowship’s direction reflects local conditions, aligns with City priorities, and establishes a clear and shared foundation for implementation.

The fellow will then focus on advancing Year One strategies that translate analysis into action. This will include leading localized market and retail analyses to better understand unmet demand, target business types, and realistic commercial opportunities within Centerton. The fellow will work closely with City staff and partners to translate these insights into clear commercial positioning and recruitment strategies that align with the City’s downtown vision and planning framework. Throughout the year, the fellow will support structured community and stakeholder engagement to incorporate resident perspectives, strengthen alignment among City departments, and coordinate with the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses.

The fellow will help develop practical tools and processes that support consistent, data-informed decision-making for city development. This may include piloting decision-support tools, improving how staff evaluate development proposals, and strengthening internal workflows for responding to business and developer inquiries. Where appropriate, the fellow may support early implementation efforts that test approaches, build momentum, and inform longer-term strategies, while remaining flexible as priorities evolve based on ongoing learning.

By the end of Year One, the fellow will have helped establish a clearer foundation for community and economic development in Centerton, including improved internal capacity to use data, stronger coordination across stakeholders, and increased confidence in the City’s economic narrative. The fellow and City leadership will collaborate to define more specific goals, success measures, and scope for the second year of the fellowship, informed by lessons learned and early results.

The second year will then focus on deepening implementation, scaling effective strategies, and embedding sustainable systems, tools, and practices within City operations. By the end of Year Two, the north star of this fellowship is for Centerton to operate with an institutionalized, proactive approach to community and economic development that consistently attracts desired businesses, expands amenities residents want close to home, supports small business growth, and sustains a vibrant downtown that enhances quality of life and economic resilience for the long term.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

By Fall 2027, at the end of Year One, the fellow is expected to have:

• Developed a Comprehensive Market and Retail Gap Analysis – Worked with City leadership, Planning staff, and external partners to produce a data-driven assessment of retail leakage, unmet demand, target business types, and realistic commercial opportunities to inform decision-making and guide private investment.
• Produced Market Area and Demographic Profiles – Created clear, developer-ready profiles of Centerton’s workforce, consumer spending, and demographic trends to strengthen business recruitment efforts and external communications.
• Designed a Commercial Recruitment and Positioning Strategy – Translated market insights into actionable recommendations, including priority business targets, site suitability considerations, and consistent messaging aligned with the City’s downtown vision.
• Built Decision-Support Tools and Dashboards – Developed and piloted practical tools that enable City staff to evaluate development proposals, respond to business inquiries, and apply market data consistently across departments.
• Established Staff Capacity and Knowledge Transfer Resources – Developed documentation and training to ensure City staff and partners can maintain, update, and apply analyses and tools beyond the fellowship’s first year.

By Fall 2028, at the end of Year Two, the fellow is expected to have supported the following high-level outcomes:

• Institutionalized a Data-Driven Economic Development Framework – Embedded sustainable processes, tools, and practices within City operations to guide proactive business attraction, retention, and downtown development.
• Advanced Sustained Implementation and Long-Term Capacity – Strengthened the City’s ability to scale recruitment strategies, coordinate cross-sector partnerships, and sustain a vibrant, economically resilient downtown aligned with community priorities.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

• Executive Sponsor – Bill Edwards, Mayor of Centerton, City of Centerton
• Project Supervisor – Lorene Burns, Planning Director, City of Centerton

QUALIFICATIONS

• Synthesizes complex information into clear and concise recommendations and action-oriented implementation plans.
• Develops and effectively implements both strategic and operational project management plans.
• Generates innovative, data-driven, and result-oriented solutions to complex challenges.
• Respond quickly to changing ideas, responsibilities, expectations, trends, strategies, and other processes.
• Communicates effectively verbally and in writing and excels in active listening and conversing.
• Fosters collaboration across multiple constituencies to support more effective decision-making.
• Establishes and maintains strong relationships with diverse stakeholders, both inside and outside of government, particularly community-based relationships.
• Embraces differing viewpoints and implements strategies to find common ground. Demonstrates confidence and professional diplomacy while effectively interacting with individuals at all levels of various organizations.

FUSE is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply for this position.