City: Richmond, Virginia

Reporting to: Senior Policy Strategist

The Challenge

In his first year in office, Richmond Mayor Danny Avula set out to transform City government into a model public-sector organization that stewards resources effectively, meets community needs, and builds trust with residents and partners. Avula is especially focused on using data to monitor and improve performance across City Hall and improving the experience residents and businesses have with using City services and processes. In October 2025, he launched the Mayoral Action Plan, a comprehensive strategic plan organized around seven core pillars and more than 100 measurable outcomes that City leaders will use to track progress and guide decision-making.

To implement the Mayoral Action Plan, Avula is building the data infrastructure to monitor and manage outcomes and communicate results in a way that helps the public understand how tax dollars are spent. To support this work, Richmond established a new Transformation Office with three primary responsibilities. First is overseeing a new performance management system to ensure City leaders are collecting and using high-quality data tied to clear outcomes. Second is using that data, along with qualitative insights, to assess progress, surface challenges, and make actionable recommendations for how to improve. Third is leading targeted problem-solving efforts within specific agencies, services, and processes such as permitting and business licensing. The City has hired a Transformation Manager to lead this office and is now assembling staff support.

Next, City leaders aim to bring this new performance management system to life. They expect to set concrete goals for each agency for FY 2027, develop systems and routines for collecting and analyzing performance data, and launch a public-facing performance dashboard in fall 2026. At the same time, they aim to begin deep-dive reviews of City services and processes in need of improvement.

Key questions include:

• What additional data, metrics, and analytic capabilities does Richmond need to measure and manage progress toward meeting outcomes defined in the Mayoral Action Plan?
• What learning is still needed about the service-delivery processes that most deeply impact customer experience for residents and businesses and outcomes for vulnerable communities?
• What improvements are needed to translate performance data into actionable insights for leadership and communicate progress to the public?
• What systems and practices are needed to ensure that performance improvements are scalable and sustainable?

What You’ll Do

The fellow will support the broader effort to develop performance management systems citywide while leading an in-depth review of one City of Richmond service or process and making recommendations for how to improve it. Inside City Hall, this will require working closely with the Transformation Office team, as well as directors, managers and staff of relevant departments. Externally, the fellow will engage with users of the service or process to be assessed and related stakeholders.

Key deliverables include:

• Identifying a specific project aimed at improving performance of a key City of Richmond service or process
• An assessment of best practices from other cities related to the identified city service or process
• Interviews and observations with users of the identified service or process, as well as relevant front-line staff, managers, and department leaders
• A report with recommendations on how the identified service or process can be improved based on the above research
• A final presentation to the Mayor, Chief Administrative Officer and other senior leaders and stakeholders

What You’ll Bring

The fellow will be expected to possess the following skills:

• Data Analysis
• Design Thinking
• Marketing
• Qualitative Interviewing and Analysis
• Policy Analysis
• Editing & Writing

Apply here

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