The City of Statesboro, Georgia, is seeking an experienced, visionary, and collaborative executive to serve as its next City Manager. Following the retirement of long-tenured City Manager Charles Penny, Statesboro stands at an extraordinary turning point. Ranked as one of the fastest-growing cities in Georgia, Statesboro combines a rich Southern heritage with the dynamic, high-energy environment of a major university town.
Supported by an exceptional administrative staff and a committed Mayor and City Council, the incoming Manager will lead a high-performing organization, navigate historic regional economic development, and guide critical infrastructure and downtown revitalization projects that will define the city for generations to come.

Statesboro is entering a period of major growth, presenting exciting leadership opportunities for an incoming City Manager:
• Managing Smart Regional Growth: With historic industrial investment in the region and thousands of permitted residential units in the pipeline, the City Manager will guide strategic growth management while preserving Statesboro’s authentic community character.
• Infrastructure Innovation & Capital Expansion: The Manager will lead major utility and public works initiatives, including expanding natural gas delivery to support regional economic industrial partners, updating wastewater treatment capacity, and advancing key downtown infrastructure investments.
• Catalyzing Downtown & Economic Revitalization: A top strategic goal is advancing the Blue Mile Project—that marries Statesboro’s past with its future through a multi-million-dollar revitalization initiative designed to connect the Georgia Southern University campus to the historic downtown district along a one-mile stretch of South Main Street in order to create a vibrant downtown corridor.
• Building Collaborative Regional Partnerships: The next Manager has a key opportunity to deepen strategic alignment and win-win partnerships with key regional stakeholders, including Bulloch County, Georgia Southern University, the Bulloch County Board of Education, local development authorities and neighboring municipalities.
• Workforce Mentorship & Organizational Excellence: Building on a strong organizational culture, the Manager will champion workforce development, strategic succession planning for retiring leaders, and continued investments in staff growth and competitive compensation.
• Community Enrichment & Youth Engagement: The Manager will work collaboratively across departments and community partners to enhance neighborhood revitalization, expand affordable housing efforts, and advance innovative, non-policing community programs that empower local youth.
About the Organization and the Position
The City of Statesboro operates under a highly professional council-manager form of government, where the democratically elected Mayor and City Council appoint a professional City Manager to direct day-to-day municipal operations. Appointed by and working under the direction of the Mayor and City Council, the City Manager serves as the City’s Chief Executive Officer.
Statesboro’s annual FY2026 budget of $103,985M (all funds) supports a dedicated workforce of 360 full-time employees who are passionately driven by the city’s mission: to provide the most responsive and progressive public services so that residents, businesses, and visitors can enjoy the highest quality of life the region has to offer. Employees function in alignment with a unified vision to build a vibrant, safe, and inclusive community, prioritizing organizational values such as integrity, innovation, stewardship, and remaining explicitly mission-focused.

Qualifications:
• The successful candidate will have a minimum of 10 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in local government management, with five years of progressive experience as a department head or assistant city manager.
• Minimum of bachelor’s degree is required while a master’s degree is strongly preferred. Must have a proven track record in effective intergovernmental relations, personal community engagement, economic development successes, leading cohesive and strategic change, visionary leadership, and being adept at leading and implementing strategic planning to meet community goals.
• ICMA certification is desired.