Leadership & Professional Development Training

The City of Santa Cruz is soliciting proposals for Leadership and Professional Development Training for staff at all levels. The intent in soliciting proposals is to obtain cost savings and to allow for a competitive process while continuing a high quality Leadership and Professional Development Program. The program aims to enhance leadership capabilities of our current and rising leaders, improve team performance, foster inclusive workplace culture, support individual career growth and organizational effectiveness.

Primary objectives include:

• Build core leadership competencies such as communication, key performance indicators, informed decision-making, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, analysis, project management, team management, de-escalation, building trust and diversity in the workplace.
• Enhance effectiveness of current and future supervisors and managers.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning.
• Boost employee engagement and retention.
• Support the City's mission, vision and core values of Communication, Openness, Service and Collaboration.
• Support the City's VIBE Program: Values, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity.

The City of Santa Cruz was incorporated in 1866 and formed its current charter in 1948. It is governed under a Council/Manager form of government. A Mayor and six Council members set policy for the City and a City Manager serves as chief administrator of those policies. The City is located on the coast, 75 miles south of San Francisco on the northern edge of the Monterey Bay. It encompasses 15.8 square miles with cultural and ethnic diversity among its population of 65,000. Santa Cruz is part of the National Marine Sanctuary and is a popular tourist destination owing to its beaches, surf culture, and historical landmarks.

The City provides a full range of municipal services and facilities including a recreational wharf, public golf course, over thirteen hundred acres of open space, full beach services, refuse management, law enforcement, fire protection, and water and wastewater utilities. The City is also host to University of California Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz Harbor, and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk amusement park.

The City of Santa Cruz provides employees with various Leadership and Professional Development opportunities each calendar year. Examples of previous training topics include:

• Beginner and Intermediate Excel
• Building Team Accountability
• Communication Essentials
• Developing Performance Measures
• Difficult Conversations
• Diversity and Unconscious Bias
• Employee Recognition Strategies
• Performance Management
• Neurodiversity in the Workplace
• Preventing Employee Burnout