Community Engagement Lead

Chicago, IL (Hybrid)

$125K/yr – $160K/yrMid Level7+ years expFull time

Posted 4 hrs ago

Job Summary

Lead the end-to-end community engagement for Stream Data Centers across Acquisition through Operations, shaping stakeholder strategy, dynamic public engagement, and issue management while aligning with corporate pillars and local needs.

  • Own site-specific engagement plans, stakeholder mapping, and sentiment tracking.
  • Drive cross-functional coordination, risk assessment, and response strategies with Development, Operations, Legal, and Communications.
  • Translate local priorities into measurable community benefits and investment frameworks.

Job Description

Responsibilities

  • Local Stakeholder Strategy & Civic Relationships
  • - Build and maintain relationships with priority civic and community stakeholders while supporting Development and Operations in managing project-specific relationships with elected officials, government staff, chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, workforce boards, schools, colleges, faith leaders, HOAs, adjacent landowners, and other influential stakeholders.
  • - Develop site-specific stakeholder maps with priority ranking, sentiment baselines, and named relationship owners.
  • - Assess community dynamics before public disclosure and lead early, plain-language engagement to build understanding, address concerns, and establish trusted channels for accurate information.
  • - During the acquisition stage, profile prospective communities to assess site-related community risk, informing go/no-go decisions and site strategy ahead of land acquisition and public disclosure.
  • Site Engagement Planning, Public Meetings & Events
  • - Develop and execute site engagement plans aligned to the Acquisition, Development, Construction, and Operations lifecycle, sequencing activities by site risk, schedule, and public visibility.
  • - Plan and coordinate community meetings and open houses, including visual materials, viewshed information, contact intake, attendance tracking, real-time issue logging, and post-meeting summaries.
  • - Coordinate Data Center 101 briefings and site tours with decision makers where appropriate.
  • Issue Tracking, Feedback Closure & Sentiment

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in community development, public affairs, communications, political science, urban planning, nonprofit management, business, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
  • 7+ years or progressively responsible experience in community engagement, public affairs, government relations, economic development, stakeholder management, or a closely related field, preferably supporting infrastructure, energy, industrial, technology, or large-scale real estate development.
  • Demonstrated ability to build trust with local officials, community leaders, and residents, and to manage sensitive or contested public processes.
  • Strong project-management skills with the ability to manage multiple sites, deadlines, and stakeholders simultaneously.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including public meeting facilitation.
  • Experience maintaining stakeholder data, issue trackers, dashboards, or engagement reports.
  • Ability to work a hybrid schedule with regular in-office work days
  • Ability to travel up to 50% within the assigned market(s), including overnight travel and occasional evening or weekend meetings and events. Location within or near the assigned market is preferred.

Preferred

  • Direct experience with land entitlement, zoning, or public-hearing processes for large development or infrastructure projects.
  • Established relationships with economic development, workforce, education, or civic organizations within the assigned market.
  • Experience managing external agencies or consultants and coordinating multi-stakeholder engagement campaigns.
  • Familiarity with data center, energy, or industrial development and associated community concerns (power, water, traffic, noise, viewshed).
  • Experience shaping community benefit or investment frameworks tied to measurable public outcomes.

Benefits

  • Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
  • Retirement Plan (401k, IRA)
  • Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
  • Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
  • Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity)
  • Short Term & Long Term Disability
  • Training & Development
  • Wellness Resources
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Stream Data Centers

Stream Data Centers has provided premium data center services since 1999, with 90% of its inventory leased to Fortune 100 customers. To date, the company has acquired, developed and managed dozens data center campuses nationally, while leadership has remained consistent.From site selection to data center construction and operations, Stream develops wholesale colocation capacity and build-to-suit solutions for hyperscale and enterprise users. Additionally, Stream sources and develops low-risk land sites for optimum data center development and provides energy procurement services with a focus on reducing market risk and providing low-cost renewable energy options. All of Stream’s facilities feature carrier-neutral, low latency connectivity to network and public cloud providers.Stream Data Centers is the technical real estate subsidiary of Stream Realty Partners, a full service commercial real estate investment, development and services company. With $5.8 billion in annual transactions and 290+ million square feet of leased or managed commercial space in active markets coast to coast, Stream Realty Partners is one of the most successful commercial real estate firms in the country.

Founded in 1999
Dallas, Texas, USA
214 employees (4 in marketing)

Salaries

Posted range

$125K/yr – $160K/yr

Taken straight from the job posting.

See all Stream Data Centers salaries
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Community Engagement Lead

Stream Data Centers · Chicago, IL · Hybrid