The chair of the Executive Administrator search committee, Mr. Eisenberg, forwarded this email along with an attached profile and Challenge statement from Municipal Resources, Inc.
Here is what he said,
Here is the profile and the Challenge statement that my committee has approved to be used in our current EA search.The profile and statement are after the jump ...
As of today, we have 23 applicants and the process has begun. MRI believes there will be additional candidates applying from the 2 other New England EA searches he is completing.
Keep in mind that we are a little behind where we should have been but we got held up by waiting for the court decision before we signed the contract and then we wanted to give the 2 new SB members the opportunity to be heard in the profile development. We are now moving full speed ahead.
Mark Eisenberg
FINAL DRAFTSo there you have it. What do you think?
5/7/09
TOWN OF DARTMOUTH MA
IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE & CHALLENGE STATEMENT
The Ideal Candidate will have:
A graduate degree in public administration or closely related field
7 to 10 years of local government management experience
The willingness and ability to commit to the position for 5 to 7 years
An entrepreneurial, pioneering spirit
Imagination & creativity
Strong finance and analytical skills
A history of successful collective bargaining experience
The ability to invite and engage partners
Strong public speaking, presentation & promotional skills
Demonstrated strategic planning skills
The ability to organize and manage people
Humility, integrity and a strong public ethic
A “Big Picture” orientation & the ability to create strategic long range plans
A sense of humor
Demonstrated skills as a consensus builder
Respect and appreciation for broad and diverse opinions and attitudes
The next Executive Administrator will face many challenges, chief among them are those associated with negative external economic influences. Consequently, it is essential that the Administrator possess the knowledge and skills to help guide the Town through a period of constrained financial resources and economic pressures.
This person must be a creative and innovative “big picture” problem solver who can help identify and pursue ways to more efficiently and effectively organize, manage and deliver core municipal services. Past experience with efforts involving inter-municipal cooperation & collaboration will be especially valuable.
The ideal candidate will have the requisite skills to help develop and achieve broad consensus on a future vision in ways that invite, recognize, acknowledge and integrate contributions from each of the multiple constituencies within the community.
It will be necessary for the next Administrator to possess strong analytical skills with the ability to gather & organize data to facilitate meaningful analysis – interpret & present the” story in the data”, identify alternatives & predict consequences. Quick establishment of rapport and credibility within the community will be achieved by providing candid, dispassionate and professional counsel to the Select Board along with regular, accurate and understandable reports regarding municipal operations and the overall financial status of the Town.
The next Executive Administrator must also possess the leadership & organizational development skills needed to manage, groom and coach Town staff to develop their full potential while establishing an organization wide effort to balance wants and needs in an environment of scarce resources.
It will be vitally important that the Executive Administrator have the foresight along with the leadership and communication skills to help unify and guide the Town successfully through the current economic downturn with an eye toward preserving the quality of life and “quality of place” that distinguishes Dartmouth; embracing the notion of living within our means with sensitivity to external conditions affecting service levels & available resources. To achieve success the next Administrator will need to develop & maintain positive, constructive labor/management relationships so that external economic realities & influences are more ably reflected in financial packages
It will also be important that the Administrator have a solid grasp of both municipal finance and economic development principles in order to help achieve long term tax rate stabilization by effectively predicting and managing financial resources while facilitating tax base expansion and growth.
Dartmouth’s next Executive Administrator will need to coordinate and assist others in developing and implementing an economic plan that leads to long-term sustainability. The existing business community, including many small local businesses, will need to be supported and sustained during a period of economic stress; at the same time new business will need to be attracted and nurtured. Striking the proper balance between small and large business, local and regional commerce and economic development versus protection of community character will present a continual challenge.
The presence of UMass Dartmouth in Town affords a unique opportunity to develop and pursue collaborative community and economic development initiatives. Cultivating and nurturing a close and cooperative working relationship with the University will be an important priority for the new Administrator.
To be successful, the Administrator will need to be an engaged, creative and credible steward with the leadership ability and strength of character to rally the community for the common good.
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12 comments:
Bill, do the 23 applicants all conform to the qualifications or does the search company have to accept all applications?
No such person exists. At least with a strength in all those categories.
At least I like the sense of humor. Dealing with some members of the SB is goingto be a joke.
The search committee is charged with identifying and vetting applicants. I posted the profile and email to let people know that the process is underway. I do not have any further information nor am I going to ask for it. I will let the committee do their work and report a few candidates to the Select Board for consideration. They are a great group and I trust their judgment.
They certainly are a great group of people. It is clear there are no agendas here; just several skilled and intelligent individuals working well together to identify the best candidate to run our town.
Eisenberg without an agenda is like a duck without water.
What is it? Should it have been worded "special interest" rather than "agenda"?
I'm happy to see this process going forward! It will be interesting to see who the final candidates will be. I have faith in the search com., although I haven't been able to attend any of their meetings, they are open to the public. Dartmouth has a great group of volunteers who are willing to put a great deal of time into governing the town. We should be very proud of our community! This is a lot of work.
The search committee does have an agenda. To find the best possible EA for Dartmouth to move this town forward in a positve way. If you have a problem with that, then I would say you have an agenda that is not be good for the town.
I asked what Mr. Eisenberg's "agenda" was, because I'm not seeing any. The only one I suspect he has is to find the best candidate for the position, as the poster above states.
I am very impressed with the composition of the search committee. At a work session with the Personnel Board and the Select Board, I was very impressed with the concern expressed by Mr. Eisenberg regarding the contract(s) for life, and knew the Personnel Board was heading in the right direction. He was emphatic in his opposition to that clause and protective language. You would have to be, if you had any shred of fiscal responsibility and a moral compass.
Therefore, it was heartening to see that he is also on the Search Committee, as are several other like-minded individuals such as Ed Goulart, Mary Louise Nunes, and Bernard Roth, and if I've forgotten anyone, I apologize, as I know only these individuals.
The Search Committee is doing an excellent job and I know we will have the best qualified candidate selected, so that the Select Board will not go wrong in its final choice, either.
I'd like to thank them all for the hard work and difficult task they've been charged with, especially since there are so many in town that don't feel there is a need for this long-overdue change in the running of our government.
The other member of the search committee is David Ferreira fro the Finance Committee.
Thank you, Bill. Another excellent choice. We are very fortunate to have an educated, unbiased, no-agenda or special-interest group of individuals whose sole purpose is to find the best candidates for the position of the new EA.
I have no doubt of their fiscal responsibility, equity, and commitment to the residents of Dartmouth as an entity when they interview and choose their final candidates to present to the Select Board.
Why are they asking the applicants if they could commit to 5 to 7 years? Have they forgotten our Charter? The EA contract is for 3 years. We do not need future lawsuits. We do not need to rewrite the EA terms in the Charter.
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