Boston Region MPO Administration & Finance Committee

Operations Plan Development

MPO Executive Director – February 24, 2023

Operation Plan Memo - Relevant Sections from Operations Plan Memo

MPO Executive Director

● Define the recruitment and hiring process for Executive Director of staff

● Clarify process for approval of the Executive Director’s evaluation and salary adjustment

2011 MOU - Relevant Sections pertaining to MPO Executive Director

● No relevant sections

Considerations from the 2019 Certification Review

● “The Review Team notes that the process to recruit, hire, and approve the Executive Director is not defined in the MOU.”

Write-up for Final Review:

Executive Director Hiring Process

Upon the departure, retirement, dismissal, or other nature of exit of the executive director, the process for recruiting and hiring shall include the following steps:

1. The MPO board members shall establish a search committee by majority vote. The search committee shall consist of the following representatives unless voted otherwise: the MPO Chair, the MPO Vice Chair, a representative of the Fiduciary Agency (MAPC), the chair of the Regional Transportation Advisory Council, the chair of the Administration & Finance Committee, and two municipal or subregional representatives on the Board – or any designees of those entities.

2. The search committee shall meet, discuss, and produce a memo to the Boston Region MPO board with the following content:

a. Recommendation for designating an acting executive director(s) and the associated interim salary adjustment.

b. Description of the hiring process, which can include recommending any deviations from or supplement to the process described in this Operations Plan.

c. Recommendation for whether to solicit private consultant assistance on the search and hiring process.

d. Recommendation for any subset of the search committee members or their designees to carry out parts of the recommended process, including candidate screening as well as first and second interviews.

i. In making these recommendations, the search committee will prioritize diverse representation on interview teams.

e. Recommendation for designating a staff liaison to keep records, provide consistent communication with candidates, and inform staff of the process as appropriate.

3. At the same time, the search committee or their designees shall draft a job description for the executive director.

a. At a minimum, the committee shall seek input from both MPO board members and MPO staff about desired qualities and qualifications via surveys implemented by the staff liaison or another method.

b. The search committee shall include a salary range to be advertised that is in alignment with the agency’s compensation plan.

4. The Boston Region MPO board shall discuss and vote to approve by majority vote the search committee’s memo and executive director job description to be posted.

5. The search committee or their designees shall revise the memo and/or job description as directed by the board and confirm the accuracy of the organizational chart.
1. The organizational chart shall be updated with support by staff liaison if an acting executive director is named or other updates are needed.
2. A job announcement shall be prepared based on the agreed-upon content of the job description with the support of MPO staff if needed.
   
   
6. The search committee or their designees and fiduciary agent (MAPC) shall confer on the posting and advertising of the position, including the allocation of funds for paid advertisements and/or recruitment expertise. The committee shall work with the staff liaison to post the job on the Boston MPO website and circulate it to appropriate professional associations, academic institutions, and job websites throughout the country.
   
   
7. The search committee or its designees shall draft interview questions and evaluation forms to be utilized in two interview rounds. The questions and evaluation forms shall be submitted to the staff liaison for recordkeeping.

8. The staff liaison shall collect and disseminate applications through Neogov or the current software used by the fiduciary agent for managing job posting and recruiting. The search committee or its designees shall review all resumes and applications, including an initial screening to separate qualified and unqualified candidates, and select candidates to interview. The staff liaison shall catalog all applications received.

9. Interview round 1:

1. The round 1 interviewers designated by the search committee shall meet initially either in-person or virtually to discuss the upcoming interviews and confirm the interview questions and evaluation form.
2. With scheduling support from the staff liaison, the interviewers shall carry out the interviews either in person or virtually.
3. The interviewers shall meet after the interviews to discuss recommendations for second-round interview candidates, which shall be shared with the full search committee.
4. The interviewers shall submit completed interview notes and evaluation forms to the staff liaison to support their recommendation.
   
   
9. The search committee or its designees shall advise the staff liaison on providing process updates to MPO staff as feasible, including the expected timeframe for completing second-round interviews. The search committee or its designees shall work with the staff liaison to inform first-round candidates whether or not they were selected for a second round as well as to schedule the second round.

11. Interview round 2:

1. The round 2 interviewers designated by the search committee shall meet initially either in-person or virtually to discuss the upcoming interviews and confirm the interview questions and evaluation form.
2. With scheduling support by the staff liaison, the interviewers shall carry out the interviews in person. Finalists from out of state will be offered 50% reimbursement of travel and lodging costs for their trip to Boston, to be paid by the Central Transportation Planning Staff.
3. The interviewers shall meet after the interviews to discuss recommendations for second-round interview candidates. These recommendations shall be shared with the full search committee.
4. The interviewers shall submit completed interview notes and evaluation forms to support their recommendation to the staff liaison.
   
   
11. The search committee shall share its recommendation for finalist(s) with the MPO board and works with the staff liaison to schedule the finalist(s) attendance at an MPO board meeting. The full MPO board shall have the opportunity to interview the finalist(s). The MPO board shall make a hiring decision by majority vote after speaking with the finalist(s).

13. The search committee shall share the MPO board decision with the staff liaison. The search committee or its designees shall work with the staff liaison to develop an offer letter and negotiate if necessary. The search committee shall report to the MPO board as needed if the offer is not accepted and an alternate finalist must be considered.

14. The search committee shall work with the staff liaison to communicate with unsuccessful finalist(s) and inform MPO staff of the hiring decision.