On Tuesday, Oct. 8, Motus Recruiting provided the Government Transition Advisory Committee an update on their work to develop a proposed job description and recruitment plan for Portland’s next city administrator. When final, the proposal will be presented to the new mayor as they select Portland’s next city administrator.
“Hiring the City’s first city administrator is one of the most important decision the next mayor will make in their first term,” said Interim City Administrator Michael Jordan who was selected by Mayor Ted Wheeler. “Having a plan on day one is essential to the success of the process as well as the future administrator.”
According to the City’s Charter, the next mayor will appoint the next city administrator subject to council approval. Prior to Jan. 2025, one of the final deliverables of the transition was to provide a proposed recruitment plan informed by community expectations to prepare the new mayor for the new form of government.
Here are some important details about the role of the city administrator:
- The professional city administrator will be nominated by a mayor and is subject to approval by a simple majority of city council.
- The city administrator must be a person of demonstrated administrative ability with experience in a responsible, important executive capacity and must be chosen solely on the basis of executive and administrative qualifications.
- The city administrator’s salary will be set by council.
The Work of Motus Recruiting So Far:
To develop the proposed recruitment plan and ideal candidate profile, Motus talked to Portlanders from May to September 2024.
Motus recently synthesized responses from hundreds of Portlanders who participated in a survey, and shared their work with the advisory committee, including these corresponding deliverables:
According to the voter-approved charter, the city administrator must be a person of demonstrated administrative ability with experience in a responsible, important executive capacity and must be chosen solely on the basis of executive and administrative qualifications.
Past related articles: Listening sessions and surveys planned to inform city administrator’s role
The city administrator will oversee the day-to-day operations of six service areas led by a leadership team of deputy city administrators and an assistant city administrator. You can view the Oct. 8 presentation and watch the recording of the meeting.
Later this fall, Motus Recruitment is expected to finalize the proposed job description and proposed recruitment plan, and will turn their work into the Bureau of Human Resources. When the new mayor is elected, the bureau will support the future mayor to administer the hiring process of the future city administrator.