The Town of Needham is seeking highly-skilled, forward-thinking, and dynamic candidates to fulfill the exciting leadership opportunity of Deputy Town Manager.

Under the Direction of the Town Manager, the Deputy Town Manager serves as a member of the senior management team, providing leadership, strategic planning and direction, management of operations, and other initiatives requiring independent judgment. The Deputy Town Manager is responsible for the  administrative direction and control over multiple departments, as assigned by the Town Manager.

This position plans, organizes, develops, and implements municipal operations and policies, budgets, capital projects, special projects, community relations, and other administrative activities in cooperation with the Town Manager, the Select Board, and other Board and Committees, and department managers within the Town.

This is an essential position and is expected to respond to emergencies when needed. The Deputy Town Manager also serves as Acting Town Manager during the Town Manager’s absence.

 

Duties and Responsibilities

These duties are a general summary and not all inclusive:

• Provides high-level administrative, supervisory and technical work in all areas of municipal management to assist the Town Manager to discharge the duties of the office.
• Assists the Town Manager in formulating and implementing policies and priorities of the Select Board, Town-wide planning, ongoing issues and other special projects as assigned. 
• Participates in the development of long-range plans, strategic initiatives, and the annual budget.
• Supervises several departments, as assigned by the Town Manager; establishes performance standards with department managers, evaluates performance, provides oversight over personnel actions and ensures that operational objectives are met.
• Serves on the negotiating team, at times as principal negotiator, for the Town in collective bargaining with all municipal unions.
• Supports newly created committees, commissions, boards or programs of permanent or temporary charge by the Select Board or the Town Manager, attending meetings, providing information and guidance, maintaining progress toward objectives, communicating results and consequences and assuring compliance with state and local statutes and regulations.
• Interacts with multiple stakeholders, internal and external. Attends meetings of professional and civic groups, representing the Town.
• Is frequently required to attend evening meetings and to work outside of normal business hours on a regular basis.  In addition, may be required to work on weekends and may be contacted at home any time to respond to important situations and emergencies. 
• Prepares reports, position papers, and recommendations for the Town Manager and the Select Board. 
• Suggests innovative and efficient approaches to providing town services.
• Helps facilitate consistent communication and community engagement strategies across departments. 

The following requirements may be substituted by any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience which provides the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the job:

• Bachelor’s degree in public administration, business administration, or a related field;
• Over ten (10) years of progressively responsible public sector administrative and supervisory experience, or an equivalent combination;
• Master’s degree in public administration, business administration, or related field, preferred.

In addition, the ideal candidate will possess the following skills:

• Working knowledge of federal, state, and local regulations affecting municipal government.
• Executive/Senior-level management and supervisory experience. 
• Strong written, verbal, public presentation, facilitation, and consensus-building skills. 
• Have strong command presence and demonstrated leadership, management and analytical skills.
• Ability to develop and negotiate contracts services, including identification and provision of necessary deliverables. 
• Ability to organize and use time effectively and handle several significant responsibilities simultaneously. 
• Ability to listen to and accept criticism.
• Strong analytical and communication abilities.  
• Ability to interpret complex legal and technical information and manage multiple priorities effectively. 
• Excellent time management, presentation, and organizational skills. 
• Knowledge of computers and computerized accounting, communications, and other applications. 
• Valid State-issued Driver’s License. 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Outlook).