By Theresa Knapp 

At its meeting on Feb. 16, the Select Board finalized and accepted the “position statement” for the new Town Administrator. 

The statement reads in part…

Hopedale is seeking an experienced, approachable, and community-focused leader with excellent economic development and financial management skills to serve as its next Town Administrator. Preferred candidates should have a bachelor’s degree (master’s preferred) in public administration or a related field and experience as a town administrator/manager or assistant town administrator/manager or equivalent, with demonstrated skills and abilities in municipal finance, economic development, procurement, grant writing, and communications. Candidates should be self-starters, instill confidence and trust, and be able to build cooperative relationships with appointed/elected officials, residents, employees, and businesses. Candidates should be team players who are level-headed, enthusiastic, and have strong communication skills. Hopedale has skilled department heads who will assist the next Town Administrator in achieving goals. 

The annual salary range is $130,000 to $140,000.  

The position is now posted on the Massachusetts Municipal Association website and others, and can be found at https://bit.ly/3KeyYCD. It can also be found on the Community Paradigm website at https://bit.ly/3I7eRUy. Applications are due by March 10 at 3 p.m. 

The former Town Administrator vacated the position in November and Interim Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting has been in the position since December. 

The Ideal Candidate

• Bachelor's degree in field related to public management with a Master's degree in public administration preferred

• Minimum of 2-3 years of experience as a town administrator/manager, assistant town administrator/manager, or equivalent experience.

• Skilled in economic development, financial management, community planning, grant writing, communications and procurement.

• Able to implement effective processes and procedures; strategic thinking.

• Knowledgable of best practices.

• A self-starter and team player.

• Collaborative, enthusiastic, transparent, innovative and decisive.

• Ability to develop a firendly and professional rapport with department heads.

• Skilled in use of traditional and modern communication tools.

• Community-focused, moral-builder, analytical, creative problem solver, professional and organized.

• Approachable, have an open-door policy, and be open to exploring new ideas.

• Strong work ethic, inspire trust and confidence, empower others, and enjoy working with people.

Source: Community Paradigm Associates, LLC