Recently named by Forbes magazine as the “Third Smartest City in America” and by Relocate-America.comas the “Third Best Place to Relocate to in America,” Ithaca, the county seat of Tompkins County combines rural beauty with a metropolitan flair. Boasting a culturally, economically and civically engaged population of nearly 100,000 residents, Tompkins County is centrally located in the beautiful Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York. Ithaca sits at the southern tip of majestic Cayuga Lake in an area of dramatic gorges and waterfalls; it has a small-town atmosphere while showcasing the qualities of a larger city through an abundance of restaurants, theatre, arts, shopping, cultural, and recreational activities. Beautiful rural areas, quiet villages, farms, and open land surround the diverse population center. Three institutions of higher learning – Cornell University, Ithaca College, and Tompkins Cortland Community College – make education our top industry. Our county, which is an employment center for the Upstate New York region, features a strong human services sector, local medical center, transportation network, regional airport, and three state parks.
Due to an anticipated retirement, we are seeking a visionary, collaborative, inspirational, ethical, and fiscally adept leader with outstanding people skills to aid Tompkins Countygovernmentin accomplishing its mission of providing the highest quality public-sector services at a level affordable to community residents.
As our new County Administrator you will:
· Serve as an advocate and legislative liaison for 27 department heads (who serve as the organization’s subject-matter experts on all matters related to the well-being of the County), and report directly to a 15-member elected County Legislature;
· Establish trust, equitable communication channels, and decision-making processes between department heads and the County Legislature via proactive leadership that inspires and demonstrates organizational commitment to county residents;
· Develop, recommend, and manage an annual operating budget of over 150-million dollars, in partnership with department heads and the County Legislature;
· Based upon best practices and with complete transparency, collaboratively strengthen and sustain:
· Standardized organizational human resource and service delivery practicesthat leverage and align the subject-matter expertise of organizational leadership with the mission and vision of the County and clearly communicate the rationale for organizational decision making;
· Fiscal management systems that stabilize the annual tax levy over time and build taxpayer and organizational leadership confidence;
· Informative and meaningful strategies to educate citizensabout the benefitsof county services and engage stakeholders in conversations that will aid in legislative decision-making;
· Long-term accountability and evaluation processesthat build public trust and result in continuous improvement of County services;
· Labor–management–legislative initiatives that increase communication, trust, and shared decision-making.
·You have played a substantial role in actively engaging and influencing all levels of organizational leadership in culture transformation. Your written and verbal communication skills are excellent and your analytical abilities enable you to clearly present the pros and cons of policy choices and recommend options to the legislature.
·You are persuasive and effective in building bridges and consensus with key decision makers and stakeholders. You are open, fair, and skilled at helping all parties make and understand the rationale for fiscal and human resource decisions that may sometimes be unpopular or controversial.
·You have successfully prepared, justified, innovatively guided to adoption, and managed multi-million dollar budgets in collaboration with various elected and civil service appointed stakeholders.
·You are able to be an organizational leader for diversity and inclusion and have accomplishments that indicate a thorough understanding and commitment to the creation and maintenance of workplace norms that have promoted diversity and furthered inclusion.
·Your career accomplishments, dynamic leadership skills, and application of public policy knowledge point to your ability to creatively lead bipartisan organizations in the attainment of mutually beneficial goals.
·Your successful administrative experience includes a solid understanding of the interface of New York State and federal budgets with county and municipal budgets.
·Your education and experience gives evidence of your firm grasp of today’s public sector needs and enhances your keen understanding of the dynamics that affect public sector success. You are able to demonstrate the strong critical-thinking skills required for strategic decision making as it relates to the overall governmental management process.
Are you our ideal
County Administrator? Are you looking for an opportunity to make a difference
with a values- based, inclusive organization where all employees are accountable
for supporting the County’s mission and rewarded for excellence?
To learn more about this unique opportunity, contact Stephen Estes, Deputy
Commissioner of Personnel, 607-274-5527, sestes@tompkins-co.org.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
REQUIRED:
(a)Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Master’s Degree in Business or Public Administration or a related field and eight years of administrative and management experience; OR
(b)Graduation
from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree and ten
years of administrative or management experience; OR
As our ideal talent we are happy to provide you
with a full fringe benefits package, salary in the range of $103,000 -
$112,000 and relocation allowance. This opportunity is not eligible for
visa sponsorship. As a Public Officer, you must become a resident of Tompkins
County within a reasonable period of time following appointment.
The application form
and a full job description are posted at <http://www.tompkins-co.org/personnel/index.html>.
Application review will begin on June 30, 2008 (we encourage applying by
June 25), with applications accepted until the position is filled.
Tompkins
County is an Equal Opportunity Employer with a demonstrated commitment
to promoting diversity and furthering inclusion.