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Executive Recruitment Update
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The Collins Center for Public Management at UMass Boston's McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies began its executive recruitment practice in 2008, shortly after the Center commenced operations. Since that time, the Center has assisted in over forty executive level recruitments for cities, towns, and other public sector organizations.
Center recruitment experts are often asked: "What does a recruiter do? What value does a recruiter add to a hiring process?" When an organization chooses a new leader, it chooses a path for the organization. The Center approach to executive recruitment places a heavy emphasis on understanding the client from the inside out.
To be effective, the Collins Center team must understand and be able to articulate the critical issues that an organization has to address over a three- to five-year period. The team does not start actively recruiting until critical issues are identified, documented, and approved by the appointing authority. In complex situations, this takes considerable expertise and facilitation. The Center provides both.
When organizations are ambiguous about the kind of leadership they need and the challenges that must be addressed, the risk of failure by a new hire increases. To mitigate this risk, the Center helps its clients develop common expectations of the role of a new leader.
The Center does not serve as a mere resume collector. In addition to standard advertising, the recruitment team also engages in extensive network recruitment activities using electronic means and personal contacts. Often the best person for a job is not looking for a job, so networking is a critical part of the process.
In its short history, the Collins Center has helped municipalities as small as Princeton (pop. 3,353) and as large as Springfield (pop. 182,000). In addition, the Center has recently assisted in the hiring of the Cambridge Director of Traffic, Parking and Transportation, Northfield Town Administrator, Rutland Town Administrator, Walpole Town Administrator, Norwell Town Administrator, Wilbraham Town Administrator, and the Martha's Vineyard Commission Executive Director.
The Center is presently conducting eight recruitments for senior municipal officials: Town Administrators for Holliston and Brewster, Town Managers for Southbridge and Mashpee, City Manager for Chelsea, Fire Chief for Amesbury, and Executive Director for the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission. In addition, Barnstable County recently retained the Center to conduct the recruitment for its next County Administrator.
For further information about the Collins Center recruitment practice, please contact Richard Kobayashi at richard.kobayashi@umb.edu. |
Collins Center Information Technology (IT) Practice Sees Significant Growth in Work
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Effective administration of information technology (IT) often proves challenging to municipal managers. The technical sophistication required, the pace of change, and the difficulty in finding funds for IT capital purchases and necessary training all mean that many municipalities are not where they want to be in terms of their IT use.
The Collins Center IT practice assesses municipal IT services, operations, and organizations. Center experts typically review the IT organization, infrastructure, operations, and application systems.
Study deliverables include:
* findings and recommendations for the improvement in the effectiveness of IT;
* articulation of a strategy to enhance IT as a critical function in the delivery of services; and
* identification of priorities and short-range actions to strengthen performance.
The resulting report provides a comprehensive plan for the strategic direction that municipalities seek in order to be able to make prudent decisions to enhance IT services to the community.
Recent projects completed include an assessment of the City and School District IT organizations and business systems for the City of Salem; an assessment of the City of Northampton's IT organization, operations, and systems; and an assessment of and succession plan for the IT organization of the Town of Falmouth.
The Center currently has three other municipal IT projects underway and another half dozen under consideration.
For more information about this work, please call the Collins Center at 617.287.4824.
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Sparking Change: Symposium on Public Sector Innovation
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 The Collins Center is co-sponsoring a Symposium on Public Sector Innovation with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School. Join public officials from cities, towns, and state agencies across Massachusetts for a nuts and bolts conversation on fostering innovation in government. Participants will join the nine finalists for Harvard University's Innovations in American Government Award for an exchange of ideas and experiences on transforming how we address our toughest public problems. The small group discussions will focus on novel yet practical solutions as well as implementation: how to get good ideas started, how to tackle the bureaucratic hurdles, where and how to leverage funding and support, and more.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015 1:30 - 6pm
Harvard Kennedy School
79 JFK St, Cambridge, MA 02138
Click here to register and read more.
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Older Driver Safety Summit: June 16, 2015
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 The McCormack Graduate School's Gerontology Insitute cordially invites you to join them for the Massachusetts Older Driver Safety Summit. Join key thought leaders as they review research, practice, and innovations in order to develop a comprehensive blueprint to reduce crashes involving older drivers across the Commonwealth.
More information
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Gender, Leadership, and Public Policy
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Build on what you know to impact policy! The Gender, Leadership, and Public Policy graduate program at the University of Massachusetts Boston merges theory, practical experience, and professional development opportunities to foster women's leadership in all areas of politics and public policy. Offered by the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, the one-year 18-credit graduate certificate is part of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies and is administered by the College of Advancing and Professional Studies. Courses meet two evenings a week; an internship component is individualized to suit interests, goals, and schedules. Applications accepted on a space available basis until June 1st. To find out more, please contact Muna Killingback at muna.killingback@umb.edu , 617.287.6785.
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Collins Center In the News
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