Kittleman & Associates LLC, the executive firm contracted by the New England Fishery Management Council to assist the Council in its search for a new executive director, has posted the vacancy announcement for this position. The application deadline is May 4, 2023.
Tom Nies, a 25-year veteran of the Council staff who has served as executive director since 2013, announced his retirement in January 2023. As the first step in seeking his replacement, the Council issued a request for proposals in February 2023 to retain a contractor to ensure the Council carried out a “thoughtful, objective, and trusted executive search process.”
The executive director: (1) oversees a 20-member staff plus various contractors; and (2) handles the overall management of Council operations.
This is a highly visible, demanding position that requires a strong leader with a broad understanding of natural resource management, coupled with outstanding administrative and organizational skills. The executive director serves at the pleasure of the Council and reports directly to the chair and/or Executive Committee as appropriate.
Key duties and preferred qualifications are outlined in the NEFMC Position Guide. The guide also contains information about:
- Desired leadership, management, knowledge-base, and communications skills;
- Desired strengths in collaboration, coordination, innovation, and personal development;
- The compensation and benefits package; and
- Application details.
On behalf of the Council, Kittleman & Associates is:
- Widely advertising the position in order to obtain a broad range of qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds;
- Collecting application materials from candidates;
- Rigorously evaluating and screening applicants for consideration by the Council’s Executive Committee, which is serving as the Search Committee; and
- Helping to develop effective interview questions for the Search Committee.
THE SELECTION PROCESS: The Search Committee will conduct an initial round of interviews with top candidates and then select finalists from this pool. The full Council will meet in closed session on May 31, 2023 to interview the finalists and select the new executive director.
QUESTIONS: All requests for information should be sent to Jeff Katz, who is leading Kittleman & Associates’ work with the Council for this search. He can be reached at jkatz@kittlemansearch.com. Council members and staff will not be answering specific questions about the solicitation in order to maintain neutrality.