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Board agrees on hybrid recruitment plan for next county manager: supervisors to nominate applicants, advisory panel to interview, board makes final pick
Summary
The board approved an in-house recruitment plan in which HR will collect applications, each supervisor may nominate up to three applicants to the review pool, an advisory panel (managers and select elected officials) will perform preliminary interviews and narrow candidates, and the board will conduct final interviews and make the appointment.
The Mohave County Board of Supervisors agreed on a hybrid, in-house recruitment plan for the county manager position at its Sept. 16 meeting, directing staff to advertise the vacancy and to follow a process that combines supervisor input with an advisory panel's preliminary screening.
Key elements of the approved process
- In-house recruitment: The board declined to hire an outside executive search firm. Human Resources will administer the recruitment, post the job and collect applications.
- Supervisor nominations: Each supervisor will be allowed to nominate up to three applicants from the applicant pool; those supervisor-nominated applicants will be included in the review pool sent to the advisory panel.
- Advisory panel screening: A panel composed of selected county officials (including the sheriff, county attorney, presiding judge, assessor, treasurer/recorder or their designees, and a current county manager) will perform preliminary interviews of the applicants forwarded by the board. The panel will recommend a shortlist of three to five candidates to the board.
- Board interviews and final selection: The board will interview the shortlisted candidates and make the final hiring decision under ARS 11-251 (the board's statutory authority to hire a county manager).
Why the board chose this path: Several supervisors argued for broad input from other elected officials and department heads because the county manager will work closely with those offices; others emphasized that the ultimate statutory decision rests with the five-member board and that advisory input should not operate as a veto of board choices. The hybrid approach was intended to balance broad stakeholder input with the board's decision authority.
Timeline and next steps
- Staff will post the position and begin advertising in October. The board will provide HR with any additional minimum qualifications or priorities by the next meeting.
- After the advertisement period closes, HR will deliver applicant materials to the board members. Each supervisor may identify (up to) three nominees to include in the advisory-panel pool. The advisory panel will screen and interview, then forward a recommended shortlist to the board for final interviews. The board sought to keep the overall timetable focused but did not set a fixed final appointment date at the meeting.
Quotes
- "We're the ones under statute that shall hire a manager," Supervisor Gould said, stressing supervisors' responsibility to make the final selection while accepting advisory input from other officials.
- "The county has 1,600 employees. It's wise to get a lot of input from multiple sources on who this person ought to be," Supervisor Letman said, supporting broad consultation with elected officials and department heads.
Ending: The board approved the in-house hybrid recruitment plan and directed HR to move forward with posting, to coordinate advisory-panel membership, and to return with a timeline and candidate materials for the supervisors to review.
