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Select Board schedules fire-chief finalist interviews after assessment-center review
Summary
Consultants reported that 13 applicants were screened to eight resumes, five candidates completed a structured assessment and three finalists were recommended; the board will interview finalists in open session on June 8 and agreed to a scoring/aggregation approach.
Town staff reported to the Select Board that an external assessment center narrowed a field of 13 applicants for the Northborough fire chief job. The process yielded eight promising resumes, five candidates who completed a full assessment center (tactical scenario, in-basket, employee-issue role play and media exercise), and three finalists recommended for final interviews.
Staff described the assessment exercises in detail: a tactical exercise based on a mass-casualty incident, an in-basket administrative task set, an employee-issue role play (substance-abuse and attendance concerns) and a media-interview scenario addressing firefighter injuries and civilian fatalities. The consulting assessors reported all five scored well and recommended three proceed to the final round.
The board scheduled finalist interviews for the June 8 meeting, to be conducted in person (no virtual participation for interviewer or candidate to preserve process integrity). Each board member was asked to prepare two questions; a scoring rubric (e.g., rating answers 1–5 by competency category) and an aggregation method were proposed to produce a comparative readout after interviews.
Staff said they will provide the Select Board with candidate assessment summaries and scoring breakdowns ahead of the interviews and will advise whether background checks and reference verifications have been completed; consultants had indicated that pre-interview vetting was part of their process.
What’s next: Finalist interviews will be held in open session on June 8; board members will provide scores and the board will decide whether to make an offer subject to background checks.
