In their first-ever CAO Recruitment Committee meeting today, city council is slated to redefine the chief administrative officer position and determine how they’ll search for candidates.
Greater Sudbury city council decided to dismiss CAO Ed Archer effectively immediately last month, which Mayor Paul Lefebvre didn’t explain in any great detail other than it being a change in direction for the city.
A proposed job description update for the chief administrative officer position slated for Thursday’s meeting is slathered with red text indicating changes to the existing document.
Some areas appear to afford the CAO less control, while other areas expand the role from the latest job description update approved on Aug. 11, 2015.
“Direct general financial control of all departments” is crossed out under job duties, with the CAO charged instead with reviewing and recommending changes “to the organizational structure to address current and future needs of the organization.”
The CAO’s interactions with mayor and council members is also more clearly defined to include all 13 members of city council in his communication.
In the current job description, the CAO is required to send “periodic reports and documents covering the operations and financial activities of (City of Greater Sudbury) to the mayor and subsequently to council.” The proposed new version cuts out “subsequently,” meaning everyone will receive information at the same time.
The CAO’s main function has also been expanded to include the words “strategic leadership” alongside the existing “information and guidance” when it comes to what they’re accountable for providing to city council “on matters of significance to them and the citizens of the City of Greater Sudbury.”
Two brand new duties added to the CAO’s responsibilities include:
- Ensure risk management practices are in place to assure the integrity, security, and on-going maintenance/rehabilitation of Municipal assets, infrastructure/buildings, and other physical/financial resources; regularly reports to Council on same.
- Enhance the organization’s ability to be an employer of choice and the City as an excellent place to work, live, visit, invest and play.
The qualifications and required experience have also been expanded.
The existing education and training requirement is “Successful completion of a university degree in a related discipline from a recognized university with a Canadian accreditation.” The new version includes this, plus, “Postgraduate studies in Business and/or Public Administration and Management studies.”
The current experience requirement is “Senior level managerial experience in a large diversified organization,” which the new version strikes and replaces with “Minimum of 10 years of senior level experience in the senior level management of large, unionized and highly diversified public or private sector organizations.”
The current language requirement notes that bilingualism would be “a definite asset,” which the proposed new version bolsters to call “highly desirable and a definite asset.”
One new benefit is proposed to be added: a combined $2,000 per calendar year toward counselling services provided by psychotherapists, psychologists, social workers with certification and occupational therapists.
The CAO termination provisions remain comparable to those currently on the books, with 18 months’ pay provided if the CAO is terminated without cause within their first year of employment, ramping up to 24 months’ pay once they reach the six-year point.
This is the arrangement under which Ed Archer was hired as CAO eight years ago. When city council members decided to terminate his employment last month, they left him open to receive $600,000 in severance pay, according to his publicly available employment agreement.
During Thursday’s meeting, the city’s elected officials will also decide on how they’ll search for a new CAO, be it in-house or through an executive search firm at an estimated cost of $75,000.
“These firms perform all scheduling, pre-screening, and testing on all applicants to the recruitment process,” a municipal report notes. “The larger firms boast about their large databases of candidates who are currently employed but may be passively interested in moving jobs for the right opportunity.”
The report clarifies that the city’s experience with recruitment search firms have been “mixed,” with the city in some cases paying for candidates it could have sourced on its own.
“One of the key benefits of using a search firm is the recruitment committee comes away from the recruitment knowing everything has been done to source the highest quality of candidates,” the report notes.
The current base salary for a CAO is $312,654.
In 2023, the base salary was $302,369 and the 65th percentile among comparator Ontario municipalities was $315,779.
Thursday’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. It can be viewed in-person in council chambers at Tom Davies Square or livestreamed by clicking here.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
