LONGMEADOW – The town has started its search for a new director of the Adult Center and is slated to interview 10 applicants for the job in the weeks ahead.

 
    The new director would replace former Adult Center Director Amy Saada, who left the position for a similar job in the town of Cromwell, CT. Saada served in the position for more than two years.

    Town Manager Stephen Crane told Reminder Publications the town started advertising for the job about a month ago and the town received at least 20 applications as result of the job posting.

    “The advertisement really worked because we got a lot of resumes in and a lot of great potential candidates,” he explained. “The search that yielded Amy Saada – we had the opposite problem. We really didn’t get a lot of resumes. We recruited [Saada] from Somers, CT. She wasn’t even an original applicant. So, last time we struggled to get a crop of applicants that we were satisfied with. This time, at least on paper, we’ve got a lot of really great options.”

    He added the town would start the interview process next week and it would take between two and three weeks to complete second and third interviews as well as conduct reference checks.

    “I would always assume [that an applicant would need to give] a 30-day notice to their employer, at least,” he explained. “It could be anywhere between four and eight weeks before someone would start in that position.”

    Crane said the types of skills the town is looking for in regards to a new director include management experience, social work experience and a background in local government, and grant writing skills.

    “We also value private sector experience because I always think that a cost and performance driven work situation that you often get in the private sector gives a lot of benefit to the municipal side,” he noted. “Somebody who’s had both private and public experience is desirable in that regard … We don’t want someone who’s changing jobs every couple of years. We prefer a masters degree for that position.”

    He added he believes people who aren’t currently working as senior center directors could also be a good fit for the job.

    “I think that’s the other thing that I look for – performance and experience that I think would translate very well into that role even if it doesn’t look exactly like the role that we’re hiring for,” Crane explained. 

When asked if the town would look for an individual who’s had experience with the process of developing a new senior center, Crane replied, “I think that experience would be helpful, but the thing that I want to stress is even though our desire to build a new senior center is well known making sure that we provide the highest level of services to our seniors day-today is the No. 1 priority.”

    He added he believes the position is important in Longmeadow, especially in light of the fact that the community’s senior population is expected to grow in the future.