With two weeks left to apply for chief of the Sedona Fire District, the response has been a good one but officials are hoping for even more.
SFD’s Governing Board was updated on the hiring process by Interim Chief Jayson Coil on Tuesday, April 16. He said following last month’s meeting in which the board approved the job announcement’s wording and dates, SFD has posted the opening to many websites and, as of the meeting date, have received 36 applicants. Of those, 20 met the qualifications.
“This is pretty normal,” he said. “People apply and you go over the criteria we require and some of them fall off. Sixteen have gone through the initial phone screening process and 12 of them have passed. It was our goal to have about 15 at the end of this phone screening process. I’m happy to know that’s where the numbers are.”
The board expects to interview the finalists between June 2 and 3. If someone is chosen, board members hope to have that person in place within 60 days of their hiring.
“Those are great numbers — I’m very pleased,” Board President Dave Soto said. “We’ll just keep moving forward and hopefully we’ll have a mad rush at the end and the response will be even bigger.”
The new hire will replace Kris Kazian, who accepted a job in Colorado in January. Coil has agreed to serve on an interim basis until the position is filled.
The job announcement states that the ideal candidate will be a dedicated public servant with superior interpersonal and communication skills and a proven track record as a confident and innovative leader who is comfortable operating in a dynamic environment.
The individual must exhibit strong relationship-building skills with an ability to solicit input and ideas from stakeholders and provide options and solutions on an array of fire service issues, always acting in the best interest of the district and surrounding community.
It goes on to state that the successful candidate will possess a comprehensive understanding of fire science and have the ability to quickly. implement a mitigation strategy that takes into consideration the history of fires throughout the district, including wildland fires and urban interface, significance and impact of the historic fire protection corridors and the sprawling, geographically dispersed region.
The candidate is expected to have at least five years of command position experience equivalent to battalion chief, chief officer, commander or higher in fire and emergency operations and administration such as finance, human resources, risk mitigation and fire prevention.
The pay scale for fire chief is ranges from $132,958 to $161,611.
Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com
