It’s been nearly a decade since the last time the city of Sedona has had the need to search for a new second-in-command. But that’s all about to change.

Sedona Assistant City Manager Karen Osburn recently accepted the promotion to become the next city manager after current City Manager Justin Clifton announced that he had accepted a position of the same title in Palm Springs, Calif. Osburn, who has served in her position for nine years, will make the final decision on the new deputy city manager following an exten­sive search and hiring process, which has now begun.

“There are many more characteristics, skills and abilities than I can summarize in a sound bite,” she said. “But some of those include being a person of utmost integ­rity; a problem-solver with a positive attitude and exceptional inter­personal skills; someone who can resolve conflicts effectively and get things done; a clear communi­cator; someone who values and pursues mutual understanding and cooperation between people and groups of varied interests; and someone who has a proven track record of leadership and excellence in an equivalent role.”

For more than two years Osburn has also served as the city’s community development director. The new deputy city manager will not be expected to take on that responsibility as well.

“The deputy position will have all the existing responsibilities of the assistant city manager position including being the city manager’s right hand, implementing city council policy initiatives, seeing important projects through to completion, and providing leadership and over­sight to a variety of city departments,” Osburn said.

According to the information packet sent to those applying for the position, the deputy city manager serves as the city manager’s chief assistant, super­vises various departments and serves in the city manager’s absence. She or he understands budgets and financial analysis and ideally is an outstanding finance professional.

The ideal candidate is nimble, a personable and approachable problem-solver and a positive presence with a good attitude. The next deputy city manager resolves conflicts effectively and gets things done and is decisive, a highly effective and clear commu­nicator, who can maintain close relations between staff, the city manager and the leadership team.

Osburn explained why this time around the deci­sion was made to change the title of the position from assistant to deputy city manager.

“While cities may use those titles interchangeably, more often you see a deputy position when there are other assistant manager level positions and there is a need to differentiate one as the clear No. 2 position,” she said. “As new programs are added, we may have a need to do some organizational restructuring in the future that could include another hybrid role for an existing department head to position them to oversee additional departments or programs.”

The annual salary range for this position is $110,000 to $150,000, depending upon the qualifications and experience of the selected candidate.

The filing deadline for the position is March 8 with preliminary interviews set for the following week. The recommendation of candidates is slated for March 24 with finalist in-person interviews scheduled for April 8 and 9. If a candidate is chosen and accepts, it could be 30 to 60 days before he or she is in place. The search and recruitment process will be conducted by the outside firm of Peckham & McKenney. More information can be found at peckhamandmckenney.com.