The Haines Borough Community and Economic Development Director position is up for grabs again, and manager David Sosa is altering the borough’s advertising strategy in the hopes of attracting more candidates.
Sosa decided to post the job at military bases and stations around the state as well as on the International City Council Management Association website.
The borough is readvertising for the position after top pick Darsie Culbeck turned down the job offer in late September.
The job is being posted at the Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright, and Sosa is also working on getting it posted at Fort Richardson.
“I decided to take advantage of the free posting opportunity at the bases and stations to broaden the base of applicants and to provide opportunity to transitioning or retiring service members,” Sosa said.
“Former service members, particularly retirees, bring a broad array of experience and frequently have extensive managerial and leadership experience combined with strategic planning backgrounds,” he added.
The borough is also advertising on the borough and Alaska Municipal League websites, on bulletin boards around town and in the CVN. Sosa is also planning to post the position on websites of the Juneau, Anchorage and Seattle newspapers.
Previously, the job was advertised with a starting salary of $62,000, which is what the borough budgeted for the position. However, Sosa decided to add some wiggle room to the salary, advertising it for plus or minus $62,000, depending on experience.
“I made the change to afford some flexibility, particularly after looking at the most current postings for like positions in communities of similar size and scope,” Sosa said.
Nothing else has changed in the position description, education requirements or job duties.
As of Wednesday, the borough had received one application for the position, from the former community and economic development special projects director Christina Baskaya.
Baskaya came to the job as an “emergency hire” in June. The temporary position lasted two months and was intended to fill the gap between the departure of executive assistant to the manager Darsie Culbeck and the hire of a full-time community and economic development director.
Baskaya worked as interim museum director for the Sheldon Museum last summer and worked as the community enhancement coordinator for the Alaska Arts Confluence. She has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management from the University of Alaska Anchorage.
The final review date for applications is Nov. 7.