The town of Niagara-on-the-Lake has completed its first round of interviews for the position of chief administrative officer — a role currently held by interim CAO Bruce Zvaniga.
Zvaniga was named CAO by town council last December, replacing Marnie Cluckie, who held the position for three years before leaving to become the city of Hamilton’s city manager.
Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa is part of the CAO hiring committee, along with fellow council members Erwin Wiens, Sandra O’Connor and Maria Mavridis, and said they received approximately 70 applications for the role.
The town hired Phelps Group, a Toronto executive search firm, to identify qualified candidates.
“They were able to lock it down to about 30 that they went over with a fine-tooth comb and presented us with a list of about 10 or 12,” said Zalepa.
“We (the committee) decided to interview a small group of that,” he added on Oct. 11, “and decided we would meet with a couple of them again, which we plan to do in the next 10 days or so”
“I am hoping we come to some kind of a decision after that.”
Zalepa would like to have the winning candidate identified and in place before the end of the year.
“Ideally, if everything goes well it would be nice to have that by year-end, if not sooner,” he said.
Zvaniga, who made it clear once taking the job that it would not be permanent, declined to comment on the search or his past 10 months in the role.
Zalepa feels the town was fortunate to have a professional such as Zvaniga steer the ship until a permanent candidate could be found.
“We have been very lucky to have Mr. Zvaniga working for our municipality this past year,” he said.
“He has over 40 years municipal experience and leadership at a high level and being that he is a resident of town, he is very tuned in.”
“He is an excellent mentor and calming force for our staff and has just been excellent to work with.”.
The winning candidate, Zalepa said, will possess “that leadership quality that shows you are both a coach and mentor for staff.”
“The role of a CAO, as I see it,” he continued, “is to be that encouraging person, giving guidance when needed and giving enough space for people to grow.”