Augusta leaders will follow these steps in hiring administrator

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Augusta Commission members held a special session Tuesday to go over the process for selecting a city administrator.

Takiyah Douse is serving as interim administrator, a role she’s filled since Odie Donald left in February 2022.

A search firm, Development Associates LLC, said it will follow a 65-day process.

The firm described the steps for city leaders:

• The group will begin with a community survey to get a sense of Augusta-Richmond County and its key priorities.
• The firm will compile qualifications, salary and benefits officials want to see in this position.
• The group will interview with Augusta-Richmond County departments, then interview/check in with each Augusta Commission member individually.
• 48 hours after these steps, the firm will finalize this information into a brochure that will then be posted for the job search, which will then be posted to job recruitment sites, social media and elsewhere.
• The firm will have this portion and recruitment of 12 candidates before the holiday season.
• The firm will present these final candidates to the commission in a rubric with resume and cover letter metrics three days before an initial screening.
• 60- to 75-minute interviews will then take place for each candidate.
• Contractors will then score these candidates using metrics on a 1-5 scale (there will also be another separate party that will conduct a separate electronic survey).
• A second meeting will then occur to narrow the list to five candidates.
• Skill-based interviews will then take place, to narrow the list to the top two to three candidates.
• There will be final in-person interviews with behavioral-based questions.
• The group will then train the candidates on the job for half a day, and they’ll be presented with real Augusta-Richmond County situations as a test.
• A group of assessors will then give a final one- to two-page overview on each candidate, and conduct final interviews.
• In the end, the decision will come down to city leaders.

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