San Diego County CA— Following a month-long public input period on the preferred skills and experience for a new executive director, the San Diego Association of Governments Board of Directors released the executive director recruitment brochure, officially opening the application period.
The SANDAG Board of Directors is conducting a nationwide search for a new executive director to lead the agency and will be accepting applications through Monday, March 12, 2018.
In January, CPS HR Consulting, the firm hired by the Board to conduct the recruitment, sought input from the community at a series of public meetings and through an online survey.
The ideal candidate should be collaborative, visionary, fiscally wise, and politically astute but apolitical. Some of the characteristics listed in the executive director recruitment brochure include:

• An individual with credibility, integrity, and the ability to build trust.
• A visionary with knowledge of regional planning and sustainable multimodal transportation systems who will support climate planning efforts throughout the region.
• An apolitical consensus builder with the ability to fairly assess and address the complex and diverse transportation issues experienced by all segments of the region’s population.
• An individual with extensive knowledge of transportation funding sources and the ability to creatively leverage funds and continue SANDAG’s legacy of having projects ‘shovel ready’ as soon as funding becomes available.
• Familiarity with transboundary planning and the ability to foster strong relationships with Mexico to undertake the challenges and opportunities associated with the busiest border crossing in the world.
• A track record of leading change and ensuring organizations achieve their highest levels of performance and success.

The executive director is responsible for leading SANDAG staff of approximately 350 people and overseeing a $1.3 billion annual budget, (per FY 2018).
The executive director reports to the Board of Directors, which is composed of 21 elected officials from the region’s 18 cities and the County of San Diego (two each from the County Board of Supervisors and the City of San Diego).
Former SANDAG Executive Director Gary Gallegos, who had led the agency since 2001, retired in August 2017.
Interested candidates may visit the CPS HR website for more information.
Interviews with short-listed candidates will take place in mid-April, and the full Board is expected to conduct final interviews, during closed session, at its meeting on Friday, April 27.
Visit sandag.org/NextExec to learn more.