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Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee Terms of Reference

Mandate / Scope

The mandate of the Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee is to facilitate the recruitment process for the Chief Administrative Officer and recommend to Regional Council a preferred candidate for the role of Chief Administrative Officer.

Goals / Purpose

1. Formation of a Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee

a) The committee will be comprised of the Regional Chair, who will serve as Committee Chair, and four members of Regional Council to be appointed by Regional Council. Members must be able to commit to full and active participation over the course of the Chief Administrative Officer recruitment, including mandatory attendance at all meetings, interviews, etc. as noted herein.

b) Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee will be governed by the Region's Procedural By-law.

2. Engagement of an external executive search firm

a) Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee, in consultation with Director Human Resources, to determine scope of work and select executive search firm, as per the Niagara Region Procurement By-law.

b) Executive search firm to develop the key Chief Administrative Officer character traits and competencies required, in consultation with the Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee, to drive results forward in Niagara.

c) Executive search firm to undertake Chief Administrative Officer candidate search, with active engagement of the Recruitment Committee.

d) Executive search firm, in consultation with the Recruitment Committee, to provide detailed updates to Council concerning the recruitment and selection process, be prepared to present to Council on its processes to short list candidates, provide candid feedback on the recruitment process, observation(s) on any short listed candidates, along with responding to any inquiries made by members of Council.

3. Chief Administrative Officer recruitment process

a) Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee members actively participate in a transparent, competitive, and comprehensive recruitment process, while holding in strict confidence all confidential information concerning matters dealt with by the Committee.

b) Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee, with executive search firm, to provide detailed updates to members of Council concerning the recruitment and selection process.

c) Upon completion of the recruitment process, the Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee to present up to three preferred candidate(s) to Regional Council for approval of a preferred candidate and approval on presented associated terms and conditions of employment.

d) Upon Regional Council's approval of the preferred candidate, Council authorizes the Director, Human Resources, to extend the approved terms of employment to the preferred candidate, in a form satisfactory to the Director Legal and Court Services, in consultation with any external legal counsel as required, ensuring all legal requirements are met.

4. Recruitment committee membership

The membership structure of the Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee will be comprised of not more than five members of Regional Council, including the Regional Chair, who will serve as Committee Chair. All members of the Recruitment Committee, including the Regional Chair, shall have the right to vote.

5. Privacy considerations

The Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee will comply with all open meeting provisions. Information provided to the Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee, specifically pertaining to applicants for the position of the Chief Administrative Officer, will be held in strict confidence and managed in accordance with the principles of protection of personal information as defined by the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Personal Privacy Act.

The Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee shall hold in strict confidence all confidential information concerning matters dealt with by the Committee, members of the Recruitment Committee, and any approved staff who support the recruitment process, will be required to execute a confidentiality agreement at the outset of the recruitment and selection process.

6. Attendance

A recruitment best practice is that all candidates are interviewed by a consistent interview panel, in support of a fair, transparent, and comprehensive recruitment process. It is mandatory that members of the Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee actively participate in all stages of the recruitment process, with specific attention paid to attending all candidate interviews, at any / all steps of the process, specifically as follows:

  1. Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee member attendance at all candidate interview(s) is mandatory. A member of the Recruitment Committee who is absent for any candidate interview shall be deemed to have resigned from the committee and Regional Council will be notified.
  2. A member of the Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee who is absent for two non-interview meetings shall be deemed to have resigned from the committee and Regional Council will be notified.

Upon notification of a vacancy on the Committee as a result of the above, Council may consider the appointment of a new member to the Committee or not replacing the member, depending on the stage the recruitment process has reached. The aforementioned does not preclude Council from re-appointing the Committee member in question.

7. Staff support to Committee

The Director, Human Resource; Director, Legal and Court Services; and the Regional Clerk, or their respective designates, will function in an advisory capacity to the Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee, and the selected executive search firm. Involvement of any staff not noted herein will require Recruitment Committee approval prior to being engaged to provide any support to the Committee or be in attendance at meetings.

In any event, any staff engaged to support the Recruitment Committee shall hold in strict confidence all confidential information concerning matters dealt with by the Committee, including all such staff will be required to execute a confidentiality agreement prior to engaging in support of the Committee. The Director Human Resources, and the Regional Clerk, or their respective designates, are required to attend all Recruitment Committee and Council meetings.

8. Financial resources

The Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee will consult with the Director, Human Resources, to secure the required financial resources to fulfill the direction of the committee to facilitate the Chief Administrative Officer recruitment.

9. Frequency of reporting

Regular, detailed written updates will be provided to Regional Council throughout the recruitment and selection process up to and including particulars of preferred candidate(s) being presented to Regional Council. This will include participation of executive search firm representative, as defined in C-HR-026 Policy.

10. Termination of Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee

The Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment Committee shall cease at the conclusion of a successful recruitment of a new Chief Administrative Officer.

11. Meetings

Meetings shall be governed by Niagara Region's Procedural By-law as may be amended from time to time.

The following is intended to provide further clarity concerning the above terms of reference in support of the Chief Administrative Officer recruitment process:

  1. The Recruitment Committee will be orientated to by-laws, policies, and procedures relevant to the recruitment of a Chief Administrative Officer. They will be educated on the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of their role including confidentiality and ethics based expectations, along with executing a confidentiality agreement at the outset of the recruitment and selection process.
  2. The Recruitment Committee, with the support of the Director Human Resources and executive search firm, will engage in a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the position requirements of senior leader competencies, skills, experience, knowledge and qualifications of the role. Due to the importance of this position, consultation with the Corporate Leadership Team, other relevant staff, and community stakeholders may be initiated and incorporated into the recruitment and selection process.
  3. The recruitment methodology inclusive of any testing and / or evaluations will be determined by the Recruitment Committee through consultation with the external search firm and Director Human Resources, and will be aligned to Regional Policy. The position will be advertised both internally and externally.
  4. In consultation with the Recruitment Committee and Director, Human Resources, the external search firm will undertake Chief Administrative Officer recruitment activities within the approved scope of work, which may include but not be limited to: posting the vacant position through appropriate channels, targeted recruitment, review of all applicant resumes and follow up to clarify applicant experience for short listing purposes, screen prospective candidates and develop a formal short list of candidates to be recommended to the Recruitment Committee, leadership assessment, reference checking, and preparation of a written summary of a specific number of candidates as agreed to with the Recruitment Committee for consideration for short listing.
  5. The Recruitment Committee and the executive search firm will interview and assess selected candidates with the intent to identify preferred candidates.
  6. Based on the results of interview(s), any testing, evaluation, or assessment, reference checking, etc., the Recruitment Committee will make a recommendation on preferred candidate(s) in a report to Regional Council for consideration.
  7. The Director, Human Resources will be responsible for the preparation of the Council approved terms of the offer of employment to the preferred candidate, including the responsibility to engage the Director Legal and Court Services, and any external legal counsel when preparing the offer of employment, and negotiation with the preferred candidate, if any. The Offer of Employment documentation will align to corporate practice and meet all legal requirements, including ensuring compensation is aligned to the Non-Union Compensation Policy and Salary Administration Procedures.
  8. Any report to Council as noted above will include a detailed summary of the recruitment and selection process undertaken by the Recruitment Committee.
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