The job posting for Tallahassee’s next city manager is live and awaiting applicants.

After the city commission authorized staff to hire S. Renée Narloch & Associates — the head hunting firm spearheading the search — during its May meeting, the company spoke with top officials and the human resources department to get a candidate profile compiled and posted.

Current City Manager Reese Goad announced his retirement April 28 but said he will remain at the helm until his successor is appointed, but not later than Sept. 30.

Goad’s retirement also comes just weeks before a pivotal election for City Hall, sparking debate over whether the current commission or the newly elected commission should be the board to appoint the next manager.

The city is conducting a nationwide search for the next person to step into Tallahassee’s top post, but the hiring could end up coming from within. Tallahassee has not hired an external candidate since Steve Burkett, the city manager in Fort Collins, Colorado, in the 1990s.

“S. Renée Narloch & Associates is well-positioned to identify and recruit a highly qualified pool of candidates for the city manager position,” according to city commission meeting agenda materials.

“Drawing on its extensive experience in executive recruitment and local government leadership searches, the firm is expected to present candidates who possess the professional expertise, leadership capabilities and strategic vision necessary to successfully lead the organization.”

As the agency continues to build out the candidate profile, it will meet with applicants and provide the city with updates as the process unfolds. The agenda item says the process is projected to be complete in four months by mid to late-September of this year.

To read the want ad, click here.

What’s next?

Candidate screenings, interviews and public records searches, according to the agenda item.

“The consultant’s proposed timeline allows the city to maximize use of the summer season to recruit high quality candidates within a timeframe that coincides with fiscal year-end considerations while granting a predictable schedule for interested candidates,” agenda materials say.

The Tallahassee City Commission meets in City Hall commission chambers at 3 p.m. on June 10, following a 1 p.m. budget workshop.

Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee posts city manager job listing, aims to hire by fall