The Wadena County Board of Commissioners held a special meeting April 9 to interview the two finalists for the position of social services director. The two candidates, whose names have not been released, appeared in person before the board - one at 10 a.m. and the other at 11 a.m.
These two candidates were the only two out of eight applicants who were found to be fully qualified for the position under the MERIT system used by the State of Minnesota for Social Services jobs, according to information made public at the April 1 county board meeting.
The applicants for the position were screened on March 19 and 20 by a committee created by the board several weeks ago.
In addition to the social services director position, the county board set a date and time for interviews of the top five candidates for the position of county coordinator. These interviews will take place on April 14 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. One candidate per hour will be interviewed, and there will be a break at 12 noon for lunch.
County coordinator applicants were evaluated using a set of criteria prepared by county human resources consultant Cheryl Goettig. The criteria included highest college degree held, previous county government experience, experience in information technology, experience in human resources, experience in government budgeting and strategic planning, experience in supervising others and whether the applicant was a military veteran. Points were assigned to each criterion for a total of 100 points. The veteran’s preference provided an additional 10 to 15 points.
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Morrison County Coordinator Deb Gruber, who served on the screening committee for the county coordinator position, cannot be present for the interviews, due to her responsibilities in Morrison County, but she will draft the questions that the board will ask of each applicant.
Members of the public may attend the meetings and observe the interviews, but may not take part because all candidates must be treated equally and given an opportunity to answer identical questions set by the board in advance.
