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Mill Creek MetroParks looking to fill three open positions
YOUNGSTOWN
Mill Creek MetroParks soon will fill a few positions within the park administration that have remained vacant for some time.
One of those positions – development director – will be in charge of fundraising efforts for the park. That position has remained unfilled for about a year.
The importance of fundraising was the topic of discussion at a June 30 board meeting at which members of the park board voted 3-2 to put a 15-year levy renewal with additional millage on the November ballot.
Board president Lou Schiavoni, who voted against the levy proposal, said at the time that the park leadership should come up with alternate fundraising methods, including a renewed focus on development.
“I think we have to tighten our belts a little bit” and at the same time come up with ways to bring in revenue for capital improvements, Schiavoni said in an interview.
“There’s a lot of grant opportunities out there, and we need to take advantage of them,” he said, adding that contributions from estates and wealthy donors are other funding avenues the development director should pursue.
The responsibilities of the development director position, interviews for which are set to begin next week, include administering fundraising and “strategic acquisition of additional financial resources.” Mill Creek MetroParks Executive Director Aaron Young said he expects that individual to collaborate with the foundations that raise money for the park.
The position, for which the park received about 40 applicants, comes with an annual salary of between $52,130 to $78,390, depending on the candidate’s experience and the park’s finances.
That salary range also applies to the human-resources director position, for which the park management is doing interviews. There have been 151 applicants in this round of hiring, Young said.
Filling that position, he says, will allow him to focus more on long-term planning for Mill Creek MetroParks, and less on day-to-day operations, since he is fulfilling the responsibilities of that job.
The park employs 63 full-time staff members, nearly 100 part-time staff members and more than 100 seasonal employees.
The park also is looking for a park planner, a position in the planning and natural-resources department. The candidate hired for that job will earn between $38,350 and $57,720 per year.
“I’m [eager] to get some of these existing positions filled so we can kind of get caught up to speed,” said Young, who took over as executive director in January.