Chelsea has posted the job of Chief Economic Development Officer, the new City Hall position the City Council approved last month, with a salary range of $118,938.35 to $165,160.45 a year. The posting went up on the city’s job openings page and the city announced it on Facebook on Friday. It is one of four openings the city is advertising, along with a regional youth substance use prevention coordinator, an assessing data manager and a full-time 911 dispatcher.
The economic development post is the first time the city has put a dollar figure on the job. When City Manager Fidel Maltez asked the council in September to create the position and an Office of Economic Development, his letter gave the pay grade, MM10, but no salary. The job had no salary figure and no budget line at the time. The council voted 7-0 on October 5 to let the manager create and fill the position. District 7 Councillor Manuel Teshe asked that the person’s plans be shared with the council before they start.
What the city is paying for
The posting describes the officer as the city’s senior executive for economic growth, housing production and strategic investment, working directly with the city manager. The job covers business attraction and retention, policy on land use, housing production, redevelopment and tax policy, and the use of zoning initiatives, tax increment financing, district improvement strategies and state and federal incentives. The officer is to be the central point of contact for investors, business owners and regulatory agencies.
The city wants a master’s degree in public or business administration and five years of senior management experience in municipal government, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. The position is exempt and sits in the Executive department.
The money is not in this year’s budget. The manager’s September letter said funding this year would require a supplemental appropriation once the state certifies the city’s free cash, and that the administration would find offsetting cuts starting in fiscal 2028. The council order kept that condition: any appropriation for the job this year comes back to the council. The letter also said the council would sit on the hiring committee, and cited Everett, which created the same position recently, and Worcester, which has had one for years.
The other three openings
- Regional Youth Substance Use Prevention Coordinator, Public Health Department, $78,036.52 to $108,363.26. The job is grant funded and runs a regional prevention grant called MassCALL3 from the state Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services. The grant covers Chelsea, Revere and Saugus, with Chelsea as the lead fiscal agent, and focuses on alcohol, nicotine and cannabis use among young people and on youth mental health. The coordinator runs the Youth Risk Behavior Survey in the three communities and convenes a planning team of eight to ten people that meets every other month.
- Assessing Data Manager, Assessor’s Office, $61,027.36 to $79,351.46, Steelworkers grade 7. The job is field work and data: building permit inspections, sales reviews, abatement field reviews and keeping property records current in the city’s assessing software. An associate’s degree and a year of assessing experience, or three years of equivalent experience, are required.
- Full-Time Emergency Telecommunications Dispatcher, $59,813.67 a year during probation and $64,381.04 after, under the NEPBA Local 192 contract for fiscal 2027. Dispatchers answer 911 and non-emergency calls for police, fire and EMS in the city’s combined dispatch center and work nights, weekends and holidays. A high school diploma or GED, typing at 30 words a minute, a screening process and a background check are required.
How to apply
Applications and resumes go to [email protected] or to Human Resources, City of Chelsea, 500 Broadway, Room 301, Chelsea, MA 02150. The city’s job openings page also has an online application form. None of the four postings lists a closing date.