Marblehead’s Compensation Committee voted unanimously June 18 to approve the job description and classification for a new chief procurement officer, assigning the position a grade 10 with a score of 690 — near the top of the town’s administrative pay scale.
“This position reviews every single purchase order over threshold from every department before it can move forward,” explained Finance Director Aleesha Benjamin.
The town is expected to offer a salary between $80,000 and $116,000 for the position, depending on experience.
Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer, who temporarily assumed the procurement responsibilities following the retirement of former town planner Becky Curran, said the current arrangement is not sustainable. “This isn’t just pencils and pens procurement — it’s capital projects,” Kezer said. “It’s enforcement of construction contracts.”
The new procurement officer will be responsible for ensuring compliance with state laws governing municipal purchases. According to Kezer, every purchase order over $10,000 must be reviewed to confirm proper documentation and legal adherence. The officer will also implement new procurement software and streamline bidding, contract tracking and document storage.
Though the position will initially operate without direct reports, Benjamin described the role as involving “indirect supervision of the entire purchasing system” due to its central role in approving expenditures townwide. Kezer said the officer will work closely with 16 department heads and could eventually lead a standalone procurement department.
Committee members also discussed the broader hiring challenge in municipal finance.
“Experienced professionals are retiring and younger talent is going to the private sector where they make more money and have better benefits,” Benjamin said.
Additional positions
In addition to creating a new chief procurement officer, the Compensation Committee approved a new benefits coordinator position and finalized reclassifications for several existing roles during its June 18 meeting. All the positions are already in the budget.
— A newly created benefits coordinator role will manage employee benefits administration, coordinate with insurance providers and support onboarding and open enrollment. The committee approved a salary of around $68,318.
— The confidential administrative assistant working in the Marblehead Fire Department was transitioned from union to administrative compensation. The role involves handling sensitive communications, scheduling and internal administrative support. Fire Chief Jason Gilliland will return with an updated job description before the committee determines salary changes.
— The seasonal recreation sailing program director was reclassified to better reflect the position’s scope. The director is responsible for managing a fleet of boats, supervising instructors, enforcing open water safety protocols and making real-time weather and risk assessments. The role is funded through the recreation revolving fund and pays approximately $30.86 per hour or about $1,234 per week.
— The library’s incoming technical services supervisor was approved at a salary of $71,201. The role requires advanced knowledge of cataloging systems, interlibrary loan platforms and metadata standards and will oversee the library’s back-end material processing and digital systems integration.
— A Water and Sewer Department technician was classified at a salary estimated between $67,000 and $74,000. The job includes troubleshooting and maintaining building automation systems, supporting software-linked water metering infrastructure and coordinating with external vendors during system upgrades.
