Friday, March 30, 2012

 City of Lowell – Keys to Ending Homelessness Conference Series

 Conference 6: Veterans

University of Massachusetts Inn & Conference Center

50 Warren Street, Lowell, MA

Guest Speaker: Coleman Nee, Secretary

Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services

 Workshop panel discussions to include:

~          Veterans Benefits 101

~          Outreach to Homeless Veterans Resistant to Housing and Services Assistance

~          Posttraumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury

~          Customizing Services for Different Genders and Generations of Veterans

~           Surviving Spouses and Family Members

~          Mental Illness and Substance Abuse

~          Education, Employment and Business Incentives

For registration information, contact Linda King at lking@lowellma.gov

Duties:

Primary duty is to provide interpretation and translation services as needed

Assists applicants and clients in completing and/or obtaining necessary verifications for eligibility determination

Facilitates customer service delivery by providing services to clients such as responding to inquiries, and explaining basic department procedures

Promotes customer service delivery through document processing and management

Conveys information and explains actions to clients with varying expectations, needs, cultures and languages

Utilizing Department MIS systems and equipment, provides ongoing assistance and technical support to Benefits Eligibility and Referral Social Workers

Receives and acts on instructions from internal contacts such as peers, supervisors, managers, professional and technical employees and clerical/support staff

Gathers information, receives instruction and facilitates complaint resolution.

Exchanges information with internal and external contacts per existing department policies

Provides administrative support within the local office as assigned by the supervisor

Perform other duties as assigned.

LICENSES: Based on assignment, travel may be required. Those employees who elect to use a motor vehicle for travel must have a current and valid Massachusetts Class D Motor Vehicle Operator’s license or the equivalent from another state.

Preferred Qualifications:

The ability to read, write and converse with clientele, colleagues and external contacts in English and Khmer.

Two or more years work experience, with translation duties, in social work or social casework, claims adjudication, job placement, recruitment, employment counseling, vocational or rehabilitation counseling setting.

This is a Civil Service position
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Selected candidates must take and pass a language proficiency examination which will test English and Khmer language reading comprehension, conversational and writing skills, and oral interpreting skills.
A criminal background check will be completed on the recommended candidate as required by the regulations set forth by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services prior to the candidate being hired. For more information, please visit http://www.mass.gov/hhs/cori and click on “Information for Job Applicants.”

How To Apply:

Please mail two (2) copies of cover letter and resume to:
Jessica Hopps
Children, Youth and Families
Employment and Staffing Unit
600 Washington Street – 7th Floor
Boston, MA 02111
Please reference the Posting ID J28994 on all correspondence. Resume and cover letter must reference the Posting ID number. Materials submitted must be post marked by the posting deadline date in order to be considered.

Housing & Consumer Workshops at Community Teamwork scheduled for the months of February, March and April 2012

FAQ’s for Tenants and Landlords with answers to the most frequently asked questions and links to resources

For more information on the Governor’s FY13 budget, please visit www.mass.gov/budget/governor

For Immediate release – January 25, 2012

PATRICK-MURRAY ADMINISTRATION FILES FISCAL YEAR 2013 BUDGET

Responsible, Balanced Solution for Continued Budget Challenges; Aggressive Reforms Change the Way Government Does Business

BOSTON – Wednesday, January 25, 2012 – Governor Deval Patrick today filed his Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13) budget recommendation, a balanced and fiscally responsible plan that reflects the Governor’s unprecedented commitment to education, health care, creating jobs and other key priorities that support long-term job growth and prosperity and will continue to accelerate the Commonwealth’s economic recovery.

In the face of unprecedented fiscal challenges, government needs to be smarter about how it delivers services.  Reforms included in the Governor’s budget proposal will drive innovation and implement bold changes to improve accountability and transparency.

The budget invests in Governor Patrick’s four key priorities: growing jobs, closing the achievement gap in our schools, lowering health care costs and ending youth violence by supporting positive youth development.

“Under this budget, Massachusetts will create more jobs, further reduce the cost of health care, bring us closer to closing the achievement gap and build safer communities for our families,” said Governor Patrick. “I look forward to working with the Legislature to advance these strategies, because together we can build a stronger Commonwealth.”

“Massachusetts’ economy is growing, but we are still faced with difficult budget choices,” said Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray.  “Our Administration remains committed to creating more innovative reforms, increasing efficiency in the delivery of services, and providing critical resources for Massachusetts residents as we continue to keep close watch on how we spend taxpayers’ dollars.”

“Our new fiscal reality requires that we change the way government does business,” said Secretary of Administration and Finance Jay Gonzalez. “This budget is fiscally responsible, and it builds on the many reforms and efficiency initiatives we have already implemented with new initiatives to achieve better outcomes at lower costs to taxpayers.”

The Governor’s FY13 budget recommendation proposes state spending of $32.3 billion, or a 2.98 percent increase from the current year estimated spending levels.  This year-on-year spending growth of $935.9 million is significantly less than originally projected because of significant program reductions, positions eliminations and reforms.

A number of efforts are being made to control the largest cost drivers in the state budget, particularly health care costs. Even with these cost-saving measures, many areas of state government will see flat or reduced funding levels and, in the aggregate, total funding for state government outside of health care, safety net and certain legally-obligated fixed costs will be reduced from FY12 levels.

Supporting Shared Values

Closing the Achievement Gap – The FY13 budget supports many initiatives that will improve Massachusetts schools, move towards closing the achievement gap and preparing every student for success in a global economy.  These investments include record-high state aid for K-12 education (Chapter 70) of $4.136 billion, $10 million towards promoting efforts to close the achievement gap in the Commonwealth’s Gateway Cities, and $219 million to community colleges (an increase of $10 million from last year) to support the Governor’s call for reforming the Commonwealth’s community college system to address the skills gap and expand employment opportunity. This budget supports ongoing efforts by the Department of Higher Education to promote reforms and improved outcomes at state campuses through performance incentive funding, and maintains funding for our public campuses. Almost all programs within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) have level or increased funding levels.

Controlling Health Care Costs – Similar to last year, this budget maintains the Commonwealth’s nation-leading universal health care coverage, while preserving benefits and eligibility. The Administration was extremely successful in containing growth in health care costs in FY12 achieving nearly a billion in savings through MassHealth, Commonwealth Care, the Group Insurance Commission (GIC), the Department of Corrections (DOC) and municipal health care reform. The FY13 budget continues the Administration’s commitment to support efforts in innovative procurement and re-contracting strategies, achievements in healthcare reform and the implementation of payment and delivery system reform policies that will enable Massachusetts to achieve state budgetary savings of roughly $730 million.

Job Creation – This budget invests in the Commonwealth’s economy by funding programs that help put people back to work through infrastructure projects, assisting unemployed people with training to attain high-skilled jobs, supporting industries that help create jobs (such as life sciences and tourism) and improving the business climate in Massachusetts by easing burdensome regulations.  Under the leadership of Governor Patrick, Massachusetts gained 40,700 jobs in 2011, which is the strongest annual job growth performance for the state since the onset of the recession.

Positive Youth Development and Youth Violence Prevention – The FY13 budget supports many initiatives to provide opportunities for positive youth development and youth violence prevention through summer jobs programs, youth violence prevention funding and targeted services in communities with the greatest demand for intervention. This budget invests $35.5 million in programs related to these efforts, including an investment of at least $8.6 million in summer jobs, $8 million in Senator Charles E. Shannon, Jr. Community Safety Initiative grants and $10 million for Safe and Successful Youth Initiative grants.

Commitment to Municipalities

In keeping with the Patrick-Murray Administration’s commitment to cities and towns, the FY13 budget proposes more than $5.2 billion for local aid, including $4.1 billion for K-12 Chapter 70 education aid - a $145 million increase in state funding to municipalities over FY12, and the highest level of K-12 Chapter 70 aid in history.

The increase in K-12 Chapter 70 aid will fully fund all school districts at foundation levels and ensure that all school districts will receive equal or greater funding than in FY12. Maintaining a strong investment in education is a crucial component of the Patrick-Murray Administration’s efforts to close the achievement gap and to make Massachusetts a global leader in education.

FY 2013 Local Aid funding includes:

• Unrestricted General Government Aid $833.9 million (with the same provision for an additional payment of $65 million should sufficient surplus funds be available for FY12 surplus);
• Chapter 90 Local Road Program $200 million;
• Special Education Circuit Breaker $213 million;
• 100% Veterans Homeless Shelter Reimbursement Rate;
• State Owned Land (PILOT) $26.3 million;
• Regional School Transportation $43.5 million;
• Charter School Reimbursement $71.5 million;
• School Food Services Program $5.4 million;
• Municipal Library Aid $6.8 million; and
• Regional Library Local Aid $9.1 million.

Reforms for Future Generations

The Patrick-Murray Administration will continue to use the budget as a vehicle to drive an aggressive reform agenda. Proposed reforms include:

• Local Housing Authorities: Strengthening reporting requirements, establishing a commission to review the governance and management structure, capping executive directors’ salaries at $160,000, in line with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new salary cap, and tightening rules to address financial transparency and management of the state’s public housing portfolio;
• Homelessness: Investing in a Responsible and Targeted Emergency Shelter and HomeBASE System, as well as investing in Expanded Community-Based Housing utilizing existing DHCD Programs;
• Community Colleges: Giving budget and leadership control to the Board of Higher Education to help meet the Governor’s vision for community colleges to prepare students of all ages for the local job market by providing relevant and affordable education and training;
• Criminal Justice Reforms: Improving the state’s criminal justice continuum from sentencing to incarceration to re-entry with sentencing reform, corrections master plan, unifying parole and probation, and prison closure to gain savings;
• Improving Services for Children, Youth & Families: Focusing on improving access to information and services through a more comprehensive, integrated, coordinated system of care through implementation of CYF Advisory Committee recommendations;
• Government Accountability: Improving performance and transparency; maximizing federal grants; reducing fraud, waste and abuse; and aligning resources to strategic goals and facilitating informed engagement with the public;
• Social Innovation Financing: Performance-driven agreements designed to support innovative approaches to preventative services that achieve better societal outcomes at lower costs to taxpayers; and
• Innovation & Technology: Proposes the appointment of a Government Innovation Officer, Governor’s Council for Innovation, statewide competition for innovative ideas and creative financing for technology improvements to drive technology-supported innovations in government that improve services at lower costs to taxpayers.

Responsible Fiscal Leadership

Once again, the Governor’s budget proposal is structurally balanced and sustainable. The budget minimizes the use of the state’s stabilization fund with a draw of $400 million, which will leave a rainy day fund balance of $1.037 billion at the end of FY13.

The Patrick-Murray Administration’s fiscal management has been recognized by all three rating agencies. In September, Standard and Poor’s upgraded the Commonwealth’s credit rating to AA+, resulting in all three of the state’s credit ratings being just one notch below the highest possible rating and giving the Commonwealth the highest credit ratings in its history.

Under Governor Patrick’s leadership, the Patrick-Murray Administration is the first ever to develop a long-term financial forecast and planning policy, which will be published with the FY13 budget. Long-term financial planning is a best practice, and the Administration is committed to using long-term financial planning to inform the development of structurally balance, sustainable budgets.

The Administration continues to reduce state employee positions. In addition to the nearly 6,000 budgetary positions eliminated since October 2008, the FY13 budget proposes eliminating over 1,100 positions as a result of proposed budget reductions in FY13. This is a net reduction of roughly 300 positions after accounting for increases in certain agencies like the Committee for Public Counsel Services, Department of Transitional Assistance, MassHealth and the State Police. With these reductions, the total state budgetary workforce will have declined by over 9 percent over a four-year period, despite increased demand for state services across a number of state programs.

Managing Tough Choices

In order to preserve key investments, the Administration made difficult choices in many other areas of the budget.  These cuts will include:

• $30 million in savings will result from 400 additional layoffs or position eliminations in FY13 across the Executive Branch. This will come on top of the already-reduced head counts across most state agencies;
• A year-on-year reduction of $15 million in budgetary funding will require the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to generate additional revenues and/or curtail services provided through the Registry of Motor Vehicles;
• The closure of the Bay State Correctional Facility in Norfolk will result in $8.9 million in savings. The closure is consistent with sentencing reform, the Administration’s larger Corrections Master Plan and efforts to strengthen the state’s corrections and community supervision programs. Sentencing reform will ensure the savings can be achieved without increasing overcrowding in other facilities;
• $350,000 will be saved by closing the Newburyport shellfish depuration plant, which will eliminate shellfish cleaning services for close to 100 private fishermen;
• $5.5 million in savings from the Department of Developmental Service’s Family Respite and Support benefit, resulting in loss of services for 1,750 families;
• $4 million reduction to local tourist councils;
• $1.5 million reduction to Executive Office of Elder Affair’s Elder Nutrition Program, which will eliminate over 240,000 free or subsidized lunches for seniors provided through the councils on aging. This is a 24 percent reduction in capacity;
• $1.1 million in savings across multiple state agencies in State Office of Pharmacy service reductions;
• Limited funding for low-income child care vouchers, which will result in the growth of the waitlist for families applying for slots for roughly 20,000 to 30,000 families;
• $371,000 reduction to MRC’s Turning 22 programs;
• 105 private schools and two public schools would lose their Essential School Health grant, which supports school nurses, because of a $465,000 reduction to the Department of Public Health’s (DPH) School Health account;
• 1,200 dental visits for 25,000 developmentally disabled adults would be eliminated due to a $43,000 reduction at DPH; and
• Teenage Pregnancy Prevention receiving $94,000 reduction, resulting in service losses for 1,000 youth.

Other Budget Solutions

This budget includes initiatives to generate limited additional revenues, including:

• $61.5 million from eliminating the exemption on candy and soda sales from the sales tax to preserve funding for public health programs. This amount will be dedicated to the Commonwealth Health and Preservation Fund to preserve public health and preventative care services, except for roughly $10 million which will be made available to the School Building Authority and the Commonwealth Transportation Fund;
• $62.5 million from increasing cigarette taxes by $0.50 per pack;
• $10.4 million from increasing taxes on cigars and other smokeless tobacco by the same extent as cigarette taxes;
• $22 million from expanding the bottle bill. These revenues would be dedicated largely to recycling and water and sewer rate relief. These proposals will help protect key priorities and provide a more stable and sustainable funding base in the long-term;
• $22 million from enhanced Department of Revenue tax enforcement initiatives; and
• $10.8 million from agency revenue initiatives.

January 23, 2011 – Meeting Minutes

Community Teamwork Inc. 17 Kirk St Lowell, MA

In attendance: Patricia Bergin (Comfort Home Care), Melissa Glassman (Eliot CHS), Kristin Ross-Sitcawich (CTI), Charlie Manzi (Comfort Home Care), Connie Murphy (CAI, Karen Frederick (CTI), David McCloskey (LTLC),Dave Robinson (Pathfinder), Richard Rangin (Data Remedies), Ed Cameron (CTI), Brent Rourke (CTI), Linda King (City of Lowell)

Network Updates:

1. Network Update from Partners –

Eliot CHS – Is in the process of recruiting a ½ time shelter specialist that will work between Daybreak Shelter and Lazarus House. This clinician will work with families at Lazarus House and individuals at Daybreak. The candidate must have an MSW.

CTI – Discussed the recent Fireman Foundation award to the MVRN to facilitate network building around workforce development and Home Base. There will be 3 planning sessions across the region and invitations will go out to stake holders shortly. One session recently held in Lowell. The purpose is to connect Home Base families more cohesively with Work force development opportunities. Stake holders in this discussion include community college, UML, career centers, Adult Education and vocational schools.

Awaiting the first version of the Governor’s budget and gauging impact to programs throughout CTI.

The HCEC is in the process of placing all workshops on power point format, translating those presentations to Khmer/Spanish and will eventually be formatted as a video which will enable other agencies to utilize those tools. Those presentation topics include Subsidized Housing Search, Eviction Prevention/Tenant Rights, SMART Tenant, Veterans Benefits (for providers & clients). There has been an increased demand for subsidized housing workshops  which have been scheduled with more frequency. CTI has applied for ESG funding through the City of Lowell for homelessness prevention and emergency motel funds. A grant has been submitted to Lowell General Hospitals Community Health Foundation to re-house and provide wrap around services to chronic homeless and those individuals who were homeless upon entry into the hospital/rehabilitative facility and likely to be homeless upon discharge from those inpatient settings. In addition, CTI is applying for the SSVF (Veterans Administration) grant.

The MVhomeless blog has been updated to collect a wide array of quick links to services and resources for those that are homeless, or at risk of being homeless. Please take a moment to visit the blog, http://mvhomeless.wordpress.org/ and sign up for email notifications. Additionally, if any network members want information posted, please email that information to kross@comteam.org

Pathfinder/Bridgewell – Reporting a marked increase in the number of homeless men and women between the ages of 18-23 since early December. Reportedly originating from the Lawrence area and from out of state. More significant is the lack of income and/or connection to any services whatsoever, for this population. PF has been unable to ascertain if these individuals have recently cycled out of foster care or DCF custody. Pathfinder Apartments does have 2 market rate units available @ $454 per month and one subsidized (non DMH) unit available for a chronic homeless individual

LTLC – Winter protocol is in place. Reporting that towns/cities in the region not allowing sex offenders to register in their respective towns and directing sex offenders to register in the City of Lowell. Please inform the Lowell Police Supt. If you come across this practice. Additionally, LTLC had previously reached an agreement with the City of Lowell whereby their sex offender shelter population would exceed 10% of their shelter population. Reporting that they are currently at the maximum of their agreed upon quota. Also reporting an increase in single, homeless women presenting for shelter services.

Community Action Inc. – Small amount of EFSP/FEMA remaining.

City of Lawrence/Data Remedies – Richard Rankin is a consultant engaged by the City of Lawrence to transition the City of Lawrence data management systems from Housing Works to ETO.

City of Lowell – Gearing up the annual Point in Time Count which will take place this week.

YWCA of Greater Lawrence – encountering more challenging families. YWCA currently has openings in their women’s SRO program, however has no candidates on the waitlist for these units. Any women seeking this housing needs to apply through the Lawrence Housing Authority.

New Business

HomeBase –

Household assistance is the primary service being offered to families at this time. There are currently 850 families in the Merrimack Valley Home Base program. 300 of those families came through the “front door” and 550 of those families  have transitioned from flex funds to Home Base. Emmaus covers the Lawrence EA office. The MV Home Base program was initially budgeted at $3million and will likely require $6-$7 million in order to sufficiently run this program. The MV region has seen a significant reduction in the number of EA motel families, going from 70 to 3o families currently in EA motel shelter.

1. Sub – Committees– .

Home Base/ Families

Chair: Ed Cameron Members: Peter Cirioni, Al Hanscom, Linda Comeau

This group will report to the larger MVRN on issues pertaining to homeless families especially related to the HomeBASE program.  Issues to be covered include: EA/HB front door, hotel/motel placements, shelter exits, and stabilization as well as workforce development, child care, school age, and resource maximization.

Early Warning Systems

Chair: Melissa Glassman Members: Connie Murphy, Brent Rourke

It will be responsible for identifying specific populations at (potential) risk, provider outreach mechanisms, methods of outreach and measurable outcomes that may be achieved.

Veterans

Chair: Kristin Ross-Sitcawich  Members: TBD

It will be the responsible for identifying all Veterans related resources throughout the Merrimack Valley, tying together Veterans services/resources from the federal level down to our local Veterans fraternal organizations. Once resources/services have been identified, a regional coalition will be formed, consisting of Veterans service representatives across the Merrimack Valley region. The outcome of forming this coalition will be that all providers will be informed as to the myriad of services that are available and have greater leveraging capacity to provide services specific to homeless veterans.

Discharge Planning

Chairs: Patty Bergin Members: Charlie Manzi, Ann Marie Malavich, Melissa Glassman

It will be responsible for identifying/mapping out all institutions across the Merrimack Valley region that are likely to discharge individuals into homelessness (ex: state & county corrections, hospitals, substance abuse treatment and rehabilitative facilities). This committee will additionally identify service providers where these discharges to homelessness will be served in the community and coordinate consistent discharge planning policies that may be administered across the region (ex: discharge planning tools that require that these individuals be released with prescribed medication, prescriptions for medications refills as well as scheduled provider appointments in the community).

Subcommittee meetings should be held at least monthly with a full report supplied to the Network Coordinator. It will be determined at the next meeting whether we shall continue to meet monthly as a Network or if we will meet quarterly.

Legislative Event – Date TBA. Anticipate holding this event in the Greater Lawrence area in March 2012. Announcement to follow shortly.

Next meeting: February 27, 2012 @ 2pm – Greater Lawrence Community Action – 305 Essex St 4^th fl Conf., Lawrence, MA

CITY OF LOWELL
Job Description
Please Post ~ 1/23/2012
Deadline ~ 2/6/2012
Director of Cultural Affairs & Special Events/ Executive Director
Cultural Organization of Lowell (COOL)
Job Title: Director of Cultural Affairs & Special Events/ Executive Director, Cultural Organization of Lowell
Department: Cultural Affairs & Special Events
Reports To: City Manager, COOL Board Chairman
Union: Ordinance, Non-Union
Salary Range: (min) $58,008.52 to (max) $68,173.60
SUMMARY: Under the direction of the City Manager and the COOL Board Chairman, the Director of Cultural
Affairs & Special Events/Executive Director of COOL coordinates the City’s cultural affairs operations and events
and is directly responsible for management, marketing, and grant-writing/fundraising for the City’s cultural affairs
and creative economy programs, as well as large-scale city-wide events.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES
(The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may
be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is
similar, related or a logical assignment to the position.)
Overseeing the City’s special event planning, budgeting, marketing and coordination; working with other City
departments to assure success in coordination of activities to promote economic development for the city; and
preparing the annual Cultural Affairs & Special Events operating budget for submission to the City Manager;
Marketing the city’s major festivals through a unified website listing and weekly cultural e-blasts; collaborating with
City partners, a festival logistics team, and festival organizers to develop a heightened awareness of the events in
Lowell and ensure best visitor experience with each festival event (traffic, restaurants & hotels, police, signage, etc.);
Collaborating with the Planning & Development Department to manage the city’s marketing campaign jointly with
city agencies and community partners; advancing the role of arts and culture in this marketing campaign; and
creating press releases, flyers, ads, banners, web content and other marketing materials to promote and publicize the
City’s cultural life;
Leading staff of as many as six full- and part-time employees of the City and COOL to develop and implement a
community cultural plan that includes all cultures and sectors of the community; acting as the liaison between the
cultural community and the city government; forging new relationships to help build more diverse audiences and
encourage Lowell’s recent immigrant populations to participate in cultural activities;
Augmenting cultural tourism initiatives to attract new visitors to the city; briefing City officials and business leaders
about the economic and social impact of the arts in our community;
With guidance from the COOL Board of Directors, developing creative economy programs to further the
development of, and interest in, Lowell’s creative sector; advancing partnerships among cultural, business,
philanthropic, and higher education communities;
Promoting creative economic revitalization through the ongoing development of Lowell’s state-designated Cultural
District, and promoting assets/amenities in the district; raising awareness for the restoration and development of a
community arts facility/performance hall at the Smith Baker Center, so that the abandoned building can one day be
adaptively reused as a cultural center;
Managing the City’s public art program, encouraging temporary public art installations, raising funds for new
permanent pieces of public art, and coordinating the development of a public art maintenance plan;
Seeking public and private financial support for collaborative cultural programs, activities and aesthetic projects
within the community;
Providing technical assistance to artists, humanists, and persons involved with interpretive science programs, as well
as organizations, through workshops and one-on-one sessions; working with cultural and arts organizations and
individual to promote the city’s creative economy;
Facilitating the development of affordable artist live/work and workspace by working directly with individual artists
and city officials to target key buildings for cultural reuse;
Overseeing the implementation of Discover Lowell, a multicultural creative economic development initiative,
funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and coordinated with more than twenty-four local partner
organizations.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES
Oversees five (5) or more employees and/or contractors in the COOL/Cultural Affairs & Special Events Office and
carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with City ordinances and the organization’s policies and
applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, selecting and training of employees; planning, assigning, and
directing work; establishing goals and objectives for the department; providing leadership and effective
communication to plan, manage, organize and supervise employees for the accomplishment of department objectives
and city-wide goals; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and
resolving problems, and providing training, daily direction and counseling to staff as required.
Oversee all non-profit management for the Cultural Organization of Lowell, including providing staff leadership for
the Board of Directors, assuring that COOL complies with all grant funding sources, etc. and providing support
services in keeping with non-profit reporting structures and City boards and commissions regulations;
SUPERVISION
Supervision scope: Performs a variety of responsible functions requiring the exercise of considerable initiative and
creativity to independently develop, implement and administer all department programs and projects. Supervision
received: Works under the direction of the City Manager, for job functions related to special events and marketing,
and the Chairman for the COOL Board of Directors, for job functions relating to cultural affairs and the creative
economy. Employee functions independently referring only unusual problems to the City Manager and COOL Board
Chairman. The position is subject to review and evaluation according to the City Manager’s priorities and goals.
Supervision given: Provides managerial oversight of all department operations and functional supervision to one (1)
full-time Downtown/Special Events Coordinator; two (2) 80% time project manager/assistants; and two (2) contract
employees, assigning tasks and providing instructions. Reviews work for accuracy and completion.
QUALIFICATIONS
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The
requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable
accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
KNOWLEDGE
The Director of CASE/Executive Director of COOL must have a (1) thorough knowledge of cultural program
development, event planning, grant-writing, budgeting, marketing and public relations and non-profit management;
(2) the ability to plan programs, delegate tasks, review projects and coordinate the annual plan for events and cultural
affairs; and (3) working knowledge of Lowell’s creative economy programs and funding streams in order to perform
department operations and track city-wide cultural development projects and events.
SKILLS and ABILITIES
Skills in planning, budget management, organization, personnel supervision and leadership; demonstrated ability to
work cooperatively to support the accomplishment of city-wide priorities and department objectives; demonstrated
ability to establish goals and objectives for the department, including practical plans and programs; and strong verbal
and written communication skills and the ability to analyze issues around developing vibrant city-wide programs that
promote Lowell as a dynamic place to live, work and visit;
EDUCATION
The Director of C.A.S.E./Executive Director of COOL must have an undergraduate degree in the fine arts, cultural
studies, urban studies, or other relevant discipline. A graduate degree in arts administration or an arts- or culturalrelated
discipline, such as a master of fine arts program or cultural studies, is preferred.
EXPERIENCE
The Director of C.A.S.E./Executive Director of COOL must have (a) at least five (5) years cultural program
administration experience that includes event marketing and management, of which at least three (3) years are in a
supervisory or leadership capacity.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Availability to work during evenings and on weekends on a routine basis.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Ability to read and interpret documents, instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and
correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.
REASONING ABILITY
Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited
standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an
employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable
individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger,
handle, or feel; and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms. The employee
must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.
WORK ENVIRONMENT The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee
encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable
individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
The City of Lowell is a smoke and drug free employer and requires a physical with drug screen and CORI, post
offer. EOE/AA/504 Employer.
Qualified applicants should forward a resume with cover letter by 4:00 PM on February 6, 2012 to Mary Callery,
Human Relations Manager, Human Relations, Lowell City Hall, 375 Merrimack Street, Room 19, Lowell, MA
01852; Fax: 978-446-7102; Email: CityJobs@lowellma.gov The position will remain open until filled, however
application received prior to the deadline will be given priority.