A number of high-level city employees left their municipal posts at the turn of the new year, along with Boston’s regime change from the longtime Menino administration to that of new Mayor Marty Walsh. One of those voids was created by the departure of Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser. Mayor Walsh, however, has announced a step forward in the replacement process.

The early days of Mayor Walsh’s tenure have been occupied in part by appointing candidates to fill significant municipal gaps. In filling out the cabinet positions of his own administration, Mayor Walsh has also been tasked with finding new faces for the Boston Police Commissioner (now upheld by Bill Evans), superintendent of the Boston Public Schools system, and Boston Fire commissioner. On Monday the Walsh camp determined that FACETS, a management consulting firm, will spearhead the search for the latter.

“Following the departure of Roderick Fraser, I made a commitment to conduct a national search for his permanent replacement,” said Mayor Walsh in a statement. “FACETS brings significant experience to this task, and has previous experience working with the Boston Fire Department. I’m confident in their skills; this process will ensure that no stone is left unturned as we seek the best possible fit for our department.”

BostInno reached out directly to Mayor Walsh’s administration to find out why the city is opting to employ the services of FACETS instead of forming a search committee comprised of locals, the way the mayor did with his search for the BPS superintendent.

The simple answer: Comparing the BPS superintendent search to the BFD commissioner search is apples and oranges. But also, the BPS superintendent search will be utilizing a consulting firm, just not to the same extent.

Kate Norton, Mayor Walsh’s press secretary, explained to BostInno that the nature of the superintendent search evokes a more cooperative sentiment which subsequently results in a higher level of community involvement. That’s not to say that zeroing in on a new Fire commissioner is any less important or held in any less regard by the neighborhoods. But as Norton iterated, “the Walsh administration felt confident that this is a satisfactory way of engaging the public in a specialized search.”

In fact, FACETS works almost exclusively with fire-oriented organizations. As the firm lauds on its website, “FACETS has garnered the confidence of major clients including the International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters, International Fire Service Training Association, and National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.”

Adding to list of reasons of why FACETS should help the search is the fact that the company is already familiar with the inner workings of the BFD and how it operates. In 2010 they conducted a top-to-bottom safety review of the entire department.

According to the request of proposal BostInno obtained through the mayor’s office (though we won’t upload it due to private contact information), FACETS hopes to tackle the task of locating a BFP commissioner in a multidimensional approach that fuses traditional recruitment practices with contemporary data gathering.

Upon determining the logistics of the position – local hiring practices, minimum requirements, compensation, etc. – FACETS will convey the position across a number of channels to help gather qualified applicants. Some of these channels, such as the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters, Black Chief Officers Committee, International Association of Women in the Fire and Emergency Services, and National Association of Hispanic Firefighters, are sure to help Mayor Walsh fulfill his pledge for more diversity within the ranks of city government.

Notable candidates will then interview with a select panel of overseers with decades worth of knowledge in fire department budgeting and street experience – including the current Fire Chief and former Fire Commissioner of San Antonio and Buffalo, respectively – before Mayor Walsh ultimately levies a final decision.

The City of Boston will pony up $23,500 to FACETS (including our consultants’ labor, travel, and other expenses);  a timeline for their search has yet to be determined. For more information on the search for Boston’s Fire commissioner, stay tuned to BostInno. In the meantime, let us know what you think of the entire process and even some potential applicants in the comments section below.