The Cariboo Regional District (CRD) is actively seeking a candidate to fill a new position as regional economic/community development officer.
The application process ended March 6, and CRD chair Al Richmond says there have been applicants and he hopes one of them will be deemed suitable for the role and hired soon.
The officer will be working in Williams Lake under the supervision of community services manager Darron Campbell.
Richmond notes the position is the result some restructuring of a similar role that was later contracted out and is now returning in-house, but with some added responsibilities.
"It's to do some strategic community planning, economic development, grant writing, and those sorts of things."
When the CRD directors determine an idea needs to be examined, they will have someone on staff ready to check it out, he explains.
"We want someone to look at opportunities for economic development. For example, we did a whole thing a few years ago on refuse-derived fuel; we had someone do a bunch of work on that."
Richmond notes this will not really add another "body" to the payroll, as the new employee will replace several smaller, contracted positions.
Rather than the former management job, it is now a union position covered by the collective agreement between the CRD and the BC Government and Service Employees' Union.
"It is all part of the restructure, and some of the work we did with the union about how we would structure the organization."
More information is available at www.cariboord.ca.