Job Postings Announced for Key Cabinet-level Positions

Mayor Michelle Wu today announced the City is seeking to hire several key Cabinet positions that will help deliver on the Mayor’s vision for a more equitable and resilient Boston. The openings include two newly created Cabinet-level positions, a Green New Deal Senior Advisor, and a Chief of Planning. Additionally, the City is filling the critical roles of Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief of Human Services. 

“We’re building a team to reshape what’s possible for Boston through the power of City government,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “I’m so excited to work alongside leaders ready to tackle our challenges and connect our communities through bold, urgent action.”

The open roles are as follows:

Senior Advisor, Boston Green New Deal

The Senior Advisor will help shape an cross-departmental approach to climate and equity-led governance and help make Boston a groundbreaking model of city leadership. The Senior Advisor, working in close partnership with the Mayor, the Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space (EEO), the Chief of Operations, Chief of Streets, Chief of Planning, School Superintendent, and other senior city officials will have primary responsibility for driving the initiatives of the Boston Green New Deal and Just Recovery Plan laid out by Mayor Wu. 

The Senior Advisor will provide leadership on building climate resilient infrastructure and affordable housing, shape zoning and planning, transit, and environmental justice initiatives, and collaborate with other city departments to build and renovate schools and other public facilities to meet net-zero standards and advance the Mayor’s climate agenda. 

As a member of the Mayor’s Cabinet, this individual will co-chair a Green New Deal Cabinet with Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space, Reverend Mariama White-Hammond, and work closely with community members and stakeholders, and City, State, and federal leaders to ensure citywide climate resiliency and the execution of the City’s carbon neutrality plans.

The City will be partnering with a search firm to support the hiring process for the Green New Deal Senior Advisor. 

Chief of Planning

The Chief of Planning’s job is to build a Boston with and for everyone. This role will have primary responsibility for driving the Mayor’s vision for planning that advances the goals of a more equitable, resilient, transit-oriented, and affordable city. The Chief of Planning will have an unprecedented opportunity to be at the forefront of making this vision a reality.



The creation of a Cabinet-level Chief of Planning is the first step in Mayor Wu’s efforts to reform the City’s processes for planning and development. The Chief of Planning will serve as the Mayor’s point person to coordinate and direct all City plans, land use directives, and all related development policies and procedures. The Chief will play a central role in considering structural reforms to the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) while assuming a top leadership role in ongoing planning, zoning and development. From that position, the Chief will work with the BPDA Board, Director, and staff to advance reforms that ensure a planning-led approach to development review. 

The Chief of Planning will also assume responsibility for advancing the City’s plans for zoning code reforms, spearhead public engagement initiatives to involve residents and community groups in planning, and coordinate with development review staff to ensure predictability and alignment between development and the City’s planning goals.

Chief of Human Services

The City is hiring a Chief of Human Services, who will help work toward a more equitable city, by ensuring that city services and opportunities for Boston residents are accessible and responsive to the needs of all. 

The Chief of Human Services will lead the implementation of the Mayor’s human services agenda for Boston, overseeing key departments that provide services to city residents, and working in partnership with social service organizations and service providers across the city.  

The departments within the Cabinet focus, in particular, on services for youth, seniors, veterans and persons with disabilities.  Those departments deliver direct services, provide regulatory oversight, and build partnerships to help these constituents and all Boston’s residents thrive.  

Chief Information Officer

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) is the City’s most senior IT leader, serving on the Mayor’s Cabinet and leading the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT). That Department helps connect the City’s more than 18,000 employees with the hundreds of thousands of constituents they serve. 

The City is hiring for a CIO who will improve government operations and positively impact quality of life for Boston residents by expanding and leading the City's digital services, analytics capabilities, cybersecurity practices, broadband access, and internal and external facing technology tools, platforms, and infrastructure. 

More details on the minimum requirements and core responsibilities, as well as a link to apply, are available on the City’s website for the Senior Advisor, Chief of Planning, Chief of Human Services, and Chief Information Officer.