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Ombudsman bets narrowed down to 4
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Posted on Dec 04 2008
The U.S. government is getting closer to naming a replacement for Jim Benedetto as federal labor ombudsman for the Northern Marianas, according to the chief of the Office of Insular Affairs.
OIA Director Nikolao Pula in an e-mail said his office made a selection on Nov. 24, 2008. The OIA will make an announcement once it hears from Minerals Management Service, another agency within the Department of the Interior, which makes the actual offer to the selected candidate. No one in OIA may contact the nominee until MMS has reported to OIA that the individual has accepted the offer, Pula said.
“Things are a bit slow when it comes to federal hiring because of the various hoops we have to go through. Moreover, the vetting of applications is done at [the Office of Personnel Management] and the Department’s Personnel Office, not at OIA per se. I was hoping to have an Ombudsman by now but it’s taking a bit longer,” he said.
According to Pula, there were 53 applicants for the job. Four of them made the “competitive certificate list.” Each of the four who made the list had a Saipan mailing address.
OPM and MMS Personnel handle all aspects of career-service job announcements for positions under the Office of the Interior Secretary. Although OIA is the hiring office, all that OIA receives from OPM and MMS Personnel is the certificate list from which to choose the most qualified candidate.
