Description

Executive Director

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority

Boston, Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA, or the Authority), one of the nation’s premier water and wastewater utilities, seeks a seasoned and strategic Executive Director (ED) to lead it into its next era of impact and service.

Established in 1985 as an independent public authority, MWRA is authorized by its Enabling Act to provide water and/or sewer services to 64 communities and special-purpose entities primarily in eastern Massachusetts. MWRA’s founding and early years were defined by its landmark $3.8 billion cleanup of Boston Harbor, once the most polluted harbor in the United States and now among the cleanest. The Authority has invested more than $9.7 billion in the decades since to maintain a clean Harbor and provide exceptional drinking water and sewer services to approximately 3.1 million people and more than 5,500 large industrial users. MWRA’s next Executive Director will inherit a technically elite, financially sound, and mission-driven organization as it embarks on second-generation infrastructure transformation and environmental and climate resiliency efforts.

Every day, nearly half of Massachusetts residents quench their thirsts, bathe, flush toilets, and do the dishes with water drawn from the MWRA system. The Commonwealth enjoys one of the most abundant and high-quality water supplies in the world. The Quabbin Reservoir (412-billion-gallon capacity) and the Wachusett Reservoir (65-billion-gallon capacity) currently deliver roughly 200 million gallons per day of the nation’s best-tasting, purest drinking water to member communities. MWRA also manages one of the country’s largest wastewater treatment plants: Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. Deer Island treats an average daily flow of approximately 361 million gallons of wastewater from over 2 million people across 43 communities in Greater Boston. It is the centerpiece of the Authority’s ambitious efforts to continue to protect the health and well-being of Boston Harbor and its neighbors.

MWRA is governed by an 11-member Board of Directors, comprised of appointees from the Governor, Mayor of Boston, MWRA host communities of Quincy and Winthrop, and MWRA’s Advisory Board, a 67-member group representing the interests of the Authority’s customer communities and their ratepayers. MWRA employs approximately 1,100 staff. Reporting to the Executive Director are the Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, Directors of Finance, Internal Audit, Administration, Security, and Public Affairs, and Chief of Staff and Administrative Assistant. MWRA’s FY26 current expense budget is $919.7 million, its capital project budget is $380.8 million, and its total FY25 assets were approximately $6.8 billion. MWRA funds its operations primarily through user assessments and charges, and its Enabling Act allows it to issue revenue bonds.

MWRA is an exceptionally well-run organization enjoying deep community trust, committed staff, strong fundamentals, and a proud legacy. It is also at an inflection point as it plans for several major upcoming projects, including the Metropolitan Water Tunnel Program and ongoing investments into the Updated Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control Plan. The ED will lead through and deliver on these major capital projects while preserving service reliability and public trust, maintaining financial discipline, and adapting to climate resilience needs. MWRA will benefit from an ED who is comfortable representing the Authority on a range of issues and who clearly articulates the Authority's value and priorities to regulators, lawmakers, ratepayers, environmental groups, and others. They will also cultivate a high-performing, adaptive, and innovative internal culture, while simultaneously building the Authority’s next generation of talent.

Under the supervision of the Board of Directors, the ED will direct MWRA’s day-to-day operations, long-term master and capital planning, policies, and procedures. They will manage all internal functions, including overseeing and directing the management of personnel, administration, operations, programs, and activities, as well as external relations with the Authority’s constituencies. MWRA seeks a seasoned executive with experience in all critical dimensions of leading a complex, operations- and capital-intensive enterprise with a large, diversified physical footprint and millions of customers. Expertise in water and wastewater systems or similar public utilities is preferred but not required. The ED will bring strategic planning, operational, and financial proficiency, as well as experience with facilities, crisis leadership, legal compliance, and customer service. Political and diplomatic wisdom is essential, as is the patience and resilience to keep listening and talking even when the stakes are high, and contention is occasionally in the air. The ED will have exceptional staff leadership ability; embody a genuine commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to environmental justice; and thrive in a role with public visibility and accountability.

COMPENSATION AND LOCATION

Salary range: $290,000-$365,000

Location: The Executive Director may work from MWRA’s headquarters at Deer Island in Boston or its offices in Chelsea.

APPLICATIONS, INQUIRIES, AND NOMINATIONS

Nominations, inquiries, and applications, including resumes with cover letters responding to the opportunities and challenges outlined in the full position profile, should be submitted to the search team via the hyperlink below. Screening of applications will begin immediately and continue until the search process is completed. If you require reasonable accommodation to complete an application, interview, or otherwise participate in the candidate selection process, we welcome you to submit an inquiry to the team.

Jeff Kessner, Tatiana Oberkoetter, and Christina Errico

Isaacson, Miller

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Executive Director Search

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, disability, sex or gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or veteran status.