ANDOVER — The town has hired Phil Geoffroy, current assistant to the city manager of Lowell, as a new communications director for the town.
Geoffroy was appointed during the Jan. 9, Select Board Meeting and will be the first person to hold the position.
At a past board meeting, Town Manager Andrew Flanagan said the role will include everything from social media management to writing a bi-weekly newsletter.
Geoffroy will also be in charge of communicating information about Town Meeting to residents.
“It’s just a different time now. We don’t have local papers tracking what the community is doing day to day,” said Select Board member Melissa Danisch during a board meeting in August. “We need someplace for people to go for information that they can trust and understand and go back to.”
Goeffroy began his career as a congressional aid to former U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas. He then worked briefly in the State Senate as a legislative director.
After that he started working at the city manager’s office in Lowell. He was in charge of communications for the office during the pandemic.
He said the biggest challenge of the position was figuring out how to reach out to the community.
“The way that people receive and take in information is evolving on a continuous basis as a result of technology and a whole host of other factors,” Geoffroy said. “I think navigating that distinct landscape is an evolving challenge for all communities.”
“That was a time of crisis for every community in Massachusetts,” he said.
He added that the pandemic gave him an opportunity to test new ways to reach the community digitally over social media.
Geoffroy was interviewed along with 11 applicants for the position. He called the process demanding and comprehensive.
The first interview involved around a dozen town employees. He then participated in day long assessment, with simulations of different tasks, like drafting a press release, and participating in a press conference. Geoffroy also completed an at home exercise which included producing a public information campaign about Town Meeting, and writing a summary of a Select Board meeting.
Flanagan said the position will be funded within the budget by reallocating resources. The position will pay $98,500, according to the agenda of the Jan. 9 Select Board meeting.
“This community as well as every municipality is facing an evolving media landscape and I think that creates a lot of challenges for municipalities and communicating with its’ residents,” Geoffroy said during the Jan. 9 Select Board meeting. “Those are challenges that I have been confronting in the latest chapter of my career and I think with some level of success, and I look forward to bringing that skillset to the town of Andover.”