Executive Recruitment Firm for City Manager

The City of Groveland, Florida, is soliciting proposals from qualified executive search firms to conduct a nationwide search for the position of City Manager. Experience working with Florida municipalities is preferred.

Background

The City of Groveland was incorporated in 1922 and is located in south Lake County, Florida. It encompasses 21.48 square miles (54-square-mile service area) and has a population of 18,505 as established by the 2020 U.S. Census (2022 BEBR estimate 21,633). The City runs under a Council-Manager form of government including five elected officials, the Mayor and four district council members. The City Council determines policy, adopts legislation, and approves the City's annual budget. Council appoints the City Manager, who as the Chief Administrative Officer, is charged with the responsibility of enforcing all ordinances and resolutions passed by Council. The City provides the following full range of municipal services authorized by its Charter: public safety, streets, sanitation/solid waste, parks/recreation, public improvements, planning and zoning, building services, water and sewer, and general administrative services.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 2026-004
• Department: Human Resources
• Department Head: Deo Persaud (Human Resources Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-03-31T16:00:00.000Z
• Answers Posted By: 2026-04-02T21:00:00.000Z

Addenda

• Addendum #1 (released 2026-03-25T15:09:35.321Z) —

  Addendum #1 is part of the attachments and solicitation documentation.  

Evaluation Criteria

• 1. Qualifications and municipal experience (30 points) (30 pts) —
  • Depth of experience recruiting city managers or comparable local government executives.
  • Demonstrated understanding of municipal governance, council‑manager form of government, Florida or regional experience is preferred.
• 2. Recruitment methodology and community engagement plan (25 points) (25 pts) —
  • Clarity and robustness of the proposed search process, including stakeholder outreach, community engagement, diversity/equity strategies, screening and assessment tools, and estimated timeline.
• 3. Team, availability, and past performance (25 points) (25 pts) —
  • Qualifications of key personnel, capacity to meet schedule, references from recent city manager (or similar) searches, and success/retention of past placements.
• 4. Cost proposal (20 points) (20 pts) —
  • Total fixed fee and reimbursable expenses, clarity of cost structure (by phase or milestones), and any guarantees (e.g., re‑recruit at reduced/no fee if placement leaves within a set period).

Submission Requirements

• Proposal Requirements (required) —

  Did you read through and confirm that you met all of the RFP requirements?

• Has proposer uploaded its Response Package, Cost Sheet and completed attachments? (required)
• Proposal Documents (required) —

  Upload any attachments including the line-item budget, and insurance certificate here