The City of Portland is now seeking applications to fill the vacancy at the top of the city’s Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (JDEI) office, a role which boasts a starting salary of over $110,000.

Portland’s JDEI office was launched in 2023 on the recommendation of the city’s Racial Equity Steering Committee, which itself was formed by then-Mayor Kate Snyder in July 2020, in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

The city’s racial equity office has been without a director since May, when Umaru Balde, who joined the JDEI office in April 2023, resigned with little explanation from the city.

Balde has since claimed that he was “abruptly fired” from the position after frequent clashes with Portland City Manager Danielle West and Mayor Mark Dion, alleging that they continually spurned his attempts to act upon the recommendations of the Racial Equity Steering Committee.

After over a year in operation, the JDEI office made its first public presentation on its work to the Portland City Council in late August.

During the tense DEI workshop, several Portland City Councilors voiced their frustration at the apparent lack of tangible progress the racial equity office had made since it was since it was funded in the city’s fiscal year 2023 budget.

City Councilor Kate Sykes, former co-chair of the Maine Democratic Socialists of America, said that she felt like she “stumbled into the wrong meeting” following the JDEI office’s presentation.

“Honestly, I feel like crying–it’s that disappointing to me to come here and not have a substantive conversation about the issues that were addressed in this report,” Sykes said of the JDEI office’s work.

Councilor Regina Phillips shared Sykes’ frustrations, specifically in regard to how many more people of color the City of Portland had hired and promoted since the JDEI office began its work.

“Let’s not forget — because you guys [city staff] are doing a great job — let’s not forget that this City of Portland is still a system, and it’s still a racist system,” Phillips said. “And that racist system needs to be changed.”

The city’s job posting for JDEI Director, which opened to applications last week, states that the starting salary range for the position is $110,933 to $128,622.

“The City of Portland is committed to being a safe, welcoming, and equitable community and workplace for all people across race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, sexual orientation, gender identification, country of origin, or any other identity,” the posting reads. “We are proud that we have a growing team whose work will help the City to advance this commitment and are excited to begin the search for our next JDEI Director.”

Benefits for the position include free employee health insurance, paid holidays, sick, vacation and personal leave, a choice of retirement plans, including a city pension plan and a discount on professional development programs through the University of Southern Maine and Thomas College.

Qualified candidates for the position are expected to have five to eight years of “progressively responsible experience in the field of JDEI,” to have “understanding of cultural values and norms” of the “BIPOC” and “LGBTQ+” communities, and candidates with a master’s degree in “Organizational Development, Counseling, Human Resources or related field” are preferred.

The city is expected to begin reviewing resumes for the position on Oct. 4, 2024.