State & Local Government
Recruitment
Retained executive search for cities, counties, states, and the agencies, authorities, and special districts that serve the public. We place city and county managers, department directors, and senior public-sector leaders nationwide, partnering directly with your township, city, district, or county.
How a search works
Hiring a city manager or department director?
Tell us about your open role at a city, county, or state agency and we will scope a retained search built for public-sector hiring requirements.
Start a searchLooking for a public sector role?
Browse current government and public-sector openings, or submit your resume to be considered for confidential searches as they open.
View open rolesState and Local Government Recruitment, Built for the Public Sector
Excelon Associates is a public sector executive search firm founded in 2007. We recruit leadership for state and local government, including cities, counties, states, and the agencies, authorities, and special districts that serve communities. We place city and county managers, department directors, public works and finance leaders, and senior administrators. With more than 375 leadership placements to date, we bring private-sector search discipline to public-sector hiring, and we partner directly with your township, city, district, or county.
Public sector hiring runs on transparency, civil service rules, and community accountability, and the timelines and scrutiny are unlike the private market. We run retained searches that respect those constraints while still reaching the experienced administrators and directors who are rarely scanning job boards. Whether a county is replacing an administrator or a city is standing up a new department, the process is structured, documented, and built for public-sector realities.
Which Government Roles Do We Recruit For?
We recruit across the functions that run a city, county, or state agency, from the manager's office to public works, finance, public safety, and technology. Select an area below to see representative titles.
Executive and Administration
We place the executives who run local government day to day, from the manager's office through the senior administrative team. These searches are confidential and built around council dynamics, civil service rules, and community expectations.
Public Works and Infrastructure
We recruit the engineers and directors who keep infrastructure running, from roads and water to transit and capital projects. We understand the regulatory and capital-planning context these leaders operate in.
Finance and Administration
We place the finance and administrative leaders who manage public budgets, procurement, and the workforce, the roles where accountability and stewardship matter most to residents and oversight bodies.
Public Safety and Community Services
We recruit the leaders who keep communities safe and livable, across public safety, emergency management, parks, and community development. These are high-visibility roles where fit with the community is as important as experience.
Technology and Operations
We place the technology and operations leaders modernizing how government serves residents, from IT and GIS to permitting and facilities. Public-sector technology leadership is in high demand and short supply.
City, County, and State Government
Our public sector practice is built around state and local government, the level of government closest to the communities it serves. We partner directly with your township, city, school district, county, or authority, wherever the work of governing happens.
Managers, department heads, and senior staff for cities and towns of every size.
Start a searchWe recruit for city and municipal governments, county governments, state agencies and departments, special districts, public authorities, councils of government, public utilities, transit authorities, regional planning bodies, and boards and commissions.
Private-Sector Discipline, Public-Sector Fit
Excelon Associates built its reputation running retained searches in higher education and financial services, two sectors with their own governance, scrutiny, and stakeholder complexity. We bring that same rigor to state and local government, pairing an outreach-first approach that reaches passive candidates with a process that respects the transparency and accountability the public sector requires.
For engagement pricing across retained search, see our guide to executive search fees.
Start a Government SearchPublic Sector Functions We Cover
Our reach spans the administrative, operational, and service-delivery functions that keep cities, counties, and state agencies running.
Executive & Administration
Public Works & Utilities
Finance & Procurement
Public Safety
Community & Economic Development
Human Resources & Technology
What Sets Our Public Sector Practice Apart?
Built for Civil Service Realities
We run searches that respect transparency rules, civil service processes, and the public scrutiny that government hiring carries. The finalists we present are ready to lead in public view, not just on paper.
Discipline from Higher Ed and Finance
We bring the retained search rigor built in higher education and financial services to government, reaching the administrators and directors who are performing well in their current roles and not on job boards.
375+ Leadership Placements
With more than 375 leadership placements to date, we have the process, reach, and references to fill the senior public-sector roles that generalist firms struggle with.
Passive Public-Sector Network
The strongest city managers, directors, and administrators are usually employed and not looking. Our outreach-first approach identifies and engages them directly, well beyond the reach of a job posting.
Built for Public-Sector Requirements
Public sector hiring carries requirements the private market never sees. We run searches that hold up under open records requests and sunshine laws, respect civil service rules and veterans preference, and meet EEO and ADA obligations from first outreach to final offer. Excelon Associates is also registered for public-sector engagement, with active DUNS and CAGE identifiers, so agencies can bring us in through standard procurement channels.
What a Live Search Looks Like
Every search we run is published, promoted across our network, and fully indexed on Google at no extra cost to the agencies we serve. The cards below are recent campaigns from across our desks. Each one opens the live LinkedIn post it represents.
What Do Agencies and Candidates Report?
Excelon Associates holds a 5.0 rating on Google from clients and candidates across the public, education, healthcare, and financial sectors. Read the full set of verified reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Read our Google ReviewsGovernment Recruitment Questions Answered
Ready to Hire a Public Sector Leader?
Excelon Associates places city and county managers, department directors, and senior administrators for state and local government nationwide. Retained search since 2007, with more than 375 leadership placements to date.