HATFIELD — Hatfield officials are beginning the process of finding a successor to Town Administrator Marlene Michonski, who is retiring at the end of the year after serving in the role for 18 of the past 22 years.

With an advertisement recently posted for the position, the Select Board is accepting applications and letters of interest from residents who want to be on the search committee that will review applicants, conduct preliminary interviews with candidates and forward recommended finalists. There will be two at-large positions available on the committee.

Volunteer applications are available on the town website at townofhatfield.org/townadministrator/pages/interested-volunteering.

Applications, which are due Friday, can be sent to Town Administrator Search Committee, Memorial Town Hall, 59 Main St., Hatfield, 01038, or by email to townadministrator@townofhatfield.org.

In January, Michonski, who has been involved in municipal work for 35 years, mostly in Hampshire County, announced to the Select Board that she would give the board nearly a year to find her replacement. Michonski was town administrator in Hatfield from 2002 to 2010, returning to the position in 2015.

The posting for the town administrator position states that Hatfield is a town with 3,183 residents and the salary is “negotiable depending on qualifications and subject to negotiation of a contract with the Select Board.” The town administrator performs administrative, management and supervisory work coordinating activities of town departments, commissions, boards and officers under the jurisdiction of the Select Board, and attendance is required at all Select Board meetings and Town Meetings.

The posting also states: “The administrator executes board policies and provides research and general staff support; develops budgets and works as a key member of the financial team; oversees and serves as the board’s procurement officer preparing bid documents and administering contracts; and serves as personnel administrator, grant research/writer and administrator and public information officer and assists with legal research and provides liaison with town counsel.”

A full job description is available at townofhatfield.org/home/pages/employment-opportunities

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.