For the second time in six months, the Augusta Downtown Alliance is looking for a new executive director.

The downtown organization’s board of directors advertised the position Feb. 23, a week and a half after the previous executive director, Isabelle Lee, left the position. Lee was hired in September and began working in October; she was still in the probationary period of her contract when she resigned, board president Laura Briggs said.

“She does come from a different background, which we thought could have been beneficial, but ultimately it just worked out that it wasn’t what she really thought it was going to be,” Briggs said. “We have no ill will against her. I actually have respect for her for recognizing that it wasn’t what she thought it was and realizing that she wanted to go into something different.”

Lee owns a planning and local government consulting business, IOV Community Planning and Consulting, and has worked in municipalities across Maine.

Briggs said the executive director position — which involves reporting to a board of directors and working solo — can prove to be a difficult transition for some without nonprofit experience.

Before Lee, it was Jeremy Ashlock who left after about a year as executive director. He left in July on good terms and for personal reasons. Ashlock followed the eight-year tenure of Michael Hall, who left in 2023 for a position in Waterville.

Briggs said the board is looking for an executive director with “heart” — someone who will go out of their way to help solve problems for local businesses and communicate across organization lines.

She said the job requires balancing the needs of stakeholders at multiple levels, including businesses, city officials and board members.

“You have to build relationships with the local businesses and the donors, and that can be difficult for some people,” she said. To be successful, the person in that position needs to be comfortable speaking with business owners about problems they face and help find resolutions, she said.

The position will pay $50,000-$60,000 per year, according to the job posting.

Briggs said the board hopes to complete the hiring process within the next couple months; the organization is “trying to find the right fit versus a quick fill,” she said.

In the meantime, several members of the board are filling in for the executive director job responsibilities, Briggs said.