One moment Paul Johnson is the executive director of Wesley Urban Ministries, one of the city’s most respected social service agencies. The next he’s Hamilton’s new poverty czar, quietly hired by the city to direct the fight against poverty neighbourhood by neighbourhood. There was no job posting, no short-list of candidates, and no formal hiring process.

Instead Johnson will be roasted and toasted by Wesley at a farewell salute next Wednesday. His last official day at his old desk is Nov. 12. He starts with the city Monday, Nov. 15, with a yearly salary somewhere between $98,000 and $114,000.

How and why did it happen? The short answer is city manager Chris Murray hand-picked or “recruited” Johnson after discussing it with his senior management team. Murray says he wanted a seasoned pro who was able to “hit the ground running” to co-ordinate the delivery of municipal resources and develop a common community focus on improving the quality of life across the city’s neighbourhoods.

“I was looking for someone who would be respected and trusted by the administration, council, and certainly many of the institutions that have been working on poverty issues in the community,” said Murray. “At the end of the day, because of (Johnson’s) experience and basically who he is, I think he’ll do a great job.”Johnson, 39, has been the lead hand at Wesley for 10 years. During that time, he helped shape and grow a number of the agency’s services, including its child care, family and poverty programming.

He’s a mainstay of the multi-sector Roundtable for Poverty Reduction; he had a strong voice in the discussions that led to the city’s emergency shelter blueprint; and he spearheaded the development of managed alcohol treatment at the Claremont House Special Care Unit. For Johnson, his new role, which carries the official title of director of neighbourhood development strategies, is a dream job.

He believes it signals the city is deadly serious about closing the gap in health consequences between poor and more sound neighbourhoods — highlighted in The Spec’s Code Red series — as well as raising the bar for all neighbourhoods.

“I’m lucky to have this opportunity but I’m also lucky to live in a community that says when we have to tackle issues, we’re going to find a way to do it,” said Johnson. The fact that Johnson will be reporting directly to Murray — while being guided by Joe-Anne Priel, general manager of community services — certainly conveys the importance the city places on the anti-poverty crusade.

As Murray points out, poverty registered as a key issue in the Spectator/Nanos election poll, indicating it’s a top of mind concern across the community. Johnson’s job specifically stems from the city’s 2010 priority plan, which includes improving the lot of lower city neighbourhoods and integrating the services and focus of municipal and community partners to help build stronger neighbourhoods.

That includes working with players such as the Poverty Roundtable, Hamilton Best Start Network, the Hamilton Community Foundation, the Centre for Civic Inclusion and the Jobs Prosperity Collaborative.

Murray and his senior managers surveyed what other communities were doing to build and support healthy neighbourhoods and decided that a development strategy to link and co-ordinate internal and external planning and delivery of services was the best model. That’s where Johnson comes in. “I see my job as being a strong broker of all those groups who want to see results in our community,” he said.

“For me to be working on this in my city, a city I really feel passionate about, this is what gets me up in the morning and wipes away the tears of leaving Wesley pretty quickly.”For the record, Johnson’s salary won’t place any new pressures on the city budget. According to Murray, in the spirit of making do with what they have, it will be paid through a reallocation of existing resources.