ST. LOUIS – The City of St. Louis finally has a new personnel director after the previous person who held the position retired in December.

According to the Post-Dispatch, Mayor Tishaura Jones has hired Sonya Jenkins-Gray. She is currently the chief human resources officer at CareSTL Health.

Personnel director is among the most powerful position in city government, and it is crucial in retaining workers and filling vacancies.

Jones said she’s looking forward to working with Jenkins-Gray to help hire more qualified employees to departments across the city.