Downtown Lawrence Inc. is looking for a new administrator.

Bob Oderkirk, DLI president, said board members were nearly finished putting together a formal job description for the post, which has been vacant since Maria Martin resigned in December to spend more time at the store she owns, Southwest and More, 727 Mass.

DLI, with more than 150 members, works on behalf of more than 350 downtown merchants, other businesses, property owners and residents in the downtown area. It is an advocate for downtown interests at City Hall and through events and programs.

“It requires a very adept and skillful person, as far as being able to communicate with all the different parties involved,” said Oderkirk, president of Free State Business & Financial Services, which is looking to move its offices downtown later this year.

The board hopes to have an administrator hired – hopefully someone from Lawrence or with Lawrence ties – within 30 days, Oderkirk said.

The administrator will work either on a full- or part-time basis, depending on skills, experience and availability, said Chris Burger, DLI treasurer. In the past, the job has paid between $12,000 and $42,000.

“A lot of it will depend on the individual, but we’re pushing for a full-time position,” said Burger, a lawyer with Stevens & Brand, 900 Mass.

The organization’s board already is launching new initiatives, including a marketing credit program to help merchants realize more value from their DLI memberships. For $500 a year in membership dues, a shop can receive $300 in credit for coordinated marketing and potential for direct-mail materials.

“We want to make it so people want to join, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because they get something out of it – something that’s more direct to them,” Burger said. “We, as a board, want to make it so people want to join, and that they have a personal advantage to joining, more so than just being in support of downtown.”