LUCKNOW: Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra invited applications Monday for its first chief executive officer (CEO), aiming to professionalise the running of Ayodhya’s Ram temple a month after cash-counting agents were allegedly found to have stolen donations to the shrine.The CEO aspirant must be a graduate between 50 and 70 and, according to the notification, also “an actively practising Hindu”. Being a Ram devotee from the Vaishnava tradition will be treated as an additional attribute. The appointment will be for a three-year term and the last date for applications is July 18, a copy of the notification posted on the trust’s X handle said.The CEO will report to the trust’s general secretary and must have at least 20 years of managerial experience in a large public organisation, institution, govt department or company, with expertise across administration, finance, human resources, public relations, IT, security and legal affairs. “Preference will be given to candidates who have served as chief administrative officer or have experience in managing a temple or Hindu religious institution. Retired officers meeting the eligibility criteria may also apply,” the notification states. Emoluments will be finalised after “mutual” discussions.A 15-point annexure to the notification spells out the CEO’s brief. The appointee will be responsible for framing standard operating procedures, systems, processes and protocols for the temple’s day-to-day functions. All conditions in the original trust deed must be followed, and approvals sought from the general secretary and permanent trust members before any decision is implemented. The CEO will work independently under the trust’s supervision.The trust decided at its July 6 meeting to bring in a CEO after six cash-counting agents were among the eight arrested on suspicion of stealing cash, ornaments and other valuables from the ‘hundis’ (donation boxes) while counting and making inventories.The resignations of ex-general secretary Champat Rai and senior trust member Anil Mishra, who held administrative and financial powers, were accepted at the same meeting and member and retired IFS officer Krishna Mohan was appointed interim general secretary. A three-member search panel comprising a retired HC judge, retired LG and former nuclear scientist, was also constituted the same day. The next trust meeting is scheduled for July 22, when members could decide how to fill three vacant positions.