DANVERS — Seems Stephen Delaney, the Georgetown town administrator for the past six years, cannot get enough of Oniontown.

The 57-year-old Delaney has worked for various North Shore towns for years and for Danvers in several capacities in the 1970s and 1980s. At the end of June, Delaney will return to become human resources director, overseeing the needs of 400 town employees.

Some of his fondest work experiences were in Danvers, he said.

The Salem resident, who wears bow ties to work, started off as an intern under former Danvers Town Manager Robert Curtis. In the late 1970s, he worked as the administrative assistant to the public works director, then, from 1979 to 1981, he worked as the assistant town manager with oversight of budget and human resources, Assistant Town Manager Diane Norris said.

In 1985, he came back to Danvers as the DPW operations director, remaining until 1988.

"In addition to his very strong human-resources skills," Norris said, "he has such a depth you are grateful to get someone into the organization with these kinds of knowledge and skill sets."

"I've basically done human resources work in every position I've been in," said Delaney, who fills a vacancy created when Larry Wood, who served for 27 years, retired this past winter. Delaney will earn $88,000, $3,000 less than what he makes in Georgetown.

His job oversees employee health insurance, workers' compensation, employee assistance and training programs, and civil service, among other things.

Before Georgetown, Delaney worked as the Wenham town administrator from 1995 to 2002 and was acting town administrator in Duxbury and Southbridge.

"He has been in little towns for the most part," Norris said. "When you are a town administrator in a small town, there is no staff to turn to. ... You do it all."

"Danvers is a good-sized community with many challenges," Delaney said. "I think a challenge of a large community outweighs any change in position."

Delaney lost his Danvers assistant town manager's position to budget cuts back in the early 1980s.

"Prop. 21âÑ2 came in," Norris said, "and we had that painful time of laying ourselves off, and he did it in a decent, caring, professional way, and then he laid himself off."

"They kept the budget director," Delaney said.

After Danvers, Delaney worked as Gloucester schools' director of operations from 1982 to 1985 and then at MMA Consulting Group for about 12 years. He went on to work as manager of facilities planning and projects at Phillips Academy in Andover from 1990 to 1993. He worked as interim business manager in Beverly schools from 1994 to 1995. He also teaches urban management, finance and transportation planning part time at Boston University.

Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673, or by e-mail at eforman@salemnews.com.