Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Katie Coughlan  01427 676594

Items
No. Item

1.

To Approve the Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 215 KB

Minutes of the Meeting of the Chief Officer Employment Committee held on 16 December 2019.

 

Minutes:

(a)       Chief Officer Employment Committee

 

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Chief Officer Employment Committee held on 16 December 2019 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

 

 

2.

Members' Declarations of Interest

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point but may also make them at any time during the course of the meeting.

 

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made.

 

 

3.

Exclusion of Public and Press

To resolve that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and  2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

 

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

 

 

4.

Senior Management Structure

Minutes:

Members consider the report prepared and presented by the Chief Executive, which detailed proposals regarding the senior management structure.

 

In presenting the report the Chief Executive outlined the context in which the two phased proposal was being presented, the opportunities and future challenges facing the organisation in respect of Chief Officer recruitment and as such the rationale for wider changes to the structure.

 

Phase One, and which would be the priority, was the recruitment of a replacement S151 Officer transpiring from pending departures and a need to formalise current interim arrangements within the Management Team in light of recent departures, seeing the creation of a temporary Assistant Director Post.

 

The details of Phase One, including the financial and human resource implications were set out in Section 4 of the report provided to the Committee. Section 5 offered benchmarking data in support of the Phase One proposal and section 6 detailed the proposed recruitment route and timetable.

 

Members noted they would be required to meet formally to conclude the recruitment process for the Director of Corporate Services, by interviewing candidates, before making an appointment, noting a change to the date from that stated in the report.

 

The Chief Executive shared with Members the preferred supporting consultants and external officer support he would be seeking to support the Organisation and the Committee throughout the process.  Members as always would receive refresher recruitment training in advance of meeting candidates.  It was hoped the proposed timetable allowed for the new S151 Officer to be in place before the current designated Officer relinquished the post.

 

Given the Assistant Director post was not designated a Chief Officer the Committee would not be involved in its recruitment.

 

Phase Two, was subject to Phase One being approved, and aimed to create longevity and stability within the senior management structure particularly given the Council’s ambitious delivery plan, the continued recovery from the Pandemic and the competitive recruitment market.  Section 7 of the report further expanded on the rationale and context of the Phase Two proposal, which would see the deletion of three Assistant Director Posts and the creation of three Director Posts.  Each of which would be designated as Chief Officer Posts in the next constitution review and therefore within the remit of the Committee, in the future, noting initial recruitment would be internal given staff would be placed at risk. 

 

Phase One and Phase Two proposals could be delivered within existing budgets.

 

Members were asked to agree the Job Description, person specification and salary range for the Director of Corporate Services (S151Officer) in order that recruitment could commence without delay.

 

Debate ensued and Members challenged the phrasing of the advert in regards to the salary range.  Explanation and rationale was offered by the Chief Executive.  Members were accepting of the rationale and confirmed they satisfied with the range, including the upper limit, but outlined to Officers their preference as to how this should be reflected  within the advert. 

 

In response to further questions, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.