Agenda and draft minutes

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Items
No. Item

1.

Declarations of Interest

Members of the Employment Panel are asked to consider whether they have any interests in any of the items on the agenda and if so, to formally declare that interest.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

2.

Business Growth and Infrastructure Department Senior Structure pdf icon PDF 654 KB

Report attached.

Minutes:

Geoff Little, Bury Council Chief Executive, attended the meeting to provide Members with an update with regards to the proposed changes in relation to the Business Growth and Infrastructure (BGI) Department. An accompanying report had been circulated in advance of the meeting which provided details of: rationale for the decision, revised senior structure proposals including proposed changes to the Executive Director Place and the Director of Housing roles and the scope of the work required.

The Chief Executive reported that in July Cabinet agreed a range of changes within the (BGI) Department. This included: revised priorities for a refocused Executive Director (Place & Housing), a new strategic approach to the Council’s management and structural arrangements for housing (including the establishment of an Assistant Director of Housing), and strengthened capacity within the Regeneration and Capital Development division of the Department.

Following consultation, work is now underway to implement the proposed structural changes as set out. A comprehensive search and recruitment process has also taken place for the Executive Director (Place & Housing) role which has provided the opportunity to thoroughly test the market and the suitability of this role as designed. The broader housing context has also continued to progress, and the importance of strong and credible leadership in this field has been further emphasised.

In the light of developments since July the proposal is to amend the senior structure of the Department. These revisions will ensure the Council has an Executive Director able to provide sufficient strategic focus and capacity on the Council’s ambitious physical regeneration and place shaping priorities and a separate Director of Housing role with the capacity and credibility to take forward the Housing Strategy.

In discussions that followed Elected Members raised the following issues:

·         The £219k increase in costs over and above those already identified within the department, the money will be generated through transformation and delivery of economic growth and income. It is expected that the majority of the costs in the first year will be met by slippages in recruitment and recently acquired levelling up funding.

·         Confident that the Council will be able to recruit to the Director of Housing post, the post will have a definitive skill set and following discussions with the recruitment consultants confident that the Council will be able to appoint a strong candidate.

·         The proposed new Director Role, Place, will be responsible for overseeing the spend of the Levelling up monies.

 

It was agreed:

 

1.   Recommend to Council that the Executive Director (Place and Housing) role (Band H) is redesignated as Executive Director (Place) which has been evaluated at Band H of the Council’s Chief Officer structure.

 

2.   Agree that, on the basis of the thorough search and recruitment process for the Executive Director (Place and Housing), the current Director of Regeneration and Capital Development is appointed to the Executive Director (Place) role.

 

3.   Recommend to Council that the Assistant Director of Housing role (Band C) is redesignated as Director of Housing, which has been evaluated at Band F of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.