Agenda item

Report attached.

Councillor O’Brien, Leader of the Council presented a report setting out the proposed arrangements for the recruitment of a new Chief Executive following the recent announcement of the intention of the current Chief Executive to retire in March 2023.

It was explained that the Chief Executive’s Job Description has been revised to take account of the significant progress with health and care integration over the past four years and the development of Bury’s 2030 Community Strategy. The proposed job description was appended to the report. It was explained that the intention was to advertise the post within the existing salary band from £182,770 to £189,883. This remuneration level has been reviewed against Chief Executive salaries across Greater Manchester and remains appropriate to secure strong candidate field.

Councillor O’Brien explained that the process had already started to identify a recruitment partner through the Government Resourcing Partnership framework with the intention being that they would be appointed by 28 September 22.

It was anticipated that the post would open for applicants on 14 October  and close on 4 November 2022.

The longlist would be agreed by 9 November, and this would then be followed by one-to-one discussions with the Leader and technical assessments during the week commencing 14 November 2022.

The shortlist would be agreed by the appointment panel on 23 November  and assessment centre and final interviews taking place on 5 December and 6 December respectively.

It was anticipated that should a candidate be appointed who is required to serve a three month notice period, the timeline set out should enable them to join without the need for interim arrangements.

It was explained that once the recruitment partner had been appointed the final assessment centre process would be developed in collaboration with them and would likely include a range of elements such as:

·         Engagement with the current Council Executive Team

·         Stakeholder discussions with key public, private and voluntary sector partners

·         Engagement with a staff stakeholder panel and with the Trade Unions

·         An opportunity to visit different areas of the borough, including our major regeneration areas

·         An opportunity to engage with all elected Members.

Feedback from the interactions will be provided to the appointment panel to inform their final recommendation.

It was reported that the Employment Panel Terms of Reference set out that:

‘A politically balanced 6 member panel will be convened to fulfil the employment functions [of the panel], the 5th/and if necessary 6th member will be the Cabinet Member(s) with responsibility for the portfolio area under consideration or their appointed deputy’.

It was explained that in order to provide a diverse panel and ensure appropriate representation the suggestion is that Employment Panel agree to expand this to a 7 Member panel for this appointment. The proposal is that the panel would consist of:

1. The Cabinet Member for Corporate Affairs and HR / Chair of the Employment Panel (Appointment Panel Chair)

2. The Leader of the Council

3. The Deputy Leader of the Council (Employment Panel Member)

4. One further Cabinet Member to be nominated by the Leader and co-opted to the Employment Panel for the purposes of this appointment

5. The Leader of the Conservative Group (Employment Panel Member)

6. One further Conservative Member to be nominated by the leader of the Conservative Group and co-opted to the Employment Panel for the purposes of this appointment if not already a member

7. The leader of the Radcliffe First group (to be co-opted to the Employment Panel for the purposes of this appointment)

It was also reported that the Chief Executive of NHS Greater Manchester will be invited to attend the Panel and contribute to discussions given the proposal that the successful candidate is proposed as Bury’s Place Based Lead for Health and Care.

Members of the Panel were given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments and the following points were raised:

·         Councillor Moss referred to the need to ensure that the interview Panel included a female Councillor as the identified members were all male.

·         Councillor Bernstein asked that he be involved with the longlist process if only as an observer.

·         It was asked what the all-Member engagement would look like.

Councillor O’Brien explained once the recruitment consultants had been appointed they would be able to advise on all Member engagement and what this would look like.

Councillor O’Brien also stated that he would be more than happy for Councillor Bernstein to observe the longlisting and share views on candidates with the Panel.

Councillor Bernstein asked how he should formalise the Conservative Groups other nomination on the Interview Panel and it was requested that his be done through Democratic Services.

It was agreed:

1.   That the proposed timeline for the recruitment to a new Chief Executive be noted.

2.   That the proposed revised Chief Executive’s Job Description be noted.

3.   That the Council Standing Orders in relation to the membership the Employment Panel be suspended for the appointment of the Chief Executive.

4.   That the suggested Membership as set out in section 2 of the report be approved.

5. That the Employment Panel Terms of Reference be updated to include a section on Chief Executive recruitment, details of which will be presented at the next meeting of the Employment Panel.