Agenda and draft minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor L Giles.

Members to declare any interests in matters to be discussed at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest made.

To consider any urgent business.

There were no urgent items to consider.

That the public and press be excluded from the rest of the meeting. This is to avoid the possible disclosure of exempt information under Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, relating to the financial and business affairs of any person, including the authority holding that information.

To consider arrangements for the post of Chief Executive.

Consideration was given to proposals to recruit to the post of Chief Executive on a permanent basis following approval by Council on 26 July 2021 to the early retirement of the former Chief Executive.

An interim Chief Executive was appointed to the role in August 2021 and a recruitment agency had been appointed to assist in the recruitment process to advertise the post externally.

Following discussions with the agency on the requirements of the council in respect of the skills, knowledge and experience that were required of any potential candidates, it was advised that the existing salary of the Chief Executive was lower than the average for both the region and nationally.  This would subsequently present the council with a significant challenge in attracting candidates of a suitable calibre to apply for the role.  The current salary of the Chief Executive role was £151,580.  

The advice from the recruitment agency was that given Sandwell was the third largest Council in the region and the 34^th largest in the country coupled with the fact that it was considered that an individual with previous experience at Chief Executive level was being sought, that the current salary level of the Chief Executive role should be considered. Using the benchmark information and knowledge of the current market place, it was proposed that this should be at least at the level of £185,000.

The Committee gave consideration to the current salaries paid both within the region and for those Chief Executive roles advertised recently.  It was noted that the salary for Chief Executive in Sandwell was the lowest in comparison to the rest of the West Midlands councils. 

Whilst the Committee was minded to agree an increase in the basic salary for the Chief Executive post, it was felt that a long-term incentive plan should be included as part of the job requirements whereby the performance of the successful postholder could be measured against set targets to achieve priorities contained within the Corporate Plan to ensure continuous progress was being made.  It was also agreed that in consultation with West Midlands Employers, the Leader of the Council would conduct regular appraisals of the successful postholder to ensure there was a quantifiable measure of performance and progress against targets. 

Resolved:-

(1)          that approval be given to the basic salary of the Chief Executive post being set at £185,000, which was subject to negotiation, and the salary range agreed in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Interim Director of HR;

(2)          that in connection with the appointment of a Chief Executive, a long-term incentive plan should be included as part of the job requirements and the Leader of the Council to conduct regular appraisals of the successful postholder to enable the performance of the successful postholder to be measured against set targets to achieve the priorities within the Corporate Plan.