The Chief Executive informed the Committee of the rationale for making an appointment to the role of Corporate Director Communities, in that the authority had been on a significant change journey over the last few years in respect of JNC officers, which had not gone unnoticed by the regulators.  He stated that the authority has the leanest of senior management teams compared to other Welsh local authorities and especially so compared to neighbouring authorities. 

He also informed the Committee that the Communities Directorate is a complex Directorate comprising a diverse area of services and that the challenge for the Director would be one of change management.  He stated that authority could not be any leaner and there was a need to make an appointment to this role, whilst at the same time understanding public perception of recruiting to a senior role.  Many other local authorities in Wales had recently made a number of appointments to senior roles. 

The Committee understood the rationale behind making an appointment and recognised that the Directorate had developed many partnership models and had become a victim of its success.  The Leader informed the Committee that the organisation continues to grow, with the authority now having a Regeneration function, which is part of the Communities Directorate.  A member of the Committee commented that the person appointed would need to work with Town and Community Councils to transform services and grasp change.  A member of the Committee commented on the need for the resilience of the authority to be considered in making an appointment.  The Committee was reassured that other authorities had made an appointment to senior roles.  The Committee also noted there were resilience issues below Director level within the Directorate. 

The Chief Executive reported on the recruitment process for the Corporate Director Communities and on a proposal to engage Solace in Business, who are experienced in recruiting local authority senior management and executive roles to support the Council with the appointment. 

The Group Manager HR & OD reported on the selection process to be followed, in that applications would be sent to Solace in Business who will assess and evaluate candidates against the set competencies and will provide feedback to this Committee throughout the process.  She outlined the timetable for the stages of the selection process, together with the job description and person specification for the role.  Following the closing date, the Appointments Committee would be convened to receive feedback from the recruitment specialist and to agree a long list of candidates to progress to the assessment centre.  She stated that the assessment centre will comprise a range of selection methods and assessors will undertake managerial / technical interviews, psychometric testing and interactive assessments to test key competencies.  The Appointments Committee will receive feedback following the assessment centre and agree a final shortlist of candidates who will be invited to interview by the Committee.  The Committee will make the final decision on the appointment, taking account of the outcome of the assessment centre and final interview.  The Group Manager HR&OD also informed the Committee that a Stakeholder Panel would be set up as part of the selection process and that members of the Committee could provide officers with names of who could potentially sit on that Panel.  

The Group Manager HR & OD informed the Committee that Solace in Business have market knowledge and will know candidates.  The Chief Executive informed the Committee that the authority would not have the capacity to undertake such a recruitment.

The Chief Executive also informed the Committee that the successful candidate would need to demonstrate credibility and buy in to change management.  He believed that the post had been pitched at the correct level and the Council’s requirements had been discussed with Solace. 

The Committee discussed the need for a benchmark to assess candidates and considered that this be set at 50%.        

RESOLVED:            That the Appointments Committee:

(i)            Approved the job description and specification;

(ii)           Approved the process outlined in paragraph 4.3 of the report;

(iii)  Reconvenes on 20 November 2019 following the meeting of Council to determine the long list of candidates to be invited to the assessment centre;

(iv)  Delegated to the Chief Executive and the Leader which candidates should progress to the final stage of the selection process to be interviewed by the Appointments Committee, based on the outcomes of the assessment centre. 

Reconvenes on 4 December 2019 to receive feedback from the assessment centre and, to undertake final interviews and make an appointment decision.