Following a national recruitment campaign, 21 candidates have stepped forward to become the Isle of Wight Council’s chief executive and top-paid officer.
During the last search for a chief executive, only 2 candidates reached the interview stage and concerns were expressed about the level of interest that would be received for the position this time.
On a salary of £138,038 a year — excluding employers’ national insurance and employer pension contribution — the new chief executive will also be the authority’s head of paid service. The salary point has been determined by market testing the council says and is an increase on what the former CEO, John Metcalfe, was earning.
The position has been vacant since Mr Metcalfe left at the end of March. He is now chief executive of a local authority in Cumbria, on a salary of £170,000.
The role has been filled on an interim basis in the last 6 months by Wendy Perera, the assistant chief executive and director of strategy.
The council say making a permanent appointment will allow the necessary development and maintenance of strong partnerships and working relationships across all sectors.
An extensive recruitment campaign was undertaken in September — thought to have cost more than £11,000 — and featured a campaign video with an appearance from the council leader Councillor Lora Peacey-Wilcox, with the hope it would attract a lot of applicants.
With the 21 applications submitted from a diverse range of candidates, the authority says, it is now ready to proceed with the first stage of the selection process.
The council’s appointments and employment committee are being asked to shortlist the applicants or determine if there are no suitable applications that meet the requirements of the job.
The appointment of a chief executive cannot be made until cabinet has been notified of the proposed appointment and if no objection has been made. The appointments committee have been given a confidential appendix for consideration with summaries of all the candidates.
The part of the meeting, on Wednesday 12th October, to either decide on a shortlist or not, will also be heard in private.
We are going to be paying for this person,who is going to receive this very high wage,no doubt by another rise in council tax, and yet there information is being kept secret!!
There pay should be covered by a decrease in the number of councillors and the amount of money they receive for making poor decisions about matters that they have no real knowledge about
Yep quite agree !
Floating bridge comes to mind !
St Marys Roundabout demolition… etc ad infinitum!
Islands been okay without one most of this year… why bring back another unneeded position.. that is only going to waste money… !!
With the 21 applications submitted from a diverse range of candidates
we do not need another mouth to feed at the council money trough and we most certainly do not need some hand wringing, do gooding, lefty, that plans on housing more immigrants and asylum seekers in nice hotels, with free food and lodging, when the regular uk citizens are homeless and cannot afford electric, gas and food.
The position is non-political, so lefty or not, the only hand-wringing will be in carrying away his money.
Still, no reason not to demonstrate all the characteristics of the Island gammon, eh, “isle of wighter”?
Did you not know? According to “wighter” everything is either the fault of immigrants, lefties or benefit scroungers.
His car breaks down? lefties to blame.
His wife rejects his advances? Immigrants to blame (may be some truth in that one 😉 ).
His milk goes off? Definitely the fault of benefit scroungers.
Hell, he probably thinks the eventual heat-death of the Universe will be due to a conspiracy involving lefty immigrant benefit scroungers.
The only thing they actually are to blame for is making “wighter” look a complete plonker because he bangs on about them at every opportunity.
Priceless, Smiffy. Absolutely priceless.
I can just imagine wighter’s Mrs running off with a well hung African.
It would certainly explain a lot.
You are so correct Smiffy.
Basically, you hate most people on earth and give the same basic comment to every news story you comment on.
Anyone who dares to question your views receives abuse. There is such a thing as middle ground, nothing is as black and white as you wish to make it.
Sounds cynical I know, but…
IF the post has been vacant since March and the ‘Assistant Chief Executive’ has been covering the post, along with I presume her own ‘full time’ post, it does rather suggest that this is a position that is not required to be there at all!
We are repeatedly told of difficult budget decisions and having to cut services to reduce costs.
Well, here’s an idea – don’t waste £11+ on advertising for a high paid position (pension and benefits in addition to quoted salary, which the article hints at actually being higher).
Council – cut your own cloth to suit the times, stop spending our hard worked for money on irrelevancies!
That salary is totally disgusting and highly immoral to say the very least. It just demonstrates the utter competent in which we, the CT payers, are held.
Mr Metcalfe has left? Our gain is Cumbria’s loss.
Only 21 candidates keen to avoid all accountability yet take home a huge wedge and retire early on an even more generous pension? What’s the matter with people?
Why are we filling this position i have yet to hear one good argument how it benefits us.
By the time all the package is in place we are going to be talking £175000 inc pensions.
Is this person worth the same as somebody running the whole country?
In a word, NO! Particularly as they’ll be off with a package at first hurdle.
So we,Joe public are the ones having to pay yet we have no say or knowledge of applicants etc. So much for a transparent council! Good luck to whoever as will need it working for this dodgy council.
£138,000. Disgusting. Still its only our money.
For that money, I want the job. No skills required as previous candidates have proved, just a willingness to say the right thing at the right time and let the money role in!
I wonder if there is a direct relationship between the colossal taxes we are forced to pay (for the vastly reduced actual services we now receive) and the exponential increase in people now employed in public sector jobs relating to ‘sustainability’, ‘climate change’, ‘environment’ and of course ‘equality and diversity’ ?
They seem to have coped for six months without someone in this position so why not carry on as they have been and save their employers,the council tax payers some money.
And the usual cliche and verbiage in an attempted justification, etc:
‘The council say making a permanent appointment will allow the necessary development and maintenance of strong partnerships and working relationships across all sectors.’
Huh!
No brakes on the IWC gravy train is there? Such a vast expense for an island with a population less than that of a large town. Can anyone else see that the Emperor IWC has no clothes on?? I imagine the current temp being in place for 6-months is on the hope of becoming permanent? These positions rarely have someone in post sick-free for such a period, maybe manage 5months if successful. The leader herself was off on full pay sick recently wasn’t she? Kerrrrrrrr-chiinnnng!
Will probably be someone that lives on the mainland and never lived over here. I cannot understand why they get paid so much… a labourer actually works hard for their pay… while a chief executive, does what in terms of physical work..?? Other than using muscles in the neck and face to keep mouth working.. they do what… go golfing… buy second homes… holidays abroad two or three times a year… sit around reading computer screens.. That’s about it really…
Be much better to spend that money on getting a TUNNEL built.. !!
I wish they would drop the word earning and use the word getting
You would be much better putting this ridiculous wage plus pension into the services that you keep cutting !!!!!
You the council constantly bemoan how short you’re budget is , yet you insist on wasting our money on job titles !!!!
Unnecessary job in my opinion….
And I am sure you will rip us all off with yet another council tax rise …
Top up the fat cat pension pot!!!!!
While the rest of us live with minimum wage, higher inflation etc !!!!!
Blood from a stone!!!!!!
How about you actually look at the real world…..
Money for old rope.
Far too much pay on the Island.