The green light has been given for County Hall to recruit a new chief executive to head up the Isle of Wight Council — 4 months after its previous holder left.
John Metcalfe, the former chief executive, left at the end of March and has taken up the same role at Cumbria County Council. Since Mr Metcalfe left, the assistant chief executive and director of strategy, Wendy Perera, has stepped up as interim chief executive.
The Council says given the continued challenges for local government including the levelling up agenda, continued impacts of COVID and economic uncertainty, it is imperative to have stable, strategic leadership in place.
There are 2 recruitment options for the Council’s appointments and employment committee to consider following a meeting earlier this week — to either use the authority’s internal communications team or hire external marketing specialists in a bid to attract more applicants. It comes after the recruitment of the director of adult social care only received 2 candidates, with 1 eventually dropping out.
The price of using the specialists — who are already employed by another part of the council to attract candidates — would be £11,700. The company would build a ‘microsite’ with information and videos about what makes the Island great and what the role would entail.
Members of the committee questioned the added expense, for senior management positions already being tight and were worried the campaign would not pay off. Councillors felt they did not have enough information about the reach a campaign like that might achieve so could not make a decision at that meeting.
They did agree though to start the recruitment process, with the position advertised throughout September. The successful candidate will be on a yearly salary just over £138,000, which the council says has been determined through market testing.
At his new job in Cumbria, Mr Metcalfe is now on a salary of £170,000.
The time it took for the council to recruit to senior positions was criticised by members as a systemic issue that kept happening.
Our heartfelt commiserations to Cumbria County Council and all the council taxpayers who fall within the catchment area.
Hang on, the Isle of Wight council have managed for around four months without a chief executive, so why engage one now? What do they actually do ? The council reasons for the need are pure hog wash. and they seem to be willing to spend another lump of cash to help find one. Never mind they will probably reduce funding on another service to pay for him/her. Or the old council tax payer will have to cough up, AGAIN. Shameless
They don’t do anything except take money, they don’t take responsibility like other company CEO who have gone to prison for failings, appalling road safety on the Island,housing,health especially dentist crime etc etc . What actually do councilors do ? except bikker, overturn decisions of officers and not have interest of our community at hart.
Let’s do a 12 month trial with no chief exec – save us some money and see if things get better.
As for the £11,700 recruitment specialist fee – forget it – a waste of Council tax payers money.
It is the staff who work for councils who do the real work and are paid poorly, give them a better deal and forget the CE.
CE s in many organisations are out of touch and are really not necessary.
The salary offered is an insult to the many council staff countrywide who have had no pay rise for several years.
i will second that
maybe it is up to the ratepayers to now take action and stop this ludicrous spending
this will only be value for money, if the new chief exec takes the axe to the confetti like spending of the council
e.g £1m a year spent on paying for taxis for SEN kids – how about their parents pay to get them to school, like the rest of us have to.
if that gets cut, then i would support a new CEO on £138k, as a net saving will be made – then he/she can get to work cutting all the rest of the fat off the budget and that includes the amount they charge us in council tax.
Thank goodness you’re not a parent to a child with additional needs, at least I hope you aren’t with views like that. I think spending money on supporting parents who already have additional challenges with bringing up a child is money well spent. Better than that vanity projects such as banners for Newports empty high street, or led rope lights for Lake.
Anyway, I’m more than happy that my tax is supporting families where they need it. Let’s hope you never need the support of the state. 😀
i’d rather not see money taken from me, against my will in the form of taxation, just to see it handed to every sob story and sad case going. Those parents want equality for their SEN kids – so pay for their transport then and stop expecting those of us who aren’t responsible for those kids, to pick up the tab – you know, they are your kids, you support them.
Why you picking on SEN kids? There are loads of examples of taxation handed to sob stories as you politely put it. Using your logic why should people who never have kids pay for other people’s kids?
Hell, why not just make education ‘pay as you go’ so everyone with kids pay their own way – I think you termed it ‘equality’. Why should tax pay for it?
Really don’t know why you pick on SEN kids. Pick on someone else.
Using your logic why should people who never have kids pay for other people’s kids?
quite right to -we didn’t create them, so why should we pay for them
Because those same children will eventually be paying for your state pension and other benefits that you may require in the future.
They may even end up caring for you, and other baby boomers.
Wipeing your own arse ect ect.
If you can’t afford to bring up a child then you shouldn’t have one, let alone two. It should not be up to the state to pay for things my parents didn’t nor do I
Why should we support parents with children their choice.
Any chance they’ll raise council tax again?
Oh let’s hope so. I can feel my pockets getting heavy again.
Good riddance to Metcalfe, Cumbria are welcome to him. Can’t see what
good he did here other than make his expensive chair shiny.
This council Makes u sick
Did I just read £11-700 to find another dipstick to pay A Ridiculous wage to ?????
Yes I did for a minute I thought I should have gone to Spec – savers…..
What the heck is wrong with the council ????? (Apart from living in cloud cuckoo land )
Next time you need a cleaner give me a shout and I will find you one for ooh £10-000 … Bargain price ….
I worked for a recruitment agency. It’s hard work, but when you find the right candidate(s) and successfully place them into a role, it is kerchink all the way to the bank. People underestimate how much money a recruiter can earn. It proved to me that outsourcing isn’t always the cheapest option. If an organisation is always recruiting (due to growth), it’s cheaper for that business to keep recruitment in-house.
£138k. How utterly disgusting and highly immoral. The IWC should be disbanded with immediate effect.
Mabe we should listen to SPOT ON and give it a 12 month trial Without a another Chief Exc
How on earth can a person running the island council be paid only about £30000 than the P.M
Can somebody just give me one reason why we need a new leader who will benefit the man in the street.. Also remember the wage is before the huge pension that is paid, plus perks plus
he must have assistants that run after him with a cup of tea.
This is theft.
Whoever gets this job won’t have to worry about paying their utility bills!
Oh poor dear, however will they cope on such a poor wage! I’m sure they will vote for a payrise.
we should look at the rest of this council wages we could save a fortune less council tax ( boris is avalable he comes cheaper)
Yet our current mp Bob Seely claims that anyone earning over £30k a year are effectively overpaid? I would love to know how the council can justify such a huge wage. With pension it’s probably around £170k a year
Is that what Bob Seely said? If so, why is Bob and the other Eaton boys paid more than £30K?
Disgusting salary far too much they are not in charge of the uk
Do we need one. Save the money and open more public toilets.
£138,000 for what. This council really do take the p**s, even more shocking is that they get away with it and stick the middle finger up at the islanders who are struggling to make ends meet. We need some militant action to make the council realise we won’t tolerate this any more.
This kind of immorality is rampant, not only in the Island, but throughout the UK.
I read today the Bank of England has paid its already overpaid staff more than £23million in bonuses in 2021/2022. For what? How do we taxpayers benefit from this kind of manipulation of OUR money?
Comes the revolution?
Yep, you can all start bye not voting TORY !
better still Digby, they could use this money to save the Isle of Wight Law Centre who help thousands of people every year!
Such a brilliant idea, it will never float sadly.
I think the council, yet again are feeding us just enough, the salary is what it is and if they are more than half competant it is money well spent, what they do not tell you is the relocation and housing allowances, the pension contriubutions etc etc, the package will be closer to 250K a year. What worries me more is that their is obviously no continuity planning, you knew they were leaving, they left, yet you wait four months to decide they are not coming back and you better get a new one, is this a council or an episode of Hi de Hi.
i guess that’s not including bonus and expenses
Could have employed 4.5 nurses for that money. At least nurses do a good job!
I know, why don’t they pay them a normal wage of say £38,000 a year and give the Isle of Wight Law Centre £100,000 a year to keep 10 people in work and keep a valued free service open!?
Thats more than a SURGEON …… Totally wrong.
So we’re still aiming low !
I expect thats just a starting rate,couple of months time they will vote for another pay rise,
What a joke. Do away with local government and centrally fund it.
Based on the salery this person is due to get that’s about £15,000 of your council tax going towards this person’s pension every year.
What, this way above a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom gets payed, and he/she has a finger on a Nuclear Button! The council has gone mad.
Disgraceful, paid more than the PM, what a waste of money but then there is such a lot of waste of our money on non essential schemes and initiatives.