Stoke-on-Trent City Council launches recruitment drive for three senior bosses

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has launched a recruitment drive for three senior bosses – who will cost taxpayers around £100,000 each.

The council is looking to hire three permanent assistant directors, with the roles currently occupied by interim officers.

The authority is advertising all three positions externally and is using 'executive search specialists' Starfish Search in the recruitment process. Assistant directors (ADs) form the third tier of the city council's senior management structure, sitting between directors and senior managers.

These are the three roles currently being advertised:

Assistant director – operations and regulatory services. Salary from £105,063 to £110,154
Assistant director – investment, delivery and growth. Salary from £105,063 to £110,154
Assistant director – housing management. Salary from £98,681 to £103,773

The council is looking to hire three permanent assistant directors (Nub News).

The job adverts tell prospective applicants that Stoke-on-Trent is a 'unique place, forged through its industrial past', and that the council wants to work with residents 'to ensure a community-led development of prevention, support and enterprise activity'.

In the advert for the operations and regulatory services job, it says that the successful applicant 'will contribute strongly and consistently to the council's ambitions to be a green city with a beautiful natural environment'. The role covers services such as waste collection, fly-tipping, highway operations, parking and CCTV.

According to the job description, the new investment, delivery and growth AD, will be 'central to securing opportunities for housing and commercial development, promoting regeneration' and overseeing the planning system. And, as the name would suggest, the AD for housing management will oversee Stoke-on-Trent's 18,000 council homes, including their maintenance and replacement.

All three roles fall within the council's housing, development and growth directorate.

The new ADs will work under Carol Gibbs, was recently appointed as the permanent director of housing, development and growth. On that occasion, Ms Gibbs was appointed without the role being advertised externally, which the council said would reduce recruitment costs.

The council's recruitment website includes an introduction from city director Jon Rouse, who says it is an 'exciting time' to join the authority.

He says: "We are a city of strengths, with a proud heritage and bright future. In the last five years, we have grown economically, with the creation of many new jobs and businesses, and we are ahead of the game in the provision of digital infrastructure. We are determined that all of our residents and communities should share in the benefits of our city's continuing economic expansion.

"These roles offer a fantastic opportunity to develop professionally, leading the future for the city's housing and commercial development, promoting regeneration and supporting in the delivery of our vision and priorities for our city – with our priorities being shaped by the political ambition of the city council's leadership, the values and aims of the organisation and our communities."

The council's current senior management structure is made up of Mr Rouse, five directors, 11 assistant directors and 47 strategic managers. The deadline for applying for the AD roles is May 26.

The city council has been approached for comment.

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