A personal message

Colleagues, I’ve taken the decision to retire from my role as Chief Executive Officer at the end of this Council term.  That’ll be at or around my 61^st birthday on 20^th April, 2022.

This hasn’t been an easy decision for me to make but it’s the right one in the current circumstances.  I was appointed on an interim basis prior to the last Council elections more than five years ago and I’m grateful to Council for making my employment permanent shortly thereafter. There’s an attraction for me in each new administration being able to appoint its head of paid service for their term in office.  For me it’s an attribute of a truly member-led authority. So the process we’ll follow will mirror my appointment and as part of the forthcoming senior management review I’ll be recommending to Council that they appoint an interim CEO early in the New Year and that person can then shadow me until my departure several months later. Then after the election the new administration can make its own selection.  I’m confident we have the talent within the organisation to achieve this.  Once a new administration is formed they’ll then need to advertise externally for the position of Chief Executive in accordance with the requirements of good and proper governance.

I guess the danger in announcing your departure early is that people either think or treat you like you’ve already left. But just to reassure you there’s no way I’ll be taking a back seat, I intend to lead our organisation until the day I leave. I hope the interim appointment will find shadowing me as useful as I did shadowing Jack Straw during his final months.

Linked to this, the Senior Management review will need to proceed as planned as we need to formalise some existing arrangements and adapt to the challenges of recovery.  Some of the longer-term changes can wait until a new permanent CEO is appointed but in the meantime we must:

• Ensure our management structures in social care and education are robust as we’re already having to adjust to the impacts of the pandemic and legislative changes
• Ensure the process of organisational transformation is enabled by an appropriate management structure given the pressures and opportunities presented by remote working during the pandemic
• Ensure we’re prepared for the introduction of Corporate Joint Committees and that we demonstrate real civic leadership for the region
• Undertake a review of pay and grading at senior level as the current system is outdated and no longer fit for purpose. 

I’ll be bringing forward recommendations to Council that will ensure the organisation remains well-placed to meet these challenges that are already with us, whilst allowing any new administration the ability to adapt the broader management structure needed for longer-term recovery in the future.

In the meantime, I remain committed to helping drive us all forward on the road to recovery and supporting this remarkable city to realise its potential.  I’ll reserve any other comments until the time of my departure when I hope to be able to pay proper tribute to the many people I’ve had the privilege and honour to work with over the last 35 years.