Agenda, decisions and minutes

Minutes of the meeting held on 23 March 2023, previously circulated.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 23 March 2023 be signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 23 March 2023 be signed as a correct record.

Items which in the opinion of the Chair should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

There was no item raised as a matter of urgency.

Report of the Director of Legal and Democratic Services outlining proposals for the posts of Appointment to the posts of the Director of Transformation, Performance & Resources and Director of People and Culture, attached.

A copy of the relevant job descriptions are attached.

RESOLVED

(a) that the remit of the Director of Transformation, Performance & Resources be amended to remove the Human Resources (HR) function and that the post be renamed to Director of Transformation & Business Services; and

(b) that the role of Head of HR be replaced with a Director of People and Culture post that will form part of the Senior Leadership Team.

The Committee considered the Report of the Director of Legal and Democratic Services outlining proposals for posts of Director of Transformation and Business Services (formerly named Transformation, Performance & Resources) and Director of People and Culture (currently known as Head of HR).

A copy of the relevant job descriptions had also been circulated to the Committee, following their evaluations.

The Committee noted that proposals for new leadership arrangements, had been detailed in the Appointments and Remuneration and Chief Officer Conduct Committee paper (19^th January 2022), and had created a new post of Director of Transformation, Performance & Resources, which encompassed the existing remits of the Head of Digital, Transformation & Business Support, Head of HR and Head of Organisational Change. They further noted the unsuccessful assessment and recruitment process and feedback from the agency regarding the substantial remit of the role.   

With a new Chief Executive in post, the options in relation to the remit of the post had been considered. The Committee was further asked to note the challenging nature of the recruitment market and the renewed focus on workforce for the Council, delivery of a People’s Strategy and also addressing sizeable cultural issues across some service areas. The strategic and operational demands from a workforce perspective were considerable and removing them from the scope of the Director of Transformation & Business Services to sit within its own Directorate, would support the renewed focus on staff, as well as create a more appropriately sized remit to enable successful recruitment to the post. 

The Chief Executive advised Members that a focus for the organisation moving forward was wellbeing, belonging, recruitment and retention and a move away from the appointment of interim posts to create stability and also reduce the costs of recruitment at this level. The posts would also be instrumental in supporting other areas of the organisation with the core elements and principles of the new People’s Strategy.

In line with the 8 Point Plan to support financial sustainability, all vacant established roles must consider internal staff resource first and it was therefore proposed that the Director of Transformation & Business Services post should be advertised internally as soon as possible in order to provide the required stability at Senior Leadership Team level.   

It was further proposed that the current role of Head of HR was replaced by a Director of People and Culture role.  The current post holder would be put at risk of redundancy and ring-fenced for the new role, so would have the opportunity to interview for the role prior to it needing to be advertised further. 

It was MOVED by Councillor Saywell, SECONDED by Councillor Hart and

RESOLVED

(a) that the remit of the Director of Transformation, Performance & Resources be amended to remove the Human Resources (HR) function and that the post be renamed to Director of Transformation & Business Services; and

(b) that the role of Head of HR be replaced with a Director of People and Culture post that will form part of the Senior Leadership Team.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.