Council spent more than £32,000 in recruitment costs to find new chief executive, but process failed to find 'ideal person'

It was announced in December that the council would pause its plans for appointing a permanent chief executive after members of the senior appointments committee interviewed numerous candidates, but decided that none were the right fit for the organisation.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has now revealed that West Northants spent £32,430 with its recruitment partner on advertising the position.

This process culminated in the council receiving 106 applications to become the council’s next CEO, with just six who were shortlisted and made it to the interview panels.

According to WNC’s announcement, Martin Henry, who stepped up as interim chief executive in November from his role as chief finance officer, will continue into the summer when a second round of recruitment will take place.

A WNC spokesman said: “The role of chief executive is responsible for ensuring the delivery of over 900 public services to more than 430,000 people at the country’s fourth largest authority, overseeing budgets totalling over £1.2 billion.

“In line with other large organisations recruiting to similar posts we undertook a rigorous recruitment process over a three-month period managed by a specialist recruitment agency, involving sourcing candidates, reviewing applications, technical assessments, shortlisting and final panel interviews.

“Although the senior appointments committee was not persuaded that we currently had the right fit this time round, the process was valuable and will be reflected upon when we revisit recruitment later this year.”

The senior appointments committee is a cross-party panel made up of four Reform UK councillors and one elected member from each of the Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem groups on the council. Sessions are held in private and any appointment would be escalated to full council for approval, on the recommendation of the group.

Councillor Jonathan Harris (Liberal Democrat group leader), who sat in on the interviews as a committee member, told the LDRS that the decision not to appoint any of the candidates in this round of recruitment was not unanimous.

Fellow panel member Councillor Daniel Lister, who leads the Conservative opposition, said: “As West Northamptonshire Council moves beyond its foundation years, it is vital that we appoint the right leader to guide us through our next phase of development.

“I would rather we take the time to find the right person for West Northamptonshire than appoint someone who doesn’t have the precise skills we need to move us to the next stage.”

Since the last round of recruitment closed, neighbouring authority Buckinghamshire Council has also begun searching for a new CEO of its own, which is reported to carry a £240,000 per year salary – higher than the £200,000 salary advertised by West Northants.

WNC did not respond to questions on whether further rounds of the recruitment process will incur further costs to the taxpayer.