There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 30 November 2020 are agreed as a correct record.

The Interim Head of HR presented the report which set out a draft recruitment process for the post of Chief Executive, and advised that it would be reported to Council on 3 February 2021 for final approval, in accordance with the Employee Procedure Rules set out in the Council’s Constitution.

In response to a Member question, the Interim Head of HR advised that there had been no consideration given to the option of a shared Chief Executive with another borough.  Some Members felt although the Council had successful shared services, that a shared leadership arrangement would not be appropriate for Merton.  It was felt that clear and accountable leadership was essential for Merton’s success.

It was noted that the Job Description attached had been updated but was broadly the same as the one used to recruit the existing post holder and therefore it was proposed that the Job Description be updated after consultation with the chosen executive recruitment consultant.

It was proposed that the shortlisting and interview panel comprise of the three Group Leaders on the Committee, in addition to the Joint Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Education and the Cabinet Member for Women and Equalities.  This was to ensure the appropriate level of gravitas and gender balance and a demonstration to potential candidates of the Council’s commitment to equalities.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the current job description and person specification be noted but agrees that the chosen executive search agent will be asked to work with officers to finalise the job description to use for the campaign and to delegate approval of the final document to the Acting Head of Human Resource in consultation with the Chair of the Appointments Committee.

2.    That the executive search agent to use for the recruitment campaign depending on the track record and approach to attracting BAME candidates proposed by each supplier be agreed as set out in the exempt minutes.

3.    That a sub-committee be established for the purposes of agreeing a shortlist of candidates and to act as the interview panel for the final interview, comprising the following:

Leader of the Council

Leader of the Conservative Group

Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group

Joint Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Education

Cabinet Member for Women and Equalities

4.    That the Committee approves the general recruitment process as outlined in 2.6 and delegates the decision as to which candidates to longlist, which technical assessor to use for the preliminary interviews, which stakeholders to invite on the stakeholder interview panel and which psychometric profiling to undertake, to the Acting head of Human Resources in consultation with Chair of the Appointments Committee.

5.    To recommend to Full Council at its meeting on 3 February that the Council offer a salary in the Chief Executive salary range of £181,332 - £201,741 per annum is necessary.

To RESOLVE that the public are excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following minutes and report on the grounds that they are exempt from disclosure for the reasons stated in the minutes and report.

RESOLVED:

That the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following report on the grounds that it is exempt from disclosure for the reasons stated in the report.

RESOLVED that the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 30 November 2020 are agreed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the executive search agent for the recruitment campaign for the post of Chief Executive be recommended to Council for approval as set out in the exempt minutes.