The axeman cometh

A regular reader has got in touch to say Pembrokeshire County Council’s advert for its new ‘head of transformation’ has gone live, which he spotted in the most recent Sunday Times.

This position – which could cost over £100k all told – has been set up to devise dramatic and far-reaching corporate changes to cope with budget pressures at the authority, where a salami-slicing strategy has been used so far.

When it was controversially approved at this month’s council meeting I described it as the officer presiding over the ministry of cuts.

My tipster sent me a scan of the advert as an attachment, but was particularly keen I withheld his identity, signing off his email: “I don’t mind the author of that other website knowing I subscribe to quality publications like the Sunday Times, but if he knew I was feeding information to jacobwilliams.com I fear I’d really go down in his estimation.”

The ⅛ page advert appears on the back of the paper’s business supplement, space I’m told is usually reserved for positions appealing to Britain’s greasy network of quangocrats.

PCC’s top-dollar transformation post appears alongside such other prestigious ‘opportunities’ – they really love that word – as the chair of London’s St. George’s University Hospital, where enquiries have to be made to discover what salary the post of “up to three days per week” attracts.

Also competing for space is the the mastership of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge – salary unknown – and the Social Care Institute for Excellence, advertising its chair of trustees vacancy – a cushy £25k per year for “around two days a week” – to fill the imposing gap left by the retiring Rt. Hon. The Lord Bichard KCB, whose career, as recorded in his Wikipedia entry, reads like a hobnobber’s dream.

But for this new head of transformation the sort of person PCC are after certainly sounds like a guy or gal of a much greater pedigree than a nodding dog.

The sunny weather and calm water in the idyllic coastal scene all paints a lovely picture of our county, but who knew our pretty corner of Wales was home to a “well managed Council?”

Cutting through the corporate jargon, it becomes apparent that PCC is rather demanding in its requirements for what is, although very well-paid by any standard, not an executive role.

The job description reads as if they’re scouting for the sort of cerebral and strategic brilliance required of a ‘boss’ – the cream at the very top – not a ‘mere’ head of service.

In PCC’s hierarchy this position would be trumped – in terms of power and, ostensibly, talent – by its four directors and the chief exec.

But readers glossing over this spiel would be forgiven for assuming the demands are more akin to a chieftain’s assignment.

PCC is after an “accomplished project manager” who is an “effective communicator and strategic thinker” to provide “strategic planning and advice, technical expertise and project management in leadership” in order to achieve “efficiency savings, performance and service improvements,” whilst using “commercial approaches where appropriate.”

Chief exec, anyone?

And the thought may have occurred during the advert’s drafting that a person meeting such demanding requirements would be the sort with the experience – and perhaps more importantly expectation – of acting in an executive capacity.

Steering prospective applicants away from assuming the council is looking to hire a new boss with executive powers, the advert goes to great pains to point out:

“This is superb opportunity (sic) to advise the top team in a well managed Council at a turning point in its organisational development, and to be instrumental in adapting it for future success.”

For those readers who like a bit of Kremlinology, I’m afraid that there’s also a not-so-subtle element of re-writing history going on here.

To Pembrokeshire council-watchers, PCC’s ‘turning point’ was Bryn Parry-Jones’ departure as chief executive in late 2014, or at least, the summer 2015 appointment of his successor, from which point onward Pembrokeshire people were promised a new era and new ways of doing things.

So questions must surely be asked – and I know they are being asked – why, nearly eighteen months after Mr. Ian Westley’s permanent appointment as chief executive, the authority seeks a person possessing the height of organisation-wide strategic nous and experience, when such ability and requirements were clearly sought in the top job recruitment exercise of 2015.

Ratepayers might reasonably conclude that they are paying twice for the fulfilment of roles which should be the province of chief executives and directors, with their associated pay and accountability level.

And to frame this new job with the pretence that the council has arrived at the ‘turning point in its organisational development’ only repeats such turns of phrase used when appointing BP-J’s successor.

This head of transformation role first originated at the senior staff committee of 21st October, set out in a report by chief executive Mr. Westley who, the minutes record: “stated that it had taken time to establish the best way to proceed on the recommendations of [PricewaterhouseCoopers’] report in light of the financial challenges facing the Authority.”

This report by PwC – sourced without recourse to elected members by Mr. Westley for an eye-watering £70k – was the document unmasked as a load of old pony by Jacques Peretti in his BBC documentary called ‘Who’s Spending Britain’s Billions?’ for which I was interviewed.

The minutes of the senior staff committee meeting – held three days after the documentary aired – continue: “To make progress, the Chief Executive advised that it was deemed necessary to have a dedicated resource at Head of Service level to lead the transformation agenda instead of utilising the services of consultants for this purpose.”

So the alternative never was for directors and the chief executive to carry out this role themselves, but for external consultants – perhaps PwC – to carry on.

The unions don’t seem to have made much noise over this, but inviting comparisons with PCC’s many coalface workers – in tough circumstances, on lower pay, with their admirable can-do attitudes to ever-demanding workloads – must be fair game.

Mr. Westley’s report to the senior staff committee stated that the post would last until “the end of December 2020,” but at the meeting, he: “pointed out that it was proposed that the post would be fixed for two years.”

Labour group leader, Cllr. Paul Miller, is all for the creation of this new post, which Mr. Westley had originally proposed for senior staff committee members to approve under plenary powers there and then.

But Cllr. Miller helpfully pointed out that, as the whole salary package exceeded £100k, the council’s rules mean it can only be approved by full council.

Someone did his homework!

Cllr. Miller also asked why this key strategic post was not at a director level – to which the minutes record: “the Chief Executive responded that he had considered that point but was mindful of the financial cost involved. He advised that the post holder would be line managed by the Director of Finance and it was proposed that they would be responsible to a Transformation Board comprising Members and Officers.”

Unaffiliated independent committee member, Cllr. Tessa Hodgson, expressed concern “that another highly paid post was being created whilst cutting services,” and said she: “was not in favour of creating a new post. She considered that the cost did not represent value for money and that there should be capacity within the organisation to undertake the role.”

This was followed by:

“In response, the Leader stated that there were far less Senior Officers available to undertake the role as well as carrying out their substantive roles and as such it would be difficult to build the necessary capacity. The Chief Executive accepted that Senior Managers were best placed to identify savings and had successfully driven out savings thus far; however, he stated that the scale of the task was increasing to a level not seen before and that it was necessary to concentrate on transformational change to deliver the required savings for the future and to provide organisation oversight.”

Cllr. Adams also stated: “that the scale of the challenge facing the Authority could not be ignored and a way of changing the dynamics of the Council needed to be found to deal with the ongoing financial pressures and he advised that the post provided part of the solution required.”

The council is wide open to accusations that county taxpayers are funding more post-holders to carry out a particular strategic job than might be necessary.

It’s also open to questions over the roles of its current crop at or above director level.

To those of you wishing to look at my ‘further reading,’ below, more questions and accusations may arise.

As you’ll see, many of the key strategic requirements for this new head of transformation were, in summer 2015, clearly stipulated to be within the new chief executive’s remit.

FURTHER READING

I’ve gone back and trawled through the bumph put out by Pembrokeshire County Council as part of the authority’s appeal for applicants to its £130k chief executive vacancy, in 2015.

QUOTE TAKEN FROM ADVERT:

The Authority has come a long way since its inception in 1996, with numerous achievements to its credit. But in common with other councils, we now face a time of change, with some tough decisions to be made about what we do and how we operate. We view this challenge positively, as an opportunity for organisational transformation through innovation, paving the way for future success.

We seek a high-calibre professional manager with substantial relevant experience in a comparable organisation and a good understanding of our operating environment. As Chief Executive, you will possess the vision, judgement and intellect to guide the Authority through the next phase in its development, and to achieve sustained performance improvement.

Prospective applicants could read up on the job in a glossy ‘pack.’ The introduction, by council leader Cllr. Jamie Adams, concludes:

“We now seek a new Chief Executive to help the Authority to develop and implement a strategy for the years ahead, building on our strengths. If you meet the profile of the person we seek, can work closely with myself and fellow Members to chart a course for the Authority, and maintain successful partnerships across the public, private and voluntary sectors, we would be delighted to hear from you.”

Also in this ‘pack,’ the person specification (in its entirety) was:

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Applicants for the post of Chief Executive, as Head of Paid Service, will possess the capacity to forge a cohesive corporate strategy in response to the impact of reforms and will be able to relate clearly to Members’ needs in establishing standards of service to the public.

They should have extensive senior managerial experience and a record of achievement within a large, complex multi-site, multi-function organisation within either the public or private sectors which will demonstrate the commitment, initiative, vision and tenacity to make a significant contribution to the policy and strategic direction of the County Council.

They will also possess:-

1. A relevant professional qualification;

2. A recognised qualification and/ or equivalent training to post graduate level in management and organisational leadership;

3. A thorough knowledge of current local government issues;

4. First class inter-personal skills;

5. Excellent oral and written communication skills;

6. The ability to think strategically and innovatively together with political sensitivity;

7. The ability to lead and develop diverse professionals to form an effective and cohesive management team.

8. A commitment to the delivery of public services of the highest quality;

9. Knowledge of the Welsh language is an advantage.