West Northamptonshire Council relaunches search for chief executive with £200k salary
West Northamptonshire Council has relaunched its search for a permanent chief executive months after an earlier recruitment campaign failed to identify a suitable candidate.
The authority confirmed this week that recruitment is now under way for the role, which carries a salary of between £188,576 and £201,902.
A council spokesperson said the advertising campaign launched this week, with interviews expected to take place throughout June and July. The successful candidate is expected to take up the post in the autumn, with Martin Henry continuing as interim chief executive until an appointment is made.
The move comes after WNC paused its initial recruitment process in December. At the time, members of the council's senior appointments committee interviewed a number of candidates but concluded that none were the right fit for the organisation.
In January, the Chronicle & Echo reported that the authority had spent more than £32,000 on recruitment costs during the unsuccessful search for a permanent chief executive.
A council spokesperson said the decision to delay the process had allowed time to "refocus its approach" in light of a changing national picture, including elections and local government reorganisation.
The spokesperson added that the pause had also given the council an opportunity to further embed the priorities of its administration, which recently completed its first year in office.
Alongside the chief executive recruitment process, the council is also searching for a new executive director for place following the announcement that Stuart Timmiss will retire in October.
According to the council, there has been a strong response to that recruitment campaign, with final interviews due to take place in the coming weeks.
The chief executive is the council's head of paid service and is responsible for overseeing the authority's operations and delivery of services across West Northamptonshire.