The Chief Officer Appointments Sub-Committee met to interview candidates for the position of Director of Public Realm and to recommend one of the candidates for the role. Two candidates were interviewed having previously been shortlisted from a field of seventeen. The Sub-Committee was also asked to recommend to the Chief Executive that they agree to the appointment.

Appointment of Director of Public Realm

This was the second time that the Sub-Committee had met to appoint someone to fill the role.

The first attempt to fill the position of Director of Public Realm in August 2024 was unsuccessful and hence the position was re-advertised in October 2024.

Seventeen applications were received for the role, of which six were longlisted and three shortlisted. One of the three shortlisted candidates withdrew from the process before the interview, leaving two candidates.

The two remaining candidates were interviewed for the post of Director of Public Realm, a role which has been vacant since December 2023.

The role has a wide remit, and reports to the Corporate Director of Environment & Sustainable Transport, Aled Richards. The Director of Public Realm will manage all aspects of the budget for the following services:

• Street Cleansing
• Refuse and Recycling, Waste Collection
• Waste Disposal (via East London Waste Authority)
• Fleet Management
• Vehicle Workshops
• Parks & Green Spaces
• Newham Central Depot
• Grounds & Arboriculture Maintenance.

The Director of Public Realm is also responsible for the following:

• develop and deliver policies that ensure that management of the borough’s public realm is contributing to wider council strategies to tackle the climate and health emergency and to promote community wealth building
• developing and delivering the Council’s waste and recycling strategies
• representing the council to the East London Waste Authority
• leading policies to keep parks, streets and the public realm in the Borough clean
• development of policies and practice that ensures that Newham’s public realm functions contribute to cross-council activity to respond to the climate and health emergency
• development of policies and practice that ensures that Newham’s public realm functions contribute to cross-council activity to advance the borough’s community wealth building agenda
• developing and delivering a Public Realm capital investment programme
• reviewing public realm services to ensure that they are being delivered by the right people
• overseeing contracts and contractors for public realm services
• ensuring that the right staffing structures are in place to deliver the service
• ensuring that business continuity plans are in place.

The job advert describes the role as:

This is a unique opportunity to lead and enhance the management of our public spaces, contributing significantly to our environmental and sustainability goals within one of London’s most vibrant boroughs.

As well as interviewing the two candidates, ahead of the meeting they had also:

• Taken part in an interview with a 'Technical Advisor'.¹
• Taken part in a Stakeholder Panel².
• Taken part in a Youth Panel³.
• Had a 1:1 discussion with Aled Richards.

It was scheduled that following the interviews, the Sub-Committee would make a recommendation on who to appoint to the role, with the decision being made by the Chief Executive, Abi Gbago, in consultation with the Mayor, Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, and Cabinet.

The report to the Sub-Committee notes that:

In line with the requirements of the Council’s Constitution, the recommendation of the Sub-Committee will be subject to consultation with every member of the Cabinet for a period of two working days. The decision at 3.1 can only be taken where no well-founded objection has been made by any member of the Executive.