The General Purposes Committee is scheduled to meet to discuss the recruitment of a new Head of Procurement, and to note the list of councillors' memberships on outside bodies, joint committees and school governing bodies. The meeting will also cover declarations of interest and the minutes of the previous meeting.

Head of Procurement Recruitment

The committee is scheduled to discuss the recruitment of an interim Head of Procurement, including agreeing to a salary range for the post. The council is in the planning stage of replacing its Financials System, and the report pack states that the project team is being recruited. The stream lead on Procurement to Pay (P2P) is described as one of the crucial roles.

The proposal involves the flexible retirement of the current Head of Procurement to work on the project. The report pack states that this would create an internal opportunity for the further development of one of the senior staff in procurement, helping to meet the council's objectives of a successful implementation of the new system and the continued development of internal staff.

According to the report pack, the only viable in-house option for resourcing this major strand is the secondment of senior members of Finance with the relevant skills knowledge and experience onto the project. The alternative would be to source the expertise externally. The current Head of Procurement has, in a previous authority, led on a successful implementation of P2P. She has also led the implementation of a replacement procurement system through 2024/2025, which will link to the P2P Business process.

The report pack states that to enable the Head of Procurement to be freed up to undertake this important role within the project, it will be necessary to recruit to their substantive role on an interim basis. Following a restructure of the Procurement Team in late 2024, there is now a good structure providing career progression, and the council would look to recruit to this role internally first on an interim basis, with the current Head of Procurement providing mentoring to a successful candidate. At the completion of the P2P project, which is expected to last 12 months, the council would review the position regarding a permanent appointment.

The report pack includes a job description and person specification for the Head of Procurement role. The Head of Procurement is described as responsible for contributing to the corporate management of the council through developing and maintaining an effective Procurement Service. They are also expected to act as the strategic lead for the council's response to legislative and regulatory change, including the Procurement Act 2023 and the NHS Provider Selection Regime, and all statutory requirements arising from these.

The report pack states that under the council's pay policy, the General Purposes Committee agrees the salary level within salary bands already approved by Full Council for a post with a remuneration package of £100,000 or over in relation to a specific appointment. Therefore, the committee is being asked to agree to a salary range of £96,049 - £107,175 for the interim Head of Procurement (Chief Officer Grade D).

Councillors' Memberships on Outside Bodies

The committee is also scheduled to note the list of councillors' memberships as council-appointed representatives on outside bodies, joint committees and school governing bodies. The list includes Councillor Leo Fletcher as a member of the Blackheath Joint Working Party and the John Roan Foundation, and as an observer at Meridian Homestart. Councillor Matt Hartley is listed as a deputy on the Overview and Scrutiny Joint Health Committee. Councillor Averil Lekau is listed as a deputy on the Eltham Crematorium Joint Committee, and as a member of the London City Airport Consultative Committee, the London Councils' Leader Committee, and the London Council's Transport & Environment Committee. Councillor Anthony Okereke, Leader of the Council, is listed as a member of the LGA General Assembly and the Local London Joint Committee. Councillor Nick Williams is listed as a member of the DG Cities Limited and the London Youth Games.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors are expected to declare any personal or financial interests in items on the agenda. According to the report pack, a member has a personal interest where any business is likely to affect them, a relevant person, or a relevant body more than a majority of those in the ward they represent. A relevant person is defined as the member's spouse or civil partner, a person who they are living with as husband and wife or as civil partners, or a person with whom they have a close association. A relevant body is defined as any organisation, school governing body or outside committee or trust which they have been appointed to by the Royal Borough or by the Leader, or any other voluntary organisation, school governing body or commercial organisation where they are a management committee member, school governor, trustee or director. The report pack states that members must declare the existence and nature of any personal interest at the start of the meeting, or when the interest becomes apparent.