The Audit and Corporate Governance (Appointment Panel) Sub-Committee of Camden Council was scheduled to meet on Friday, 27 March 2026. The primary focus of the meeting was the appointment of an Executive Director Corporate Services, with a report detailing the recruitment process and candidate assessments. The meeting was also scheduled to include procedural items such as the election of a chair and the approval of previous minutes.

Appointment of Executive Director Corporate Services

The sub-committee was scheduled to consider the appointment of an Executive Director Corporate Services. A report from the Director of People and Inclusion was provided to outline the process and practice for appointing candidates to Chief Officer positions. The report detailed the recruitment process, which included advertising the role, longlisting, technical interviews, a shortlisting by members, and an assessment centre involving an officer panel and a partner panel.

The role of Executive Director Corporate Services oversees a significant budget of approximately £90 million and around 1100 staff, with responsibilities spanning strategic enabling services and frontline service delivery. This post holder also sits on the Corporate Management Team. Historically, this role has also held the statutory responsibility of Section 151 officer, a position that legally requires the holder to be a qualified accountant. The report noted that the previous postholder, Jon Rowney, had moved to the role of Chief Executive, with interim arrangements in place where the Director of Finance was designated as the statutory Section 151 Officer.

The recruitment approach for this position was designed to be inclusive, allowing for flexibility in whether the role included the Section 151 responsibilities, depending on the applicant's qualifications and experience. The report stated that members would be informed of which final interview candidates were being considered with or without the S151 responsibilities. The sub-committee was asked to consider the relative skills and strengths of the candidates across the full remit of the role.

The report also highlighted Camden Council's commitment to diversity and inclusion, noting that all positions are open to applicants wishing to work part-time or on a flexible working arrangement, and that all members participating in recruitment panels would have received appropriate equalities and unconscious bias training.

The sub-committee was asked to:

• Note the process for the appointment to the post of Executive Director Corporate Services.
• Note the job details for this post and the progress made to date.
• Interview candidates and, if appropriate, recommend an offer of appointment, subject to there being no well-founded objections from members of the Cabinet.
• Should the Panel appoint a candidate who cannot hold the S151 office, it was recommended that the Borough Solicitor be requested to draft minor amendments to the Council's Constitution to reflect this and to seek the Council's agreement. The Council would also need to appoint another suitably qualified office holder as S151 officer.

The report also included legal comments from the Borough Solicitor, confirming that the appointment process complied with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) Regulations 2001 and the Officer Employment Procedure Rules within the Council's Constitution. The Council's power to appoint officers is derived from s. 112(1) of the Local Government Act 1972, with terms and conditions, including remuneration, determined by the authority. Appointments must be made on merit, subject to equality duties, and the Council should be able to demonstrate the success of the candidate was based on objective reference to their application and interviews.

The report also noted that candidate applications and results of longlisting and technical interviews would be provided separately and were exempt from publication.

Previous Minutes

The sub-committee was scheduled to approve and sign the minutes of previous meetings held on Tuesday, 16 September 2025, and Tuesday, 14 October 2025. The minutes from these previous meetings indicate that the sub-committee has previously considered recruitment processes for senior roles, including the Executive Director Homes and Communities and the Director of Development and Corporate Property. In the meeting on 16 September 2025, two candidates were recommended for the final shortlist for the Executive Director Homes and Communities role. In the meeting on 14 October 2025, one candidate was appointed to the post of Executive Director Homes and Communities, subject to Cabinet approval. Similarly, in the meeting on 10 February 2026, one candidate was appointed to the post of Director of Development and Corporate Property, also subject to Cabinet approval.

Access to Information

The agenda indicated that part of the meeting, specifically item 9 concerning the Executive Director Corporate Services, might not be open to the public and press. This was due to the potential disclosure of exempt information under Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, relating to information that could reveal the identity of individuals. A resolution was proposed to exclude the public and press from this part of the proceedings.