The Chief Officer Appointments Committee of Durham County Council met to discuss the recruitment process for a new Corporate Director of Regeneration, Economy and Growth. It was decided that the recruitment process would commence, using PENNA, an executive recruitment consultancy. The Committee also agreed to permanently move the Head of Transport and Contract Services and the Head of Corporate Property and Land to report to other Corporate Directors.

Recruitment of a new Corporate Director of Regeneration, Economy and Growth

The current Corporate Director of Regeneration, Economy and Growth resigned to take up a new position with the East Midlands Combined Authority¹. The meeting considered a report on the recruitment process to replace her.

The report was presented by John Hewitt, the Chief Executive of Durham County Council.

The current post holder of the Corporate Director of Regeneration, Economy and Growth has submitted her resignation. This has provided an opportunity for the Chief Executive to consider the areas of responsibility allocated to this post, alongside the various and significant projects which are currently ongoing which are associated within this Directorate, which are of significant importance to the council. The report sets out some proposals to re-align two of the areas within the existing scope to other Corporate Director’s and sets out the rationale for this decision.

The Committee agreed to commence an external recruitment process. The recruitment process will be supported by PENNA, who are an executive recruitment consultancy.

The salary for the post will be £166,434.

Realignment of Responsibilities

The Committee approved the realignment of two service areas from the Regeneration, Economy and Growth directorate to other directorates:

• The Head of Transport and Contract Services will be realigned to the Corporate Director of Neighbourhoods and Climate Change.
• The Head of Corporate Property and Land will be realigned to the Corporate Director of Resources.

These changes were proposed in the report by the Chief Executive in order to create synergies between the roles.

The alignment of the Head of Corporate Property and Land to the Corporate Director of Resources will enable the council’s property assets, facilities and programmes to be linked to the leadership and management of the council’s wider resources and assets through the Corporate Director of Resources. The re-alignment will also mean that any perceived or actual conflicts between the role of the council as landowner and local planning authority will be easier to manage if the roles are the responsibility of different Corporate Directors.

The alignment of the Head of Transport and Contract Services to the Corporate Director of Neighbourhoods and Climate Change is reflective of links between highways and transport services and will provide an opportunity to consider new ways of working and further alignment across these service areas.

Until a new Corporate Director of Regeneration, Economy and Growth is appointed, the Head of Planning and Housing will report to the Corporate Director of Neighbourhoods and Climate Change, and the Head of Culture, Tourism and Sport will report to the Chief Executive. This is due to the significant workload associated with the new North East Combined Authority and devolution deal.

The Head of Economic Development has also recently left the council, and the Head of Inclusive Growth and Partnerships has not yet been appointed. In the interim, expressions of interest will be sought internally for someone to fill this role and report to the Chief Executive.