This meeting of the Appointments Panel is scheduled to consider the applications for two senior roles at the Council. It will be asked to agree a longlist of candidates for the roles of Deputy Director of Resources - Finance and Director of Legal and Democratic Services.

Director of Legal and Democratic Services

The new Director of Legal and Democratic Services will lead the Council's Legal and Democratic Services directorate, and will also act as the Council's Monitoring Officer. The Monitoring Officer is a statutory role created by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services has the statutory Monitoring Officer responsibility. This entails not only the responsibility for ensuring that the Council acts lawfully but also responsibility for advising Members and Senior Officers on governance, decision making and the Council’s Constitution. The post also leads on Ethical Standards for Members.

The Monitoring Officer is responsible for ensuring that the Council acts lawfully, and for advising Councillors and senior officers on matters of governance. They are also responsible for promoting high standards of conduct amongst Councillors.

Deputy Director of Resources - Finance

The new Deputy Director of Resources - Finance will be responsible for leading several of the Council's finance and corporate services teams and deputising for the Director of Resources, who is also the Section 151 Officer. Section 151 Officers are responsible for the proper administration of a Council's financial affairs. The job description describes the breadth of the role:

As the Deputy Director of Resources – Finance, the post holder is responsible for providing organisational leadership in managing the Council’s finances sustainably and in the public interest. This includes developing the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy, influencing significant business decisions, working to resolve some of the most significant financial challenges the organisation faces and providing robust budgetary control.

The post holder will lead Corporate Finance, Finance Business Partnering, Procurement, Internal Audit, Anti-Fraud, Financial Governance and Insurance.