The Employment Committee of Lancashire County Council met on 16 June 2025 to discuss the constitution, membership and terms of reference of the committee, note a decision made under urgent business procedures, and to longlist candidates for the role of Executive Director of Resources. The committee agreed to put forward candidates ranked as 'A' and 'B+' for a technical assessment for the role.

Executive Director of Resources Recruitment

The committee discussed the longlisting of candidates for the Executive Director of Resources role at Lancashire County Council. Deborah Barrow, Head of Service People Strategy, Sophie Fowler, Head of Service Strategic Resourcing and Workforce Planning, and Tim Far, Senior Partner at Starfish Search, the external specialist recruitment partner, presented a private and confidential report on the applications received.

The committee noted and endorsed an update to the job description and person specification for the Executive Director of Resources role. The role had initially been advertised alongside the Director of Finance and Commerce post, with the statutory Chief Financial Officer (s151) responsibilities incorporated into the Executive Director role. Following an extensive search and confirmation from the current interim Director of Finance and Commerce of their commitment to remain the council's s151 officer for a further 12 months, it was agreed that the Executive Director of Resources job description and person specification would be amended to remove the s151 responsibilities.

The committee also noted and endorsed the extension of the contract for the current Interim Director of Finance and Commerce for a further 12 months.

The committee resolved that candidates ranked as 'A' and 'B+' proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process, a technical assessment for the role.

Constitution, Membership and Terms of Reference

The committee considered a report which set out the committee's membership, Chair and Deputy Chair, and Terms of Reference for the municipal year 2025-26. The committee noted the appointment of Councillor Stephen Atkinson as Chair and Councillor Simon Evans as Deputy Chair, the membership of the committee following the annual meeting on 22 May 2025, and the Employment Committee Terms of Reference. The Employment Committee Terms of Reference detail the purpose, composition, and terms of reference of the committee, including responsibilities related to senior and statutory officers, all other employees, Lancashire Renewables Limited, Lancashire Coroners, and Local Pensions Partnership Ltd (LPPL).

Urgent Business Procedure

The committee considered a report summarising a decision taken under the Employment Committee's Urgent Business procedure since its last meeting. The committee noted the decision made under the Urgent Business procedure. The decision, made on 1 May 2025, related to beginning the recruitment to the Executive Director of Resources role at the county council, and was made by the Chief Executive in consultation with the former Chair and Deputy Chair of the Employment Committee. The decision included approving the job description and person specification, using Starfish Executive Search, advertising the post, and delegating process arrangements to the Director of People.