The North Tyneside Council's Appointments and Disciplinary Committee is scheduled to meet on Monday, 13 October 2025. The main item on the agenda is to discuss and agree on the next steps for recruiting a new Director of Children's Services, following the retirement announcement of the current director, Julie Firth, effective from 31 December 2025. The committee will consider the advertising strategy, timeline, candidate assessment approach, and associated costs.

Recruitment of the Director of Children's Services

The committee is expected to discuss the recruitment process for the Director of Children's Services, a role responsible for the development of policy and strategy relating to children and families in North Tyneside. The postholder will also be the Council's Statutory Director for Children's Services, discharging the functions of the Authority as listed in Schedule 1 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 and the Children's Act 1989 and 2004.

The report pack outlines three options for the recruitment process:

1. Internal and external paid advertising (recommended): This option involves a three-week advertising campaign across regional and national job boards, specialist publications, and social media platforms. Specialist publications include: the Public Sector News Network, New Start, Environment Journal, Social Care Today, Air Quality News, Planning News, Jobs in Finance, Housing Jobs, and Education Jobs Online. It also includes a half-page editorial in the Municipal Journal (MJ) magazine and a listing in LocalGov jobs. This approach is estimated to cost £7,650 + VAT.
2. Internal only Recruitment Process (not recommended): This option would only advertise the position to existing officers of the Authority. While this option would not incur a cost, it is not the recommended option because it does not allow the Committee to compare to the wider candidate market and the internal pool will potentially be small.
3. Internal and external using executive search (not recommended): This option involves engaging an executive search company to attract suitable candidates, conduct pre-screening, and participate in the assessment process. This option is not recommended due to the significant cost, estimated at approximately £14,000 (11% of annual salary) plus advertising fees averaging £8,000.

The committee will also discuss the proposed timeline for the recruitment process, with the advertisement scheduled to go live in November 2025. Shortlisting is scheduled to take place later that month, followed by a formal committee meeting, including a stakeholder engagement panel.

The report pack details the proposed approach to candidate assessment, including:

• An application stage, where candidates provide their CV and a 750-word cover statement.
• A shortlisting stage, involving a pre-sift by the Chief Executive and Head of People & OD, followed by a shortlisting committee.
• Leadership psychometric testing for shortlisted candidates, conducted by an external agency at a cost of £750 + VAT per candidate.
• A formal assessment centre, including a presentation and technical and evidence-based questions.
• A stakeholder engagement panel, with suggested stakeholders including: Rachel Mitcheson from ICB, Birju Bartoli from Northumbria Healthcare Trust, Dawn McNally from Age UK, David Hodgson from the Business Forum, Vicky Smith from VODA¹, Daniel Whyte from Northumbria Police, Peter Mennell, Director of Housing and Property Services, and Eleanor Binks, Director of Adult Social Care.

The Cabinet report attached as an annex to the report pack indicates that the Cabinet agreed on 22 September 2025 to commence the recruitment process and refer the matter to the Appointments and Disciplinary Committee. The job description and person specification for the role are also included in the report pack.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors are expected to declare any registerable and/or non-registerable interests in matters appearing on the agenda, including any dispensations granted.