The Appointment Committee is scheduled to meet to conclude the appointment of an Operational Manager Legal Services, and to act as Deputy Monitoring Officer. The meeting will also cover standard business such as apologies for absence, declarations of interest, and approval of the minutes of the previous meeting. Much of the meeting may be held without members of the public being present.

Appointment of Operational Manager Legal Services

The main item on the agenda is the appointment of the Operational Manager Legal Services (Property, Planning and Procurement) and Deputy Monitoring Officer.

The report pack includes a job description and person specification for the role. The post holder will be responsible for high value property related legal work, and will supervise the Property and Planning Team, the Local Land Charges Team and the Principal Procurment Solicitor. They will also provide legal advice to the council, cabinet, committees and directorates, and represent the council in court, at tribunals, hearings and inquiries.

The person specification states that the successful candidate must be a qualified solicitor or barrister with a current practising certificate, and have experience in property law and regeneration projects. They should also have an awareness of administrative law and governance matters within a local government context, and the ability to manage employees and work with elected members.

The report pack also includes the [Cardiff Council Behavioural Competency Framework][Public reports pack 17th-Dec-2025 11.15 Appointment Committee - OM1 Legal Services Property Pla.pdf], which sets out the behaviours expected of council employees. The framework includes competencies such as:

• Putting our Customers First
• Getting Things Done
• Taking Personal Responsibility
• Seeking to understand others, and treating them with respect

The minutes of the previous meeting on 9 December 2025 state that the committee reconvened to consider findings from an assessment centre. They resolved to invite candidate 81718 for interview, and to advise the candidate of the choice of presentation topic, allocating a maximum of 10 minutes for the presentation.

Exclusion of the Public

The agenda includes a section on the exclusion of the public. The report pack states that information included in the item on the appointment of the Operational Manager Legal Services is not for publication. This is by virtue of paragraphs 12 and 13 of Part 4, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. These paragraphs relate to information relating to an applicant to become an employee of the authority, and information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual.