12 November 2008 - Extended Management Team
Dear Colleagues
Extended Management Team
Earlier today, Councillors considered the results of the recent staff consultation on the proposed extended management team of ‘Heads of Service’ and agreed the approach we should take to appointments.
The Structure
The agreed structure is attached below. Overall, there will be 31 Heads of Service posts. These will be key positions, completing the Council’s extended management team and providing leadership in their respective areas.
Appointments Process
Appointments will be made from among County and District Council senior managers.
For the majority of posts, where there is more than one potential candidate from the postholders of similar existing posts, the best person will be appointed through a thorough and fair recruitment process.
In instances where there is demonstrably only one current postholder who undertakes the same fundamental duties as the new post, holds the same level of responsibility and meets the person specification, they will be asked whether they want to be slotted in to that position.
We are writing to all of the senior managers concerned to outline the specific approach we are taking in relation to their area of work and to invite them to apply. We will also explain what they should do if they are unhappy with the proposed approach.
Applicants will be assessed and shortlisted for interview by the end of this month and appointments will be made as soon as possible during December.
Although we will be making a lot of appointments over a relatively short period of time, we will keep you informed of who has been appointed to posts as the appointments are made.
Further Development of the Organisational Structure
With regards to implications for the majority of employees, I know that everyone is eager that we make rapid progress with the detailed organisational structures. We will be able to do this once the Heads of Service have been appointed and had an opportunity to consider structure proposals with the new Corporate Directors.
The detailed structures will emerge in the New Year and we will make the necessary appointments and transfers to the appropriate posts within the new authority as quickly as possible. Again, we will keep you informed as work progresses.
I appreciate that this is an uncertain time for many members of staff, but can assure you that every effort is being made to progress the staff structures as quickly as possible, and that I, and your respective councils are very grateful for your on-going cooperation during this period of change.
If you have any further queries regarding the senior management appointments, please contact the Human Resources/Personnel Manager in your council.
Yours faithfully
Rachael Shimmin
Corporate Director, Adult & Community Services
Durham County Council
and Acting LGR Programme Director
Extended Management Team Structure 12.11.08.pdf (43.8kb, 1 page)
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4 November 2008 - Early Retirement and Voluntary Redundancy
Dear Colleague
As you will be aware, on 1 April next year, the County and District Councils will be brought together to create the new Unitary Authority for the County.
The process to develop the new organisation has begun with the appointment of the Chief Executive and the Senior Management Team for the new Council and in the near future a decision will be made on the next 'Heads of Service' tier of management.
Whilst the vast majority of District and County Council staff will either transfer to the Unitary Council or continue to be employed by it in their existing roles, the situation differs for some senior managers and some staff engaged in particular corporate support roles, where the Unitary Council may require less staff than currently employed by the eight local authorities.
This is likely to be the case with the Heads of Service tier, where we want to make rapid progress with appointments. We have therefore decided to contact individuals in the particular roles where the Unitary Council may need to reduce staff numbers, in order to identify whether any of the individuals concerned want to explore the opportunity which reorganisation may present to consider early retirement or voluntary redundancy (ER/VR). This will help to identify the level of interest that might exist for the management and corporate support posts available in the new structure and to manage the process when we come to fill posts in particular areas, where there may be more postholders than posts available.
Initially, we will invite informal expressions of interest for ER/VR from Senior Management Teams, some of their support staff and particular corporate support employees above a certain grade. The business case for each expression of interest will be assessed and if it is concluded that it will help with the reorganisation, the individual concerned will be contacted to clarify if they wish to take their expression of interest further. Any further invitations to other staff will be subject to progress with the initial invitations and further development of the staffing structure for the new Unitary Council. We will of course keep staff informed of any further developments.
We realise that this is a sensitive issue and please note that receipt of this letter does not mean that you are in one of the staff groups where we may need to reduce numbers. But in the interests of openness, we felt that it was necessary to advise all staff of the approach we are taking.
We also need to stress that there are no guarantees that we will be able to accommodate everyone’s aspirations for ER/VR as individual requests will need to be assessed against the organisational development needs of the new Council.
Yours faithfully
Rachael Shimmin, Corporate Director, Adults & Community Services,
Durham County Council and Acting LGR Programme Director
Kim Jobson,
Head of Strategic Human Resources,
Durham County Council
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18 September 2008 - Consultation on Proposed Senior Management Structure for the Unitary Council
As outlined in the structure consultation document dated September 2008, following revisions made in light of feedback from previous consultation, we wish to ensure that colleagues have enough time to comment on these revised changes and important arrangements.
We are therefore inviting you to take part in a further online consultation exercise so you can submit your views electronically.
Alternatively you could return your postal response by completing and returning the form as outlined in Appendix One. We would encourage you to comment on the revised proposals and this can be done from today until 17 October 2008.
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this information.
Restructuring Doc Unitary Sept 08 FINAL.pdf (35 pages, 312 kb)
10 September 2008 - Progress with the Senior Management Structure
Following the recent consultation on the proposed senior management structure for the new Council, Members have agreed the management structure they want to put in place and the approach the Council will take to appointing its new corporate directors.
At a meeting of the Full Council on 9 September, it was agreed that six senior management appointments will be made:
- Corporate Director, Adults Wellbeing and Health
- Corporate Director, Children and Young People's Services
- Corporate Director, Resources
- Corporate Director, Regeneration and Economic Development
- Corporate Director, Neighbourhood Services
- Assistant Chief Executive
In line with legal advice and Government guidance, the Corporate Director posts for Adults Wellbeing and Health and Children and Young People's Services will be filled by 'slotting in' the existing County Council Corporate Directors who undertake these roles.
The three other Corporate Director posts and the post of Assistant Chief Executive will be subject to open competition and will be advertised in the national press and online from today onwards.
Further information on the senior management structure will be published in the next LGR Update for Staff and further information on the senior management posts available can be found at www.uniquelydurham.co.uk.
7 August 2008 - HR Provide Further Clarification Following Staff Feedback on the Proposed Senior Management Structure
Further guidance has been issued by HR following staff feedback from the staff consultation across all eight councils.The closing date for the consultation is 18 August.
21 July 2008 - Consultation on Proposed Senior Management Structure for the Unitary Council
A major staff consultation has been launched on the proposed senior management structure for the new council. Please see the attached document for information on the proposed structure and how to respond to the consultation. The closing date for consultation is 18 August 2008.
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this information.
Consultation on proposed senior management structure July 2008.pdf (15 pages, 63.1 kb)
30 June 2008 - Staff Update from the Joint Implementation Team
The JIT have provided an update for staff following last week's JIT meeting. This includes:
- Chief Executive recruitment
- Senior Management and top tier posts
- Early retirement and voluntary redundancy opportunity information
- Pay and conditions of employment
Learning and Development
District Council staff can now access the County Council's Corporate Learning and Development Programme, in addition to learning and development opportunities in their own authorities. Contact your Council's Human Resources Team for further information.