Local Government
Our Local Government Practice is a leading provider of executive search and selection and the largest provider of interim management solutions to local authorities.
We have an unrivalled track record supporting our clients through periods of major change, in particular during the search for the most senior leaders. This has included the recently appointed and arguably highest profile role in Local Government: the Group Managing Director for Kent County Council.
Our highly experienced team brings the experience of having worked at top levels in Local Government, and we see ourselves as part of the sector. We believe that is why we are so often invited to take on strategic level roles, or appoint whole teams.
As well as a state-of-the-art assessment and selection process, we can also advise and support the new team as it establishes itself during the critical first months.
For example, for South Northamptonshire District Council we ran a recruitment process over a period of seven months to recruit several executive roles. As well as supporting the recruitment, we worked with the organisation to develop the capacity and capability of their corporate management team, conducting 360 degree appraisals of Directors and working with the group together.
The Chief Executive appointment process is very different from the process for other leadership roles, and is something of a specialism for us. It is usually a member-led, multi-party process. We understand the political dynamic, and can provide practical and sensitive advice to help steer the process, as we recognise that even the most senior politicians may have had little previous exposure to executive search. Above all, we know how important it is for everyone’s reputation to get this decision right first time.
For example, when Durham County Council was formed from a merger of seven other councils, we were commissioned to support the recruitment of the Chief Executive. The assignment was complicated by a technical legal vesting process, to be overseen by the successful candidate, and a change of leader part-way through.
Our work was a key part of the overall transition plan for the authority, and we were retained to recruit the senior team. We were able to draw on Capita Assessment expertise to support a major assessment of 70 middle managers.
At Wokingham Borough Council, we were brought in when a competitor had failed to appoint a new Chief Executive. We began by stabilising the situation and checking whether the market had been properly explored. We discovered that many people we would have contacted had not been considered. Worse still, candidates who had gone through the failed process were critical of it, which reflected badly on the client’s reputation. We undertook a new search, using the exhaustive process which is our hallmark, and provided a strong shortlist which enabled a successful appointment.
Through the networks of people we work with, we also have a successful track record providing interim managers at the most senior levels. For example, Michael Frater was brought into Surrey County Council as Interim Chief Executive at a difficult time. Surrey had dropped in CPA ratings from four stars to one star, and was seen as poorly performing because of failings in its Children’s Services.
Michael restored trust and confidence between Executive Directors and Members, rebuilt the management team, and began a fundamental culture change process, which will be continued by his permanent successor.
Children’s Services
Our team includes senior level experience leading Children’s Services, including at Corporate Director level, so we understand the challenges facing our clients and the demands on candidates.
This level of sector knowledge sets us apart and enables us to develop integrated solutions across organisations, and to deliver change at system level. For example, for Wokingham Borough Council, we supported the appointment of the whole Children’s Services team in a single process, and for the Isle of Wight Council, we recruited a Director with cross-council responsibility for driving the Building Schools for the Future programme.
We have broad experience in recruiting senior Children’s Services leaders for both Central and Local Government, including six Directors of Children’s Services during the last year.
We have a commitment to supporting leadership development. For example, we have recently run seminars for aspiring Directors of Children’s Services in the Midlands and the North of England, and are contributing to the development of National College programmes on succession planning.
Housing
Locally, we work chiefly with Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMOs). In fact, we have recruited eight ALMO Chief Executives in the last year, which is more than 10% of the whole sector.
The end of the national housing subsidy system means ALMOs need to reflect on their future role. With the likely introduction of a ‘self-financing’ regime in Slough, the ALMO People First wanted someone to review potential opportunities on a short-term basis, and made the strategic decision to hire an interim Chief Executive, rather than a permanent appointment straightaway.
The successful candidate is responsible for ensuring a successful Audit Commission re-inspection in 2010, and for developing a strategic approach to new build and asset management.
At a national level, we have recently recruited Non-Executive Directors to both the Tenant Services Authority and the Homes and Communities Agency.
Planning and Regeneration
Our team brings in-house experience in local authorities, and includes planning specialists, so we are able to tackle assignments at the leading edge of professional practice. In fact, recent assignments include the Chief Planner within Communities and Local Government.
Planning and regeneration is going through a period of innovation and growth. The ‘place shaping’ agenda means we are seeing new, strategic roles linking with other areas in which we work, such as education, culture and housing.
At a national level, integrated planning across government is an important component of policy in areas as diverse as food security, transport and emissions targets.
Across the piece
We work differently at Veredus. While our client focus is as sharp as any in the business, we take a collegiate approach across practices, consciously breaking down ‘silos’, sharing information, and pulling together multi-disciplinary teams.
This means we are better placed to support the growing number of joint roles and merged organisations, such as joint commissioning, or Directors of Adult Services who are also PCT Chief Executives.
Our Local Government Practice is at the heart of this approach, as it connects so widely; with Central Government through NDPBs and agencies; with Health through adult social care and mental health; and with Education through Directors of Children’s Services.
Part of our role is to develop new thinking. That is why we recently supported and contributed to the New Local Government Network study Leading Lights, which addressed issues of succession planning and senior leadership in Local Government.
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