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Agenda Item No 5

The Vale of Glamorgan Council

 

Senior Management Appointment Committee:  24th September 2018

 

Report of the Managing Director

 

Recruitment and Selection Arrangements for the Head of the Regional Internal Audit Shared Service

Purpose of the Report

  1. To propose arrangements for recruitment, selection and appointment to the post of Head of Regional Internal Audit Shared Service.

Recommendations

  1. That the post of Head of  the Regional Internal Audit Shared Service is advertised internally across the Bridgend, Merthyr,  Rhondda Cynon Taf  and the Vale of Glamorgan County Borough Councils
  2. That the draft internal advertisement, Job Description and Person Specification in respect of the Head of Audit position be approved
  3. That the Head of Finance be requested to undertake the initial long/short -listing and assessment of applicants, in consultation with the Leader and the Managing Director. On conclusion and depending on the outcome of this process, a further meeting of the Senior Management Appointment Committee be convened to interview and determine the suitability of candidates for appointment.to the post.
  4. That the Chair of Audit Committee from each of the authorities be invited to take part in the assessment process.
  5. That Sec 151 officers from the partner authorities are involved in the assessment day to ensure that their opinions may be considered by this committee 
  6. That delegated authority be given to the Head of Finance, in consultation with the Leader, Managing Director and the Section 151 officers in the collaborating authorities, to advertise the post external to the four partners at any stage of the process should it be felt that it will not be possible to select the right person from the candidates that have come forward

Reasons for the Recommendations

1 & 2.To seek the appointment to the new position promptly and in a cost effective manner.

3.        To progress the recruitment, selection and appointment arrangements through a timely and cost efficient process

4.        To ensure the engagement of the Chairs of Audit Committees in the recruitment and selection process

5.        To ensure the engagement of the Sec 151 officers in the recruitment and selection process

6.        To seek appointment to the new position promptly

Background

  1. The Bridgend and Vale of Glamorgan Internal Audit Shared Service has been fully operational under a formal partnership agreement since February 2013, which has been extended to 31st January 2020 as both Authorities have experienced the advantages of the shared service.  Since its inception the Shared Service has delivered consistently against the approved annual risk based plans and achieved the necessary coverage in order to issue a robust, evidence based audit opinion at the end of each year as well as fully complying with its statutory requirements under the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS).  In addition, significant benefits have been realised by bringing the sections together, some of which included; effective use of the total audit resource, knowledge sharing and harmonising working practices and systems.
  2. However, the service has faced some challenges over the past 18 months in terms of recruitment, although this has presented the opportunity for a more proactive and focused approach being taken in respect of workforce planning and growing the service to ensure its continued success.  As a consequence of this, Section 151 Officers from Bridgend, Merthyr, Rhondda Cynon Taf and the Vale of Glamorgan County Borough Councils have been considering whether there would be any benefits in extending the current partnership arrangement to include the two additional authorities
  3. On 18th June 2018, Cabinet considered and approved a report that outlined the benefits of extending the current joint working agreement to include Merthyr and Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Councils. This proposal was discussed and agreed by the Vale of Glamorgan Audit Committee on 25th July 2018.
  4. In addition the proposal has been agreed and endorsed by the Cabinets and Audit Committees in Bridgend, Merthyr and Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Councils.
  5. It has also been agreed that the Vale of Glamorgan will host the new regional service and will be the employing organisation for that new service. It is planned to have the new service fully operational by 1st April 2019.
  6. The job description and person specification for the post have been updated to reflect the requirements of the new service and the post has been evaluated externally by Hay. The grade of the new post has been agreed at Chief Officer - Head of Service level.

Relevant Issues and Options

  1. Due to the regional nature of the new service, the process for the appointment to the post of Head of Regional Internal Audit Shared Service has been discussed with partner local authorities. It is proposed that the Senior Management Appointment Committee in this Council is the appropriate body to oversee the appointment process as this Council will be the employing organisation.
  2. However, to ensure that all authorities within this new partnership are able to participate in this process, it is proposed that the Chair of Audit Committee in each of the four authorities, or their deputy, are invited to take part in the assessment process. This can be achieved by including them in the assessment day, which will be held for those candidates who are shortlisted for the post.
  3. In addition, the four Sec 151 officers will be part of the assessment day to ensure that the short listed candidates to be considered by this committee are agreed by officers from across the new partnership. 
  4. Following discussion by the Programme Board it is proposed that the new post is advertised across the four authorities that will make up the new partnership. This will give officers employed across the four authorities  the opportunity to apply for this exciting new post. Whilst it is hoped that an appointment can be made from within the four local authorities, it is requested that delegated authority is given to Sec 151 officer in consultation with the Leader, Managing Director and the Section 151 officers in the other authorities to conclude  the internal recruitment process at any stage in order to advertise external to the four authorities, should it be felt that it will not be possible to select the right person from the candidates that have come forward.
  5. The draft Advert (Appendix A), Job Description (Appendix B) and Person Specification (Appendix C) for the new post are attached for the consideration and approval of the Committee.

Resource Implications (Financial and Employment)

  1. The vacancy is a consequence of the decision to extend the current internal audit shared service. The costs associated with this particular recruitment process would be predominantly officer time only and this can be covered from within existing budgets.
  2. The resource implications in respect of the extended Service are set out in more details within the relevant reports to Cabinet on the 18th June 2018 and to the Audit Committee on the 25th July 2018.

Sustainability and Climate Change Implications

  1. There are not sustainability or climate change implications as a result of this report.

Legal Implications (to Include Human Rights Implications)

  1. There are no direct legal implications resulting from this report, and the proposals within this report are compliant with the Local Authorities (Standard Orders) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2014.

Crime and Disorder Implications

  1. There are no crime and disorder implications resulting from this report.

Equal Opportunities Implications (to include Welsh Language issues)

  1. The proposed  advertisement , recruitment and appointment proposals set out in this report will be managed in accordance with the Council's Recruitment and Selection Policy, Avoiding Redundancy provisions and within the requirements of The Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (Wales) Regulations 2014.

Corporate/Service Objectives

  1. The successful appointment to the position of Head of the Regional Internal Audit Shared Service will assist in the delivery of Council's corporate and service objectives.

Policy Framework and Budget

  1. The issues within this report are delegated to the Senior Management Appointment Committee in accordance with the Council's Constitution.  The appointment of Committees and their terms of reference are a matter for Full Council
  2. The final decision of the Senior Management Appointment Committee will be circulated to elected members of the Council for their information.

Consultation (including Ward Member Consultation)

  1. The recognised Trade Unions in all three authorities have been consulted on these proposals and are in agreement in particular, to the post being advertised internally in the first instance.

Relevant Scrutiny Committee

  1. N/A

Background Papers

None

Contact Officer

Carys Lord - Head of Finance and Sec 151 Officer

Officers Consulted

Carys Lord - Head of Finance and Sec 151 Officer

Debbie Marles - Monitoring Officer/ Head of Legal and Democratic Services

Adrian Unsworth - Operational Manager, Human Resources

Responsible Officer:

Rob Thomas - Managing Director