Introduction
The current Chief Executive is Paul Lankester, who was appointed in November 2001.
The Chief Executive is the senior officer who leads and takes responsibility for the work of around 300 paid staff of the Council, who carry out the work of the local authority on a day to day basis. The role of Chief Executive is a full time appointment.
The Chief Executive is selected on merit, against objective criteria, following public advertisement and is appointed by the whole Council.
By law, senior Council staff are not allowed to participate in any party political activity and are expected to advise and assist all Councillors irrespective of their political affiliation.
As head of the paid service, the Chief Executive works closely with elected members to deliver the following:
Leadership: working with elected members to ensure strong and visible leadership and direction, encouraging and enabling managers to motivate and inspire their teams;
Strategic Direction: ensuring all staff understand and adhere to the strategic aims of the organisation and follow the direction set by the elected members;
Policy Advice: acting as the principal policy adviser to the elected members of the Council to lead the development of workable strategies which will deliver the political objectives set by the Councillors;
Partnerships: leading and developing strong partnerships across the local community to achieve improved outcomes and better public services for local people;
Operational Management: overseeing financial and performance management, risk management, people management and change management within the Council.
The Chief Executive's job description outlines his key responsibilities as follows:
- Overall corporate management and operational responsibility (including overall management responsibility for all staff)
- The provision of professional advice to all parties in the decision making process (The Cabinet, overview and scrutiny, full Council and other committees).
- Together with the Monitoring Officer, responsibility for a system of record keeping for the authority's decisions (The Cabinet or otherwise).
- Representing the local authority on partnership and external bodies (as required by statute or the local authority).
The Council
The Council is a large organisation. It is responsible for providing or commissioning over 55 separate services. The total turnover is in excess of £9.0m. The capital programme is around £13m. The net budget is about £12.5m having reduced by £1.9m from 2011/12.
The Council has steadily improved its performance since 2005. In 2007 the Audit Commission summarised the position as follows:
'Stratford-on-Avon District Council has made significant progress since its last corporate assessment in 2004. It is now a 'good' council (up from 'weak'), performing well across all of its services. The Council has improved its internal working, providing clear leadership and building an effective consensus on how to take the district forward. .............
........... The Council has made significant progress in addressing the weaknesses identified by the last Corporate Assessment. .....Successful implementation of the Improvement Plan has resulted in much more robust corporate management of the Council.'
View the corporate assessment full report
The Council has achieved and maintained its Investors in Excellence accreditation since 2008.
The Person
Paul Lankester has worked for local government since leaving school. He is a graduate with a degree in Environmental Health from the University of Aston in Birmingham. He obtained a Diploma in Management Studies in 1990.
He has worked for five District Councils, including Stratford-on-Avon District Council, and moved to Stratford from West Oxfordshire District Council where he was Director of Environmental Services.
Paul is a national advisor to the District Councils Network, being Secreatry to the Chief Executives Steering Group. He is mentor as part of the Listening, Learning , Leading Course for Cultural Professionals. He is also a regular columnist for Municipal Journal publication.
Remuneration
The Chief Executive is entitled to pay of £107,574 a year and receives certain additional benefits, set out below. He also takes on the role of Returning Officer, with responsibility for the running of elections in the District, for which he receives additional remuneration in accordance with a sliding scale depending on the type of election and the number of wards/parishes contested. In the elections held in May 2011, the Chief Executive claimed the following amounts (gross) of the available fees:
AV Referendum Counting Officer - 5 May 2011 - £4,522.77
Local Election Returning Officer - 5 May 2011 - £2,101.85
Benefits
In addition to his salary the Chief Executive is entitled to a leased car (which he contributes towards) or a cash payment instead of the leased car (£362/month) and, in common with other Council officers, has the opportunity to join a healthcare scheme to which he contributes to gain enhanced benefits.
Pension
The Local Government Pension Scheme is a contributory scheme; this means that the employee contributes to the scheme from his or her own salary. Employees contribute 5.5%-7.5% of their salaries. Employers' contributions to the LGPS vary depending upon how much is needed to ensure benefits under the Scheme are properly funded, and are set independently. The rules governing the pension scheme are contained in regulations made by Parliament, and are due to change in April 2012, when contributions are to be increased.
The Chief Executive pays 7.5% of his salary into the Local Government Pension scheme. The Council makes an employer's contribution of 16.6% into the scheme.
Expenses
The Chief Executive, along with some other Council officers, is able to reclaim a restricted range of legitimate and evidenced business expenses, including business travel.
Details for 2010/11 can be found below:
Travel - £703.49
Accommodation - £347.00
Other* - £32.00
Total - £1,082.49
* 08/03/11 Annual Fee £32.00 Bank Charge.
Working arrangements
The Chief Executive is expected to work such hours as are necessary to ensure the job gets done. This routinely involves a couple of evenings a week as well as the 'standard' Monday to Friday business week. Occasional weekend working is required. The postholder is 'on call' at all other times, particularly to cover emergency planning requirements. No extra payments are made for such extended hours.
The Chief Executive is entitled to 37 days paid leave each year, two of which are fixed between Christmas and the New Year.
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