Oldham council recruiting nine bosses costing nearly £1m a year... months after dozens made redundant

Oldham council say many of the positions replace interim roles or 'resdesignate' vacant positions

Oldham is looking for a whole new slate of council department bosses worth almost £1m per year - just months after completing a round of voluntary redundancies.

The nine roles, one of which is paid more than £144k per year, will cost the council a total of between £898,800 and £972,322 per year.

It comes after the local authority finished a round of voluntary redundancies in December last year to help cut costs. Just under 50 employees left the council, collectively receiving £1m in redundancy packages.

Councillor Abdul Jabbar, who leads on Oldham’s finances, noted that many of the positions were to replace existing interim roles, or ‘redesignate’ positions that had been vacant for some time.

Coun Jabbar said: “Following the setting of the 25/26 Budget and the appointment of a new Chief Executive earlier this year, we have reviewed the senior management team and made some changes to ensure we have a robust leadership structure for the future.

“Through rigorous financial planning and by making significant savings across services, we are prioritising areas of the organisation that have been in need of investment for some time.

“We need forward-thinking, ambitious senior leaders as we embark on our journey of transformation and we’re not afraid to make the necessary investments to ensure we attract people with the right skills and experience to deliver the best services for our residents.

“A key part of these positive changes is that we’re also moving from interim appointments and acting up arrangements to more permanent leadership and have redesignated some vacant roles to enhance efficiency, ensuring that we are well-equipped to support the delivery of services across the council.”

The changes are within the senior leadership budget and were approved by a cross-party Appointments committee, Coun Jabbar added.

The job listings on indeed.com and Gaten by Sanderson recruiters say the local authority are looking for ‘several ambitious, transformational senior leaders for exciting roles across our organisation’ to help ‘shape the future of the borough’.

The positions include:

• Executive director of resources: £144,160 per year
• Director of Digital - £104,337 - £115,105 per year
• Director of Growth - £104,337 - £115,105 per year
• Director of Finance - £104,337 - £115,105 per year
• Director of Legal - £104,337 - £115,105 per year
• Director of Children's Social Care and Early Help - £104,337 - £115,105 per year
• Deputy director of adult social care operations - £93,202 - £104,337 per year
• Head of Service - Learning Disability and Autism - £69,881 - £74,150 per year
• Head of Service - Mental Health - £69,881 - £74,150 per year