Depute Chief Executive Iar-Àrd-Oifigear Candidate Information Pack Paca Fiosrachaidh an Tagraiche Can you see the opportunities? Ambitious Sustainable Connected Contents Clàr-innse 5 Dear candidate 6 The Highlands of Scotland 7 About The Highland Council 10 The Highland context 12 Employment package 15 Job description & Person specification 19 Health and Safety 20 Recruitment timetable & how to apply 3 4 Dear candidate A thagraiche chòir Thank you for your interest in the post of Depute Chief Executive at The Highland Council. The Depute Chief Executive Officer position brings a once in a lifetime experience to work innovatively and closely in partnership with myself, the Members, our staff, partners and communities at a time of significant change, challenge and opportunity. It is a time of ideas, energy and change. We are focused on delivering our revised Highland Council Programme ‘Local voices | Highland choices’ and Corporate Plan alongside our Highland Improvement Programme through our core themes of striving to be ambitious, sustainable and connected. If you relish challenge and working at a very fast pace whilst connecting with people at every opportunity, across a vast beautiful geographic area in the north of Scotland, then this is the perfect role for you. Our People and our Places are special and unique; that is why the Highlands of Scotland are one of the top ten destinations in the world. It really is a very special place to work, to live and to grow. We want our Depute Chief Executive to have excellent partnering skills and commitment to delivering high quality public services. Above all, you will be committed to openness, fairness and accountability in all that you do. If you share our vision and want to help us make public services in the Highlands the very best they can be, we would very much welcome your application for this key post. I look forward to meeting you and getting to know you through the application process. For a confidential discussion please email our Talent Manager - Koreen MacDougall on [email protected] to arrange a call back. Yours sincerely, Donna Manson Chief Executive 5 The Highlands of Scotland Gàidhealtachd na h-Alba The Highlands of Scotland is a part of the world renowned for its beauty, hospitality and lifestyle. We’re home to the Cairngorms, Scotland’s second National Park and the largest in the UK, and the new UNESCO ecopark in NW Sutherland. 235,540 The population of the Highlands is 235,540. Inverness is the administrative and transport hub of the region - a city population with over 63,000 inhabitants. It is a fast growing and ambitious centre with international air links. The University of the Highlands and Islands’ new Inverness Campus is one of the most ambitious 19% 60% projects in Scotland. Opened in 2015, it is a working age population nationally and internationally significant under 18 location for business, research, education and age 16-64 is a thriving life sciences community. The Council and our partners have signed a City- Region Deal worth £315 million and this will deliver a range of exciting projects over the next 10 years. www.highland.gov.uk/cityregiondeal While the geography of the area is characterised by distance, the lifestyle is characterised by community and connection. So there’s something different about life in the north of Scotland. Whether it’s down to the diversity of that geography, an area rich in outdoor opportunities and culture or the friendly welcome, the Highlands offer one of the most distinctive lifestyle choices available anywhere in Scotland - and by extension, some of the most distinctive career choices too. The Council £595m plans to invest approved net £482m revenue budget in its assets from 2018/19 to 2020/21 2022/23 6 About The Highland Council Mu Chomhairle na Gàidhealtachd The Highland Council is one of 32 all-purpose councils in The Administration Scotland, serving people across 26,484 sq km. The Council has 74 elected members. The Administration is a coalition of Independent Group; Scottish Liberal Democrats; and Scottish Labour Party. Independent The Highland Council provides a wide range of services Group with a revenue budget of £595m (2020-21). The priorities for the Council (2017-22) are highlighted in the Administration’s Programme 26 ‘Local voices, Highland choices’. Programme Scottish Scottish ‘Local Voices, Highland Choices’ is a new approach to delivering a Programme for the Highlands. It sets out Liberal Labour Party our high level goals and priorities but also provides Democrats the opportunity for all councillors, local committees 3 and communities to translate these into reality at a 9 local level. For the first time, this will enable real choices to be made about the way in which resources are allocated on an area by area basis. We have embarked The Opposition on our journey to embed local decision making at the heart of what the Council does, and so this will be an evolving process. We will be led by the guiding principle that to be an effective Council, we need to be a listening Scottish Council, and the planning and delivery of services across National Party Highland must be done in a collaborative and inclusive way. Scottish 21 A Conservative Scottish place to thrive and Unionist Green Party A A Party 1 place to welcoming Real learn place 10 Independent Sutherland Independent 1 A A Party Vacant place to redesigned live Council 7 1 1 Multi-Member Wards Following the local Council elections in May 2017, the number of elected members is 74, grouped in 11 four-member wards and 10 three-member wards. There are 10 Area Committees. While strategic decision making on policy and resource allocation is made at Highland level, an increased level of decision making about local services is made through devolved budgets to Area Committees in the spirit of localism and in line with the Community Empowerment Act. This is a time of significant change in the way the Council operates - both how we deliver services and how we take decisions. Operationally, we have streamlined our Services to meet changes Services in planning and licensing legislation and to meet the Scottish Government’s drive for more efficient working within tighter budget guidelines. This has seen the Council Redesign move to 8 Services plus the Chief Executive’s Office. They are: Chief Executive’s Office Performance and Governance Communities and Place Property and Housing Education and Learning Resources and Finance Health and Social Care Transformation and Economy Infrastructure and Environment The Council’s 74 elected members serve on the following committees Committees (listed on the next page) which meet at The Highland Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness except Area Committees. 8 Strategic Committees Strategic Audit and Scrutiny Health, Social Care and Committees Committee Wellbeing Committee Communities and Place Housing and Property Committee Committee 7 Economy and Infrastructure Corporate Resources Committee Committee Regulatory Education Committee Committees Regulatory Committees 5 North Planning Applications Planning Review Body Committee Highland Licensing South Planning Applications Committee Area Committee Highland Licensing Board Committees Areas Committees Badenoch and Strathspey Nairnshire Committee 10 Area Committee Isle of Skye and Raasay Black Isle, Dingwall and Committee / Comataidh and Other Seaforth Committee Eilein Sgitheanaich agus Committees Caithness Committee Ratharsair and Boards City of Inverness Area Sutherland County 7 Committee Committee Easter Ross Area Committee Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochaber Committee Lochalsh Committee Other Committees and Boards Climate Change Working Redesign Board Group Tourism Committee Gaelic Committee / Highland and Comhairle nan Comataidh na Gaidhlig Eilean Siar Valuation Joint Pensions Committee Board Recovery Board Members serve on the Highland and Western Isles Valuation Joint Joint Boards Board, which also involves members from the Western Isles. Members serve on the Pensions Board, which also involves representatives from the employers and relevant trade unions. The Highland Community Planning Partnership brings together Community public agencies, third sector organisations and other key community Partnership groups to work collaboratively with the people of Highland to deliver better outcomes. 9 www.highlandcpp.org.uk The Highland context Co-theacsa na Gàidhealtachd The Administration of the Council is a coalition of Independent, Political Scottish Liberal Democrats and Scottish Labour Councillors. The Highlands have three UK Parliamentary constituencies (two of which are held by the Scottish National Party and the third is held by the Scottish Liberal Democrats). There are also three Scottish Parliamentary constituencies in the Highlands (all are held by the Scottish National Party). In addition as part of the Additional Member System of proportional representation, the Highlands have seven list MSPs (3 Scottish Conservative and Unionist, 2 Scottish Labour, 1 Scottish Green and 1 Scottish National Party). The Chief Executive undertakes the role of Returning Officer for all elections and referenda in the Highland region. The Highland economy is centred on tourism, life sciences, renewable Economic energy and aquaculture and has recently seen commitment to the development of a major new aluminium plant in Lochaber. Tourism is booming and the region continues to be a popular area for the film and television industry. The North Coast 500 is an new tourist route which has been extremely successful in attracting many more visitors to the Highlands. The Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal is delivering £315m of investment through Scottish and UK Governments, the Council and regional partners. This 10 year programme aims to deliver a step change in transport, innovation, digital connectivity, housing, skills, infrastructure, life sciences and tourism. European funding has played a key investment role in the economic development and growth of the Highland economy over the years. Talent attraction and retention remains of key importance to The Highland Council and the senior management team is currently developing its workforce strategy.