Are district chiefs being frozen out of unitary top jobs?
Top public sector recruiter, Julie Towers, tells Michael Burton that a new glass ceiling for district officers looking for promotion in other tiers is fast emerging. The turmoil in the global money markets is likely to pile new pressures on local authority chief executives as councils grapple with the effects on housing, finance, employment and recruitment. These can only add to a job spec which is already fairly extensive in its demands. Indeed, head-hunters are already saying that the pool of potential chief executives is limited because of the ever-expanding nature of the job, and that more needs to be done to encourage applicants from a wider base. One of the most experienced search and selection specialists, Julie Towers, chief executive of Tribal Resourcing, is especially concerned at the widening gap between district and upper-tier councils when it comes to hiring chief executives. She has warned of a ‘new glass ceiling’ adding: ‘It is quite apparent to me that when it comes to
