Sandwell Council recommending boss for £185,000-a-year position
Sandwell Council has announced its recommendation for its new £185,000 chief executive, having struggled to find a permanent holder of the role for over a year.
A cross-party committee of councillors has recommended that Shokat Lal be appointed as the council’s permanent chief executive, subject to the approval of full council.
Mr Lal will replace Kim Bromley-Derry CBE DL, who has acted as interim chief executive since August 2021.
The Labour-led authority has struggled to hold onto its leaders and chief executives over the last few years, having five leaders and three chief executives in just three years, between 2018 and 2021.
Sandwell Council also faced criticism when hiring Mr Bromley-Derry's predecessor, David Stevens, as chief executive, as he was the only candidate to apply for the job after the authority failed to advertise the £147,000-a-year role nationally.
To entice a new person into the role, the local authority advertised the role of chief executive with a salary of £185,000 - which is £24,000 more than the Prime Minister earns.
Mr Lal, the currently executive director of core services at Barnsley Council, was the unanimous choice of the members of the chief officer terms and conditions committee.
In his current role, Mr Lal is responsible for corporate services including finance and legal and governance services.
Prior to this, he was the assistant chief executive at Rotherham Council where he was part of the senior leadership team responsible for bringing the council out of intervention.
Councillor Kerrie Carmichael, leader of the council and chair of the chief officer terms and conditions committee, said: “I’m delighted the committee unanimously recommended Shokat as our new permanent chief executive.
“His experience and evident passion and commitment to transforming services for residents made him the outstanding choice to lead the council through the significant challenges ahead.”
Following an extensive executive search, three candidates were shortlisted and then underwent a rigorous assessment process before being interviewed by the committee.
The full council will meet on Tuesday, November 8, to consider the recommendation.
