The Chief Officer Appointments Sub-Committee convened to interview candidates for the position of Director of Housing Needs. The recommendation of the committee was scheduled to be subject to consultation with Cabinet members, in line with the council's constitution. The Public reports pack includes background information on the recruitment process and the role.

Appointment of Director of Housing Needs

The main item on the agenda was the appointment of a Director of Housing Needs. According to the Public reports pack, the Chief Officer Appointment Committee had met previously on 5 March 2025 and again on 12 June 2025 to discuss the interview process for the role.

The council engaged GatenbySanderson, an executive search firm, to assist in the recruitment process. Councillor Amar Virdee, Statutory Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing Needs, Homelessness and Private Rented Sector, and Community Safety, and Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, of Newham, were consulted on the recruitment process.

The recruitment process involved:

• An initial longlisting of seven candidates from twenty-five applications.
• Technical interviews conducted by Mohamed Hussein, interim Director of Housing Needs and Homelessness at Tower Hamlets Council, and a representative from GatenbySanderson.
• An Assessment Centre for shortlisted candidates, including a Youth Panel, a Stakeholder Partner panel, and 1:1 interviews with Paul Kitson, Corporate Director of Housing and Inclusive Economy.

The Public reports pack notes that details of the longlisted candidates, along with supporting documentation and diversity profiles, were included in the exempt enclosures to the report.

The report pack states that the recommendation of the committee would be subject to consultation with every member of the Cabinet for a period of two working days, during which time Cabinet members could raise any reasonable objections based on material fact.

The Public reports pack also confirms that the position of Director of Housing Needs is a budgeted post, and salary costs would be within the range set out in the council's Pay Policy for 2025/2026.

Exclusion of Press and Public

The Agenda frontsheet indicates that the committee was scheduled to consider excluding the press and public from the meeting, as Appendix A contained exempt information regarding candidates, as defined by paragraph 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972¹.

The Appendix contains information relating to individuals and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.