The Merton Council Appointments Committee convened on 18 August 2025, agreeing to recommend that the Full Council approve the salary packages for two chief officer roles: Director of Resources (Deputy Section 151 Officer) and Director of Property and Asset Management. The committee also delegated authority to amend the job descriptions and implement the recruitment process for these positions to the Executive Directors of Finance & Digital, Innovation and Change, and Housing and Sustainable Development, in consultation with the Chair of the Appointments Committee.

Appointment of Chief Officers

The committee addressed the appointment of two chief officer roles within the council. The Executive Director for Innovation and Change, Polly Cziok, introduced the proposal to recruit for a Director of Resources (Deputy Section 151 Officer) and a Director of Property and Asset Management, and to agree on the recommended salary packages.

Director of Resources (Deputy Section 151 Officer)

The Director of Resources (Deputy Section 151 Officer) post is being recruited to replace the current postholder who is retiring in March 2026. The post is a key role in the oversight and sound management of the Council's finances. The salary range for the role is £111,510 - £119,229 per annum, based on 2024-25 pay bands. The 2025-26 pay award is still pending and subject to agreement.

Director of Property and Asset Management

The Head of Facilities Management is retiring in September 2025, and following a review of departmental structures, the council wants to replace the role with a Director of Property and Asset Management, bringing property and facilities management back together. The aim is to ensure efficient management and maximise revenue from the council's estate, and there is a need for a proper Corporate Landlord Function¹. The salary range for the role is £111,510 - £119,229 per annum, plus a market supplement of up to £23,681 per annum, bringing the total maximum salary package to £142,910 per annum. A market supplement² may be necessary due to comparator salaries, demand of expertise in this field and transferability of skills across both public and private sectors, and benchmarking of similar posts. The interim incumbent has demonstrated the benefit of this role.

Decision

The committee agreed to recommend that the Full Council approve the salary packages for both roles, in accordance with the Council's Pay Policy Statement³. The committee also agreed to delegate to the Executive Director of Finance & Digital, the Executive Director of Innovation and Change, and the Executive Director for Housing and Sustainable Development, in consultation with the Chair of the Appointments Committee, the authority to amend the Job Descriptions for these posts, where those amendments will not lead to a change of salary range, and to delegate the implementation of the recruitment process for these roles to the Executive Directors in consultation with the Chair of the Appointments Committee.

The committee noted that the council has significantly reduced its annual agency spend by around £5 million over the past two years, and that the permanent recruitment of senior staff has made a major contribution to this.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 2 February 2025 were approved as an accurate record. The Executive Director Innovation & Change, Polly Cziok, had presented a report at that meeting, noting that this followed an initial review of the top three tiers of the organisation, where senior salaries were reviewed initially due to a high level of agency staff across those tiers. The committee had resolved to approve Option 5 of the pay review as the model to adopt and opting for the delayed increments approach, and to approve the proposed revisions to Family Friendly and work-life balance related benefits.