The Joint Senior Staff Committee is scheduled to meet to discuss the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer for Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council, following the departure of the previous postholder, Catherine Howe, in July 2025. The committee is expected to review the assessments of shortlisted candidates and conduct interviews, with the aim of recommending a preferred candidate to both Adur and Worthing Full Councils for approval. The meeting will also cover public and member questions, and any urgent items.

Appointment of Chief Executive Officer

The main item on the agenda is the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for both Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council. According to the report pack, the Joint Senior Staff Committee is responsible for the recruitment process, including interviewing shortlisted applicants and making recommendations to the Full Councils.

The report pack outlines the recruitment process so far:

• Application Stage: Recruitment partner McLean Public launched the campaign, which attracted 18 candidates, including current Chief Executives and directors.
• Longlisting Stage: McLean Public carried out the longlisting exercise and interviewed seven candidates, from which a shortlist of three candidates was agreed.

The Joint Senior Staff Committee will be asked to interview and assess the candidates, taking into consideration insights from McLean, the Officer Panel, and the Partner Panel. The report pack includes documents to guide the committee in the interview process.

The Assistant Director for People & Change, Noel Hatch, will guide committee members through the process. The plan for the meeting includes:

• One-hour interviews per candidate, with structured questions.
• Individual scoring by each member after each interview.
• A collective deliberation session to discuss each candidate and agree on scoring and feedback.

The report pack includes a Guide for Joint Senior Staff Committee – Interview Panel, which sets out the interview process, scoring, and deliberation process. It also includes a Chief Executive recruitment scoring guide to ensure consistent scoring across the criteria.

The committee will be asked to agree on a scoring for each candidate and recommend a preferred candidate to the Full Councils. They will also consider the terms of the referral to Full Councils within the approved salary range of £144,199 to £166,477. The Assistant Director for People and Change will be authorised to make a conditional offer to the recommended candidate, subject to approval by both Full Councils.

The report pack also includes a Briefing Note for Members on the implications of the Local Government Reorganisation guidance on the recruitment of the CEX. This note addresses concerns that appointing a permanent CEO might conflict with Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) plans. However, it argues that appointing a permanent CEO is justified because the Head of Paid Service is a statutory role under Section 4 of the Local Government & Housing Act 1989, and strong leadership is essential for LGR transition.

Public and Member Questions

The agenda includes time for questions from the public and from council members. According to the agenda frontsheet, questions from the public should have been submitted to Democratic Services by noon on Friday 3 October 2025. Member questions, pursuant to rule 12 of the Council & Committee Procedure Rules, also had the same deadline for submission.