Director appointments announced

Sept21

Cherwell District Council and South Northamptonshire Council have announced the appointment of three directors, Ian Davies, Calvin Bell and Martin Henry, to the new shared senior management team that will operate across both authorities.

The appointments are the second step in the formation of a joint team, following the recruitment of a shared chief executive, Sue Smith, earlier this year. The shared management team structure was agreed by the two authorities in December 2010, and is expected to save Cherwell £3.4million and South Northamptonshire £1.8million respectively, over a five year period.

Councillor Mary Clarke, leader of South Northamptonshire Council said: "The candidates undertook an intensive interview process involving external assessment and our newly appointed directors demonstrated that they have the skills, knowledge and experience to help drive our two progressive authorities forward."

Adding to this, Councillor Barry Wood, leader of Cherwell District Council said: "It makes sense to share a management team - it preserves service delivery and it saves money. But to do it well you need people with the right skills and I believe we have these in Ian, Martin and Calvin."

Recruitment into the new shared management team now moves into its final stage, with the new team expected to be fully operational from October.

Cherwell's 50 elected members and South Northamptonshire's 42 elected members will continue to represent their respective wards and districts, and continue to independently develop policies, decide on strategic priorities and take decisions on areas such as services and funding.