Thursday 18 February 2016

Senior jobs at Brent Council available now up to £111,000 pa

Following the latest restructuring Brent Council is advertising the following jobs. A description of the management structure is available HERE

Leading Brent

Brent is a unique, growing and iconic borough, richly diverse and full of possibilities. As a council we take our role as place shaper very seriously and the regeneration of the borough continues at pace.  We want to ensure that this growth, and resulting opportunities, brings about real and lasting benefits for all our residents – young and old.  We have reorganised the council to meet the challenges ahead, reflect a culture of collaboration and improve services even further.  This has created the following senior leadership roles all of which report to our Strategic Directors. 

Children and Young People Services 

Operational Director – Service Integration and Improved Outcomes                   up to £111k
Managing a broad portfolio which includes front line social work, Inclusion, Early Help, Localities and Looked After Children teams you will be a qualified children’s social care professional with a depth of front line practitioner, as well senior management experience.  This is an exciting and challenging role which will drive service integration, better social work practice and improved outcomes for our most vulnerable children, young people and families.   
Operational Director – Safeguarding, Partnerships and Strategy                         up to £111k
This key role will lead our Safeguarding and Quality Assurance service, School Effectiveness and Place Planning, Partnerships and Commissioning.  You will help shape and implement strategies across the service and the council which better prepare us for the future, working with a range of stakeholders including schools, the LSCB and our Children’s Trust. Whatever your background, you will be an effective partnership worker with high level influencing and negotiation skills.   

Community Wellbeing Services

Operational Director – Adult Social Care                    up to £111k
This role will lead adult social care services which include commissioning, assessment support planning and safeguarding, and direct services to vulnerable adults and older people. Delivering high quality and innovation in Adult Social Care is fundamental to supporting and safeguarding the most vulnerable members of our community. With senior management experience in a related setting or sector, you will be passionate about promoting independence and choice across the whole health and social care system, both locally and sub regionally. You will bring vision, ambition and an operational focus that will drive the service forward.
For a confidential discussion call our advising consultants at Penna: Maggie Hennessy 07877 004648, Chris Barrow 0203 829 9754, Anita Denton 07725 554802 or Carol Coyle 020 7332 7806.

Closing date for receipt of applications: Friday 18 March 2016



16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh dear:'iconic borough', 'we take our role as place shaper very seriously'. What language-hating pea-brain writes this crap?

Mike Hine

Nan. said...

The same kind of language-hating, pea-brain they will appoint to the 'up to £111k' roles of course, Mike. After all, it takes one to know one and all that....

Anyone notice that the director of HR role is also out to advert. Only offering up to £122k, so they may have to add an Oyster Card as a sweetener and let you run your own business on the side to make up for the measly salary on offer.

Interested parties are being invited to phone Shahidul Miah for a chat about the role (he of Bloomsbury Consulting that shot to fame during the Davani /Gilbert debacle.

You couldn't make it up - but who'd want to anyway?

Anonymous said...

what a load of s...........t

Anonymous said...

Restructure = cull after ousted.
VR Payments = astounding amounts

Philip Grant said...

Given the performance of a previous Director of HR at Brent Council, it is good to know that the purpose of the role has been clearly set out for this round of job applicants:

'Job Purpose:

1. Lead on the development, implementation and management of the Council’s Human Resources services to support delivery of the Council’s aims and objectives.

2. Lead adviser to the Council on all human resources and organisational development matters. Ensure the Chief Executive; Strategic Director, Resources; Corporate Management Team; and lead Executive Members are given clear, balanced and accurate advice and guidance on HR strategy and policy issues, complex human resources and employment matters and workforce challenges facing the Council and the impact on services.

3. Provide a corporate lead for planning, developing and implementing diversity, organisational and cultural change for the Council.'

But why was this important job not advertised in the Jobs and Careers section on Brent Council's website? And why, oh why, was Shahidul Miah of Bloomsbury Resourcing Ltd chosen as the consultant through whom Brent's new HR Director would be recruited? Who chose him for that role - was it the acting HR Director, Mildred Phillips, a protege of the departed Cara Davani?

Philip.

Anonymous said...

I hope Davani doesn't see the job ad. Given her lack of any self-awareness or sensitivity she'll probably apply.
(And given Brent's continuing attachment to Legacy Miah, Mildred and Mo, she'll probably get it).

Mike Hine

Alison Hopkins said...

Doesn't Miah have links to Penna as well? Or was that Collier?

Anonymous said...

An update, in reply to my own comment (19 February at 14.48 above):

I didn't just ask my questions, about why Shahidul Miah, and who chose him as recruitment consultant for the HR Director post, in my blog comment. I asked a senior source at Brent Council (whose response I would trust), and have been assured that Bloomsbury Resourcing won the recruiting contract for this one post through competitive tendering, and that Mildred Phillips has not been involved in any way in the recruitment process for the HR Director post.

And in reply to Mike:

If I were a conspiracy theorist, I might think that Miah had pitched his tender low for the HR Director recruitment contract, so that he could get the job and help get his friend Cara onto the short-list, so that her friend Mo could then swing things, as chairman of the Senior Staff Appointments Sub-Committee which will be interviewing short-listed candidates on 24 March, to have her re-appointed as Brent's Director of HR. But surely that wouldn't happen in the real world, would it?

Philip Grant.

Nan. said...

My conspiracy theory would read that there is so much to hide from the Davani days that Brent /Davani (through friend Miah) needs to ensure the new incumbent will be a safe pair of hands.

[After all, you do have to wonder why it was necessary for Davani to return to work a mere two weeks after giving birth to twins - dedication to Brent or not wanting anyone else to delve into her dealings maybe?]

Unfortunately for them there is no possibility of this appointment being allowed to circumvent council procedures and be made without a Member interview. So the next best thing would obviously be to put in someone they could trust to keep the carpet safely in place....and who best to orchestrate that than trusted mate Miah?

DOn't forget, these people have all conspired, oops! WORKED, togather in several different organisations over a considerable period and know how to survive.

I am not convinced by the lowest tender argument, Philip. What went on in Brent was so appalling and drew such a degree of public opprobrium as surely to preclude the possibility of any of the previous cast list being unleashed on this particular appointment.

Anonymous said...

This is not the real world, Philip. This is the world of 'place shapers' in an 'iconic borough'.
( And don't tell anyone about your theory. I think we could be on to something!)

Mike

Jaine Lunn said...

Why does Brent Council need to spend money hiring a Consultant to recruit for the job? They could do what they profess to do in their PR and embrace the idea of local jobs for local people. Philip Grant is more than qualified to sift through the submitted CV's do the necessary checks, due diligence and all that. I trust his judgement and accuracy of reporting and know that he has what's in the best public interest for the residents of Brent to choose someone who would act responsible, fair and honest in recruiting local people for jobs within the council.

Philip Grant said...

I understand that there were SIX senior management jobs at Brent Council where the recruitment was contracted out recently. Only the three (set out in the blog above) where Penna won the recruiting contract have actually appeared on the "Jobs and Careers" pages on Brent Council's website! One of those which didn't was the Director of HR post (see separate blog of 20 February, as well as some comments above), but I don't know what the other two were, or which recruitment consultant(s) got the contract.

I suspect that Brent would claim that spending money on outside recruitment consultants for such roles will bring these posts to the attention of a wider range of top quality candidates than if the Council simply advertised them itself. But why are some of the vacancies not even shown on the Council's own website?

You make a very good point, Jaine, about local jobs for local people. If Brent is the "vibrant" place which the Council's PR claims, then surely there must be some of our local residents who would be suitable candidates, and they would have a better "feel" for the borough and its people than someone from, say, rural Suffolk.

Philip.

Martin Francis said...

Director of Regeneration and Major Projects (or similar title)?

Martin Francis said...

This comes up with 'Access Denied' http://www.brentseniorrecruitment.com/job/strategic-director-environment-and-regeneration-at-london-borough-of-brent-in-brent-london

Nan. said...

Quite simply, the system has been well programmed to weed out all non-'place shapers' trying to gain access.

Not sure what gave the game away in your case, Martin .............

Anonymous said...

Shahidul Miah and Bernard Collier were co-directors of Bloombury Resourcing.