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Non-job of the week

Dec 15th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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As this is the last non-job of the week feature of 2011, I have been looking back at the examples of non-jobs and ridiculously high pay I have highlighted throughout the year. I won’t pick a winner as the non-job of the year – I’ll leave it to you, but there is no shortage of runners and riders competing for the accolade.

Some councils have been busy building large change and performance departments. Surrey County Council and Oxford City Council immediately spring to mind. Surrey has advertised for a Performance Manager, Performance Officer, Intelligence Officer, Change Officer, Senior Change Manager, and a Senior Performance and Research Officer (Intelligence). Non-Job of the WeekOxford City Council have recruited similar officers and managers, as well as a Tenants Involvement and Development Officer.

Nottingham City Council (the only council not to publish its spending above £500) ironically recruited a Head of Quality and Efficiency Services, and Walsall Council was looking for a Smarter Workplaces Programme Manager. Also this year, the new Future Shape Programme Manager of North East Lincolnshire Council was revealed.

Reading Council was looking for no less than ten Seasonal Personal Travel Plan Advisers. Their job was to contact residents and discuss with them how they travel to work, school, and go shopping, etc. If you think this is bizarre, then what about Waltham Forest’s search for a Laughter Yoga Teacher?

This year, many councils have scrapped their newspapers, but Hackney (surprise, surprise) has not followed suit. Earlier this year it was looking for a new sub-editor for its propaganda rag newspaper, Hackney Today.

There has also been the usual raft of Climate Change Officers (something I highlighted repeatedly), Political Assistants, and Diversity Officers - including the BBC who was looking for a Diversity Talent Executive!

A London council was looking for a Governance Officer – Openness and Transparency. Ironically, we didn’t know which council this was, as they were recruiting anonymously through a recruitment agency! Those recruitment agencies have been a feature this year. Remember the Interim Head of Parking Services for an unnamed London Council? In March this was yours for £500-£600 a day! This was the most egregious salary of the year. When annualised, a parking manager was due to be paid more then the prime minister.

I could go on, and please have a look through these examples and the others from 2011. It does come with a health warning though. I don’t want your blood pressure to rise to dangerous levels.

I wish you all a very Happy Christmas, and here’s hoping 2012 will be a non-job free year!

Non-job of the week

Dec 7th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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North Somerset Council is looking for a Waste Minimisation Officer. As far as I can see, the officer will spend a large amount of time either visiting or communicating with schools, community organisations, and other partners showing them how to minimise the amount of waste going into their standard refuse bins.

This is despite the various leaflets already sent out to residents and businesses informing them of what they can and cannot recycle. Does it really need someone to be constantly haranguing them with the same messages? Non-Job of the WeekThe EU landfill directive keeps increasing the burden on council taxpayers, so I can understand why councils are keen to push the recycling message. There does come a point though where you wonder just how far councils will go. With recycling rates already on target to hit 60% this financial year, this is one job North Somerset council taxpayers can do without.

A central government department is looking for a Senior Integrated Communications Officer based in Leeds, paying £180-£220 per day (£900-£1100 per week). This role requires the jobholder “to gather intelligence about the mood, activities, opinions of key stakeholder e.g. staff representative groups and professional bodies, the national media.”

The job description goes on to say they will be “supporting senior members of the team to deliver communications about pensions reform to staff. This will be vital as elements of the reform ratchet up over next 6 months and will also entail feeding into the Departments industry relations policy group.”

When we published our report on the taxpayer funding of trade unions, we were told by union leaders that union reps needed time off on our watch because it promoted harmony in the workplace. Recent strikes don’t back up that message, but leaving that to one side, it could be argued the government needs to communicate its message on public sector pensions reform more effectively. As TPA Research Director, John O’Connell wrote last week, there are many myths about pensions reform still being articulated in the media – mainly by unions.

Take a look at the job advert. This role predominantly involves communicating with staff and stakeholders, which in turn means the unions. We will be paying someone the equivalent of £45-55K per annum on a temporary full-time contract to tell the unions what they already know – or at least should know.

I appreciate there is more to this job, but as it’s a temporary contract on a daily rate, clearly it’s not going to last a long time. Once again though we don’t know which department it is, as the job is advertised through a recruitment agency, which will also incur additional fees.

This job is unnecesary as the government already has a team of negotiators working with the unions. The unions then pass on the information to their members, with additional employer information distributed to staff. This is an additional expense we can do without.

 

Non-job of the week

Nov 2nd, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has been in the news this past week. The RPA is an executive agency of Defra, and its job is to administer an EU subsidy for farmers for maintaining their land. It was introduced in 2005.

It has faced much criticism over the years for delayed payments to farmers, and although it is questionable why such an agency needs to exist, I will leave that to one side. The post of Interim Finance Director (which was a job share, and has now thankfully been replaced by someone on a much lower salary) cost taxpayers a massive £425K a year. MPs were rightly outraged when they heard this figure. Conservative MP, Neil Parish said his constituents wouldn’t believe that the highest paid post at Defra was an accountant.

Non-Job of the WeekI have regularly highlighted some of the egregious amounts paid to consultants and interim staff. Many of these posts are advertised through recruitment agencies, which of course makes it much harder to pin-point which government department, Quango, health authority, etc, is recruiting. This example though is the worst I have come across, and proves why we need more transparency in the public sector so we can see where our money is going.

Staying on the same theme, the recruitment agency Morgan Hunt is advertising for a Head of Campaigns and Partnerships for a central government department. Once again we don’t know which department, or what those campaigns are going to be. We do know if it for a fixed period of 3 months, and the post pays £250-£400 per day. Is it a non-job? Who knows, and unless there is more transparency, I doubt we ever will.

Morgan Hunt is also acting on behalf of a local government client who is looking for an Interim HR Manager. All we know is this is a London council. The job pays between £150-£200 per day.

This week we can see once again that our money is being spent in large amounts in ways we know very little about. The money spent on the Interim Finance Director’s post at the RPA wasn’t discovered until after the event. The same will apply with the two other posts I have highlighted.

Until and unless there is more transparency this is going to continue. The government will from time to time recruit people to highly sensitive jobs, and for reasons of national security we won’t necessarily know those jobs exist and what those people do. I understand that, but this cannot be said of the examples I have given. We have a right to know how our money is spent.

 

Non-job of the week

Oct 19th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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At the end of last year, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) appointed Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti as the UK’s Climate and Energy Security Envoy.

It is important to note that this doesn’t appear to be his only duty, he seems to have a real job too.  But it clearly takes up a substantial part of his time and you may ask what climate change has to do with the MoD, and why it feels the need to appoint a Rear Admiral to such a role. During an interview to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, this is what he had to say:

I think we – the reason we think that the implications of climate change have broadened from just environmental, socio-economic and political is that we’re beginning to recognise – and this is on a global basis – that the – not the physical changes that occur with climate change, but the second and third-order consequences, the result of rising temperatures, sea levels, increased acidity of the ocean is that we’re seeing the potential for loss of land, of loss of livelihood for people.

And that, on top of all the other stresses they’re facing, many of them related to resources, food, energy, water, etc., has the potential to increase the likelihood of conflict. So, climate change isn’t necessarily something that’s going to start a conflict on its own, but it is what I would call a threat multiplier or a catalyst of conflict.

I still can’t see what he and presumably his team are going to do. If there is conflict as the result of a water shortage, which Rear Admiral Morisetti mentions later in this interview, how is he going to prevent it? What does he do all day? Talk to governments about potential threats they already know about? Rising temperatures (and indeed falling temperatures) are not something that happen overnight. No-one predicted the earthquake in Japan earlier this year, which has contributed to energy supply problems there.

Later in the interview he talks about Afghanistan:

One of the challenges we have to look at, for example, is operating in Afghanistan, where we’re dependent on convoys to bring our fuel in from Karachi through to our operating bases and a lot of that convoy’s taken up with carrying the fuel.

So we’ve been looking at ways at which we can reduce our dependency on fuel by being more energy efficient, optimising the way we operate our equipment, perhaps changing our behaviour in circumstances whilst still being able to deliver the operational capabilities that we need.

Adapting to the new challenges facing our armed services is of course important work. No-one is going to dispute that, but surely there are already people inside the MoD who are trying to use fuel more efficiently? Is a Rear Admiral acting as a Climate and Energy Security Envoy – i.e. tasked with engaging with others outside the military – really the right person to get involved in that kind of operational planning?

There are already pressing problems around the world for a man with his experience to deal with. Pirates off the coast of Somalia are regularly hijacking vessels. Wouldn’t his time be better spent concentrating on immediate problems like these, rather than talking to politicians and think tanks about the importance of climate change?

Non-job of the week

Oct 12th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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On 29 September, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) announced the final Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency. In a written statement to the House of Commons, Eric Pickles said:

The code of practice calls on local authorities such as councils and fire and rescue services to shine a light on every part of their business, from employees’ salaries over £58,200 and details of all their contracts and tenders to details of grants to voluntary organisations, spending data and the locations of public land and building assets.

Non-Job of the WeekMore transparency in local government is great news for taxpayers, although a London council could learn a thing or two about it. I say ‘a London council’ because I don’t which one, as it is using the recruitment agency Morgan Hunt to advertise, of all things, a Governance Officer – Openness and Transparency!

Perhaps the first action of the new Openness and Transparency Officer will be to make sure all jobs at the unnamed council are advertised in an open and transparent way!

The accolade this week though goes to Lambeth Council. Lambeth wishes to employ an Energy Efficiency Manager, paying between £40506 – £43152 per annum. Now, energy efficiency is, of course, a good thing. With energy bills rising dramatically, we are all looking for ways to reduce our energy consumption and councils should not be the exception.

I am sure many of you who have worked in offices will have seen stickers next to light switches reminding you to switch off the lights if they are not needed. These days we also have things like smart meters that tell us exactly how much energy we are consuming. If you have seen one in action you will know that as soon as you switch on a kettle, the energy consumption rises. It doesn’t stop me making a cup of tea, but I know exactly which appliances at home use the most electricity, and if I can find ways of using those appliances less I will save money.

Councils can reduce energy consumption by doing the same. If you are about to go into a meeting for a couple of hours, does your computer still need to be switched on? It may have been dark when you started working this morning, but do the lights still need to be switched on? Letting council workers see how much energy they are consuming will result in a reduction of energy consumption, as happened at Windsor and Maidenhead Council.

In a report last year we highlighted how councils reacted differently to government legislation. Although all councils have to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions, there are councils who manage to do it without creating mini-departments like Lambeth do.

By adopting simple strategies that we all use at home, councils can dramatically reduce their CO2 emissions and save taxpayers’ money.

Non-job of the week

Sep 28th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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The council is transforming the way it delivers public services. This is the first line of the job advert for Newham Borough Council’s Change Project Portfolio Manager. Paying a salary of £43,368 per annum, the new recruit “will have overall responsibility for the integrity and coherence of the change projects allocated within the Customer Access Programme.”

Is the fact it needs to advertise it’s transforming the way it delivers public services an admission that it wasn’t very good at delivering them in the past? Or is this an excuse to get on the ‘change management’ bandwagon that seems to be sweeping over councils at the moment? Councils seem to be making staff in lower grades redundant, and then employing managers on higher pay to make the changes that only a few years ago they didn’t think were needed.

Non-Job of the WeekIn a report last year, we highlighted how councils interpret government legislation in wildly different ways. Although the legislation that has poured down on councils has been great, some have set-up new, mini departments, whereas other councils have taken the legislation on board, but have not found it necessary to employ a battalion of extra staff. For example, Birmingham City Council (the country’s largest council) employs 28 Diversity Officers at a cost of almost £2 million. Manchester City Council (another large authority) doesn’t employ any.

The BBC is in the process of recruiting staff for its new Salford Quays Development, and is looking for a Diversity Talent Executive. This is an eight-month secondment aimed at increasing the number of disabled managers within the BBC. Here is the job description:

You’ll research, create and implement a robust Diversity action plan that will enable Children’s to build and maintain a diverse workforce. You’ll proactively seek new ways in which to attract new diverse talent including:

- Creating new strong partnerships with both internal and external stakeholders in order to source new diverse talent.

- Building upon existing relationships / forums / networks that will maximise our ability to develop and source diverse talent

It is illegal to discriminate against someone because they are disabled – and rightly so. In new, modern premises, like Salford Quays, wheelchair access will not be a problem, so why the need to employ a diversity manager? Political correctness should not get in the way of appointing talented people, and this policy does just that.

Any employer will tell you they want the best person for the job, and I am sure there are many disabled people who will make great managers for the BBC. Equally there will be many women, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs, Hindus, you name them, who will make great managers too. It should be a level playing field, and cream will rise to the top. With so much employment legislation on the statute book these days, non-jobs like this one are not needed.

 

Non-job of the week

Sep 21st, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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What is a Regional Reputation Manager? I’m not sure, however I know Calderdale Council employs one, thanks to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request sent by one of our supporters.

The FOI also revealed the Marketing and Communications Team includes four graphic designers, a Campaigns Officer, a Marketing Officer, a Principal Communications Officer, and a PR and Public Information Officer. Some of these jobs must be part-time as the salary bill for 2010/11 was £199,900, and for the current financial year, the bill is set to rise to £216,800.

Non-Job of the WeekThe FOI also revealed there are 11 personal assistants employed by the authority, and a further two secretaries who carry out the functions of a PA. When you add on costs for council newspapers and other publications, you can see that there is plenty of fat to trim.

The accolade this week though goes to Surrey County Council, which is looking for a Senior Campaign Communications Officer paying £36,615 per annum. Here is part of the job description:

Want to work as part of an award winning team communicating with an audience of over one million people? Join our team of communications professionals who are constantly delivering new and creative ways of talking to our residents and staff.

We have some experience of the new and creative way Surrey County Council communicates. Take a look at this video. There’s no need to adjust the volume settings on your computer. There’s no sound.

If you are left scratching your head after watching that, here’s an explanation from the council:

The proposal to develop an Eco Park at Charlton Lane, Shepperton is a key element of Surrey County Council’s World Class Solution for the county, which aims to manage Surrey’s waste in the most efficient, sustainable and cost effective way possible. 

So that’s what it’s all about. The council wants to develop an Eco Park, and decided to produce a video. Through a FOI we discovered the cost of producing it was £15,080. If that’s what campaign professionals come up with, taxpayers can certainly do without them.

Surrey CC FoI Response

Non-job of the week

Sep 14th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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The recruitment company, Parkhouse Bell, is searching for part-time Interim Business Development Managers for ‘a number of primes and subcontractors delivering variety of government services’. It seems the consultants bill is set to rise considerably, as those recruited will be rewarded with anything between £200-£600 per day! So much for bringing the consultants bill down.

Not wishing to be outdone, the City of London Corporation is also looking for a new Business Performance and Improvement Officer, earning £34,550 – £39,270. The successful applicant will be part of the Business Performance and Improvement Division based in the City Surveyor’s Department.Non-Job of the Week It seems there are improvement officers in just about every council department these days, as Hackney Borough Council is on the lookout for a Knowledge and Service Improvement Manager based in its new Business and Service Improvement Unit. I can give Hackney Council a tip: stop publishing your newspaper, Hackney Today,  every fortnight, and you’ll save a fortune, and in doing so you’ll help local newspapers who are struggling in the current economic climate.

If none of the above are your ‘cup of tea’ then you can always take up Lewisham’s offer and become a Political Assistant. Here’s part of the job description:

A full time political assistant is needed to provide the Council’s 12 strong Liberal Democrat Group of Councillors with invaluable administrative, policy and political support. It is a wide ranging role, with duties ranging from planning agendas and recording the salient points of meetings to assisting the Group in dealing with press and media enquiries. To be effective, you will need to be acutely aware of new legislation and political developments (on a national as well as local basis) and have an empathy with Liberal Democrat policies. 

I’m not singling out the Liberal Democrats (as all parties do this), but why does the 12 strong Liberal Democrat Group of Councillors need policy and political support? They are elected councillors, who presumably have their collective ears to the ground (there’s a picture) and understand what’s happening in their wards. Do they really need their hands holding during a radio interview? Are they so fearful of the press that they need someone to whisper in their ears what and what not to say? Are they incapable of answering calls on their mobile phones if a journalist wants a quote? When they have group meetings, can’t one of them record the minutes?

I am not saying councillors don’t need some secretarial help from time to time. They do, and this can easily be provided by existing council officers. They don’t need to employ someone to do their work for them, which is what Political Assistants do.

Non-job of the week

Sep 7th, 2011
by Darren Rutland.
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The London Borough of Havering is still looking for a Programme Office Manager. It isn’t the first time that Havering has been under the microscope. The council has recently been searching for a Performance Improvement Officer. The vacancy for the former says that an “exciting opportunity has arisen to manage the programme office for two programmes”. The description suggests that the successful candidate will work with the existing Transformation Manager. Which makes you wonder why, if the position is so critical to providing taxpayers with a good service, is it only being created now?

Mole Valley District Council is on the lookout for an Environmental Services Monitoring and Enforcement Officer. One of the key objectives will be to ensure “the district looks great when it hosts the Olympic cycling road race next year”. Taxpayers expect to receive an efficiently-run service anyway, and the Olympics should not have any effect on the council’s determination to provide excellence and value for money.

Non-Job of the WeekOnce again, Oxford City Council get a mention, and they provide this week’s winner. This time, it’s for an Environmental Control Service Manager. The £41,000 a year post has a large number of requirements, ranging from “experience of successful partnership working” to “a clear understanding of the major challenges in local government and of the social policy issues to be faced in a multi-cultural city when delivering the services in the job portfolio”. It also lists “experience of developing and maintaining lean and efficient systems”. Considering some of the vacancies, this is painfully ironic.

The essential and desirable criteria in full:

Degree or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject (E)
Post graduate management qualification or equivalent (D).
Evidence of continuing professional development (E)
Demonstrable experience in environmental work (E)
A proven track record/experience of operational, financial resource and people management (E)
Experience of integrating services to ensure efficient delivery (D).
Experience of successful partnership working (E)
Experience of developing and maintaining lean and efficient systems/ structures (E)
Expert knowledge of the key legislative framework and best practice for Environmental Control work (E)
A clear understanding of the major challenges in local government and of the social policy issues to be faced in a multi-cultural city when delivering the services in the job portfolio (E).
A sound understanding of the business community and interface issues (E)
Experience of best practice capital & revenue management (E).
A high level of understanding and commitment to diversity and community cohesion (E).

Non-job of the week

Aug 31st, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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At the end of July, I commented that Oxford City Council was advertising for a Business Improvement Manager. I also commented that the council had previously advertised twice for a Performance Improvement Manager, and a Business Improvement Partner. This was on top of all the other jobs with similar titles. Once again, life is not going smoothly in this famous city. It appears that the council’s search for its new Business Improvement Manager has also hit the buffers, and once again it is advertising the same post, on the same salary of £41,616 – £46,673. Lesser mortals would think someone was trying to tell them something, but nothing is going to stop Oxford creating its mini-department of change and performance. It’s rather like the local government equivalent of a long-running soap opera!

Non-Job of the WeekAs I have mentioned before, performance and change seem to the buzz words in local government these days. Whether you look at our annual Town Hall Rich List, or browse through the accounts of your local council, you will see armies of managers, all of them bringing you a ‘Rolls Royce’ service. We are told in order to have the best, high salaries must be paid, yet if they are providing the best service money can buy, why are so many councils advertising for performance and change managers? Aren’t they paid to be efficient, to look for ways of streamlining the operations they are responsible for, and to provide the best value for our money?

I’ll leave those questions hanging in the air, and let you make up your own mind as we move to this week’s winner. The London Borough of Havering is looking for a Performance Improvement Officer who will report to the amusingly named Continuous Improvement Manager, who unsurprisingly is in charge of the Continuous Improvement Team. Another mini-department created. Here’s part of the job description:

Are you passionate about performance? Inspired by improvement?

Interested in joining a dynamic team environment that is constantly seeking innovative approaches and solutions?

Reporting to the Continuous Improvement Manager you will be part of a team leading on the selection, monitoring and implementation of continuous improvement projects. You will work across teams to realise integrated benefits for the Shared Service Centre as a whole.

After reading that, I thought I would take a look at senior officer pay in Havering by looking through its most recent accounts. I went on to the council’s website and typed ‘accounts 2010/11′ into the search engine as the latest draft accounts may be online. Nothing came up in the search, but the first suggestion was for the Finance Department, with these words, “Welcome to our finance pages. We are committed to providing clear, up-to-date and relevant financial information to our residents. We welcome your views on the information and how it could be improved.”

I clicked on the link to be told that authentication was required, and I need to log-in with a username and password! I would happily give them my views on the information and how it could be improved if I could actually see it! I am sure there is a way of registering, although it’s not readily visible, but that really is not the point. Why should I have to register to view financial information about a council? It should be there, on the website, freely available for all to see.

So I still don’t know how many managers there are earning between £50,000 – £100,000, but surely all of them are committed to continuous improvement? Once again, I’ll leave that question hanging in the air.

 

 

Non-job of the week

Aug 24th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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It may be the silly season, but this hasn’t stopped councils advertising more non-jobs, and this week is an ‘Oxford City Council Free-Zone.’ Our starter for ten is a Change Manager at Surrey County Council, paying £36,615 per annum. The council is looking ‘for a well-organised, motivated and adaptable individual with experience of project and programme management and strong communication skills to help ensure the delivery of the Council’s Fit for the Future Change Programme.’ Is this an admission that they aren’t fit for the present?

Non-Job of the WeekAs we know from previous ‘non job of the week’ posts, Surrey is far from the only council appointing more managers to manage change, and even the House of Commons is getting in on the act! It is looking for a Director of Change on £58,200-£93,380 per annum.

If improvement and transformation is your business, then look no further than Dacorum Borough Council, who is searching for two Improvement and Transformation Officers. Gloucester City Council is also looking for two Business Improvement Officers. If you are unsure this is the job for you, here are some handy questions on the job description. Do you tick the boxes?

Do you want to be at the heart of change? Are you motivated and enthusiastic? Do you want to change the way we deliver services to Customers? Then this role is for you!

There can only be one winner (unless I change the rules) and this must go to Cornwall County Council. It has been reported in the media that the council is searching for a Project Officer – Olympic Torch Relay. The successful applicant will be responsible for the safe movement of the Olympic Torch from Land’s End to the Tamar Bridge, when it will enter Devon. It is estimated it will take 12 hours to complete the 84-mile route.

Our Campaign Director, Emma Boon, was interviewed about this on Pirate FM, and our Campaign Manager, Robert Oxley, had this to say in the Daily Mail:

‘Local taxpayers will be staggered that Cornwall Council plans to spend so much of their money needlessly planning for one part of one day of the Olympics.

‘Existing members of staff at the council should have been able to deliver an excellent day for the torch’s visit, it’s not much extra work.

‘Times are tough for many families and they expect their council to try to make savings, not needlessly recruit extra employees.’

As the route for the Olympic Torch is going to wind its way around most of the UK, how many other councils are going to employ someone to meet and greet it, and then wish it bon voyage? If you have seen similar advertisements on your council’s website, please let us know.

 

Non-job of the week

Aug 17th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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If I continue to write about Oxford City Council, I am worried I will get an e-mail from their solicitor accusing me of harassing them! I am going to risk it again this week though. On 1 June I wrote the council was looking for a Business Improvement Partner. It seems all has not gone to plan, and it is advertising the post once again. Perhaps someone is trying to tell them something or perhaps the Performance Improvement Manager is getting lonely?

Non-Job of the WeekThe City of London Corporation is looking for an Equalities and Diversity Manager. The successful applicant will have “a strong emphasis on adding practical value to our equality and diversity work in service delivery, you will have a proven diversity/equalities skill set and be able to operate at both a strategic level – analysing performance against national standards and developing key policies, as well as at an operational level – providing pragmatic advice and effective solutions to build on and enhance our performance.”

In other words they will be able to tick the right boxes! It is illegal to discriminate on the grounds of race, gender, or sexual orientation. As we said in our report last year:

Many local councils have created mini-departments to comply with this policy agenda. Again the disparities across councils are evidence that the hiring of specific staff is not necessary.

The winning council this week though is Gloucester City Council, who is advertising for two Business Improvement Officers. It seems as if every council across the country has decided to open mini-departments to implement change. When you look our Town Hall Rich List from this year though, you will see the chief executive is not working on poverty stricken wages. He managed to get a pay rise in 2009/9 of 5.1%, and there are many managers beneath him who are well paid to implement change. They should have been doing it anyway!

 

2 x BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT OFFICER

Temporary contracts for up to 12 months

  • Salary – £23,708 per annum – bar at £26,276

Do you want to be at the heart of change? Are you motivated and enthusiastic? Do you want to change the way we deliver services to Customers? Then this role is for you!

We are looking for two people to join the Business Improvement team. This is an opportunity for you to contribute to the development and implementation of our change programme / Channel Strategy. You will be working closely with a range of services to make them more efficient, effective and customer focused.

You will need to be a highly effective communicator with the skills to be able to listen and relay information in a variety of formats. You will need to be able to maintain momentum, to achieve outcomes, and implement and manage change.

Ideally you should be able to evidence practical experience in a range of business improvement methods including LEAN and Systems Thinking. You should have an innovative approach to problem solving and have a great attention to detail.

 

 

 

 

Non-job of the week

Aug 10th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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Oxford City Council again this week. For the record, I do not check this council’s website every week, desperately trying to root out any non-jobs. It simply comes up on the usual websites I check. This week it is looking for an Assistant Energy Officer, paying between £21,519 – £24,646 per annum. After some very lengthy job descriptions of late, this one is short. The main duties and responsibilities are to ‘support Oxford City Council’s Climate Change Officer in delivering key parts of the Carbon Management Programme’.

Non-Job of the WeekIt’s very much climate change week this week. Merton Borough Council is searching for a Climate Change Officer paying £38,070 – £40,716 per annum. But that’s not all. The same council is also searching for a Climate Change Projects Officer on £30,390 – £32,607. These two posts are part of the newly created Future Merton team, which is dynamic and forward thinking in its approach to enabling development. (Not my words, as you may have guessed!)

Once again taxpayers are having to pay for various directives (mainly pouring out of Brussels). TPA Director, Matthew Sinclair, has written about this in his new book Let them eat carbon, and as we showed in our report last year, councils vary in their approach to these directives. Instead of adding more layers of bureaucracy (with some councils having as many as ten officers with climate change in the job title), Windsor and Maidenhead Council installed smart meters which lead to a 15% overnight reduction of council energy consumption. This really is a smart way of meeting climate targets!

 

Climate Change Officer

£38,070 – £40,716 per annum inclusive Ref: 4596

The Council require a committed and knowledgeable individual to lead on climate change initiatives, including reviewing the Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan. They will engage with key stakeholders to promote climate change initiatives, extending the Council’s high profile and reputation as an exemplar authority for sustainable energy initiatives. The applicant must have a thorough understanding of the principles of sustainable development and of mitigation and adaption processes, measures and ideas, including their practical adaption.

Further information about the above job can be found on our website at www.merton.gov.uk/jobs where you can apply for this job online. Recruitment packs are also available in large print or Braille.

2 year fixed-term contract.

Secondments are welcomed from other public sector bodies.

Closing date: 19th August 2011.

Non-job of the week

Aug 3rd, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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Everywhere you look in local government these days you seem to find change managers. This week is no exception, and once again a recruitment agency is masking the identity of an unnamed London borough council wishing to appoint a Temporary Change Manager paying between £281-£350 a day.

Another London council, meanwhile, is looking to appoint an Interim Programme Manager who will take the lead and get a grip of the Parking Commissioning project. Once again we don’t know which council it is, but we do know the successful candidate will be paid between £400-£450 a day.

Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH) is looking for a Head of Communications and Engagement. Here’s part of the job description:

Reporting to the Director of Strategy and Business Development the Head of Communications and Engagement will be an expert in communications and engagement. You will lead on the development and implementation of the corporate internal and external communications and involvement activities including development of long term strategy and policy, reputation management, media and community liaison.

Non-Job of the WeekI suppose it would be useful for the Head of Communications and Engagement to be an expert in communications and engagement, otherwise what would be the point of appointing them to a role paying between £60,671-£73,351 a year?

Of course I accept there has to be people employed to handle media enquiries and contact with the public, but the primary role of the NHS is to heal the sick. If this Trust has a head of communications earning over £70K a year, how large is the team beneath them? How many communications officers are there in London? How many are there in the UK? During the last general election campaign, Nick Clegg stated we now have more bureaucrats and administrators in the NHS than we have hospital beds!

It strikes me that the NHS is over-reaching itself, employing people on large salaries to put a good spin on the work of the Trust. What I want is to be able to visit my GP, and if I need to see a specialist to get an appointment in good time, and if there are any problems for my complaint to be handled promptly. This does not require the services of a Head of Communications and Engagement earning over £70K to fob me off with excuses when things go wrong.

Non-job of the week

Jul 27th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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The London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ Parking Services is looking for a Policy and Performance Enhancing Manager. Paying between £42,258 – £44,910, the candidate will have to fit-in with the Service ethos, “firm but fair” (no, I’m not joking!)

The council has done itself no favours by giving the role a ridiculous job title, and a job description that goes on for 2000 words. We are told the successful applicant will manage a team of up to 12 people. I am assuming these 12 people will be office-based staff (as there is no mention of managing parking wardens), which then makes me wonder how many people there are working in Parking Services. This may or may not be a non-job, but there are times when you read job descriptions and you realise the longer they are, the more pointless the job is!

Non-Job of the WeekI have written a number of times about Oxford City Council. It seems its appetite for creating new jobs goes unabated. There are so many of them with similar titles, I have just spent some time making sure a Business Improvement Manager hasn’t been on my radar before.

I say this because the council has had to advertise twice for a Performance Improvement Manager, and it has previously advertised for a Business Improvement Partner. You can see where the confusion comes from. This is on top of the Tenants Involvement and Development Officer I highlighted last month.

This council seems awash with cash for all sorts of pets projects, it really is difficult to keep up with them all. I would be interested to hear from residents in Oxford to see if they have noticed council services improving over recent months.

 

Business Improvement Manager

Employer:Oxford City Council

Salary: £41,616 with possible progression to £46,673

CRB check: No

Location: OX1 1BX

Main Duties & Responsibilities

To lead a team of programme, project and change professionals to provide flexible, multi-skilled, professional delivery advice and implementation support to the Council’s portfolio of change programmes and projects.

To develop and lead on the Council’s change and improvement strategy and embed across the Council a robust and practical approach to programme, project management and business improvement underpinned by principles of MSP, PRINCE2 and best practice approaches to business process improvement.

To own and development of the corporate programme office to provide a central knowledge hub for all Council programmes and projects and support Directors and Heads of Service to lead and successfully deliver the Council’s corporate change agenda.

To work with the Head of Business Improvement and other senior management to define and drive a culture of performance improvement through the delivery of technical and business-focussed corporate improvement programmes.

Non-job of the week

Jul 20th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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Regional newspapers have been in decline for a number of years. According to figures published by the Press Gazette, only three daily regional newspapers managed to increase circulation in the last six months of 2010, and the average rate of decline is 6.5% year on year. It is a similar story for both weekly and national newspapers.

With this background, why do councils continue to publish their own newspapers? Take Hackney Today. The latest issue is a 32-page glossy publication, and virtually every legitimate news story could have been reported in a local newspaper. It does have plenty of adverts, but the majority of them are from the council or other public sector bodies such as the NHS.

Councils have to publish statutory notices, but only four pages in Hackney Today contains these, which once again could be published in a local newspaper, and online on the council’s website.

Non-Job of the WeekThe council is looking for a new sub-editor for Hackney Today, paying between £35,055 – £37,851. According to the council’s website, ‘It has a print run of 108,000 copies and is delivered free, to every home and business in the borough each fortnight.’ If it scrapped this propaganda rag it would not only save the salary of this sub-editor, but also the editor, a reporter, and an advertising and distribution manager, and printing and distribution costs. We live in hope!

It has been reported in the Daily Mail that the Business Department is searching for a Foresight Horizon Scanning Analyst paying  £44,186 -£55,662. One of our supporters who alerted us to it said they had been a civil servant in various Whitehall departments for over forty two years and this one even puzzled them. This is the job description on the civil service jobs website:

You will be a key member of a small team providing a futures research capability to Foresight and across other government departments. This work will include:
o Developing technically robust, futures research methodologies for the full range of Foresight projects.

o Leading on developing and applying futures research methodologies for futures analysis in all Foresight projects, including projects in Foresight’s HorizonScanning Centre.

o Working with Government researchers, analysts and policymakers to achieve strong participation in, and commitment to, creating and using futures analysis.

o Providing an authoritative, well researched resource of technical expertise for futures analysis across government, designing models for the best use of futures analysis in policy practice. Drawing on research and experience in the field, propose refinements to existing project models to achieve maximum impact on policy.

o Helping departments design and deliver workshops and other events to promote long term thinking in areas of current policy and on the translation of futures analysis into policy.

o Raising capability in futures analysis across government by participating in and contributing to training events run for government by Foresight.

o Develop and maintain networks with other futurists, within and outside of Government.

Andrew Pierce in the Mail says this job could come straight from the TV political comedy The Thick Of It. Either that or Yes Minister! If someone who has worked in the civil service for over forty two years can’t work out what this is (bearing in mind they are used to civil service doublespeak) then there isn’t much hope for the rest of us.

Non-job of the week

Jul 20th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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Regional newspapers have been in decline for a number of years. According to figures published by the Press Gazette, only three daily regional newspapers managed to increase circulation in the last six months of 2010, and the average rate of decline is 6.5% year on year. It is a similar story for both weekly and national newspapers.

With this background, why do councils continue to publish their own newspapers? Take Hackney Today. The latest issue is a 32-page glossy publication, and virtually every legitimate news story could have been reported in a local newspaper. It does have plenty of adverts, but the majority of them are from the council or other public sector bodies such as the NHS.

Councils have to publish statutory notices, but only four pages in Hackney Today contains these, which once again could be published in a local newspaper, and online on the council’s website.

Non-Job of the WeekThe council is looking for a new sub-editor for Hackney Today, paying between £35,055 – £37,851. According to the council’s website, ‘It has a print run of 108,000 copies and is delivered free, to every home and business in the borough each fortnight.’ If it scrapped this propaganda rag it would not only save the salary of this sub-editor, but also the editor, a reporter, and an advertising and distribution manager, and printing and distribution costs. We live in hope!

It has been reported in the Daily Mail that the Business Department is searching for a Foresight Horizon Scanning Analyst paying  £44,186 -£55,662. One of our supporters who alerted us to it said they had been a civil servant in various Whitehall departments for over forty two years and this one even puzzled them. This is the job description on the civil service jobs website:

You will be a key member of a small team providing a futures research capability to Foresight and across other government departments. This work will include:
o Developing technically robust, futures research methodologies for the full range of Foresight projects.

o Leading on developing and applying futures research methodologies for futures analysis in all Foresight projects, including projects in Foresight’s HorizonScanning Centre.

o Working with Government researchers, analysts and policymakers to achieve strong participation in, and commitment to, creating and using futures analysis.

o Providing an authoritative, well researched resource of technical expertise for futures analysis across government, designing models for the best use of futures analysis in policy practice. Drawing on research and experience in the field, propose refinements to existing project models to achieve maximum impact on policy.

o Helping departments design and deliver workshops and other events to promote long term thinking in areas of current policy and on the translation of futures analysis into policy.

o Raising capability in futures analysis across government by participating in and contributing to training events run for government by Foresight.

o Develop and maintain networks with other futurists, within and outside of Government.

Andrew Pierce in the Mail says this job could come straight from the TV political comedy The Thick Of It. Either that or Yes Minister! If someone who has worked in the civil service for over forty two years can’t work out what this is (bearing in mind they are used to civil service doublespeak) then there isn’t much hope for the rest of us.

Non-job of the week

Jul 13th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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On 3 June I wrote how the leader of Liverpool City Council, Joe Anderson, was urging other Merseyside councils to work together to reduce costs. In a quote to the Liverpool Daily Post he said:

“I raised the issue of procurement and sharing services together with a view to save money because we need to save money. I called on all the leaders of the councils on Merseyside to look at it.

We are looking at options to save money between us. They were all certainly up for it. If it’s legal services, Sefton could save money by using ours (Liverpool city council’s). Why have six different payment roll departments?

It’s to do with saving money. If you can do this through procurement you can save money.”

Perhaps my praise was premature as today Liverpool City Council is advertising for a new Director of Community Services, and a Director of Finance and Resources, both paying up to £140K. Instead of reducing costs, it looks like the council is increasing costs. Why appoint two new permanent directors when you are looking to merge back-office functions, and reduce the senior pay bill?

Non-Job of the WeekThe senior pay bill in the NHS doesn’t look like reducing either. Powys Teaching Health Board needs a new chief executive on £135K per annum. For that salary the job description states ‘if you’re an ambitious professional in search of the work-life balance that others can only dream about, prepare for a very pleasant surprise’.

The winner this week though is a Parliamentary and Public Affairs Manager in the London Borough of Newham. Part of this role is to promote the council as a centre of policy excellence and build relationships with civil servants and ministers. They will also provide briefings to politicians and officials at local, regional, and national level to promote Newham’s policies, success and case for more resources. In other words, grant chasing.

This non-jobholder will even be responsible for coordinating the council’s presence at party conferences. Why on earth does the council need a presence at a party conference? What’s it going to do, hand out balloons with ‘I love Newham’ on them? Newham should be focussing on delivering cost-effective services, and reducing waste and bureaucracy. They should make sure the borough looks tidy and free of litter, making it a place where people want to do business. Instead it wants to employ someone whose job will be to lobby for more funding.

We really have to move away from this grant chasing mentality, where we pay our taxes to employ people who in turn spend their lives dreaming up new ways of chasing more of our money. It’s this mentality that helps keep our taxes high.

Non-job of the week

Jun 29th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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Many thanks to supporters for sending in their non-job suggestions. As ever, there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of them, and although I cannot top last week’s non-contract of the week, there are still some revealing posts being advertised.

The London Borough of Sutton is advertising for a Customer Insight and Performance Manager, paying between £40,716-£43,368 per annum. This is part of the job description:

Working in a vibrant and highly performing new Policy and Customer Services Division in the Chief Executive’s Group, this post is key to shaping change. As the Council’s professional lead for research, customer insight and performance management you will ensure delivery of the Council’s priorities through customer-focused, evidence-based policy and service delivery.

Non-Job of the WeekIt all sounds rather vague, but that’s not the only offering from Sutton today. For the same salary, the council is also looking for a Community Involvement and Innovation Manager. One of the requirements for this post is  ’experience of engaging residents in innovative ways’. How about simply asking them?

Moving on to Reading, the council there is seeking to recruit a Tenant Participation Officer as part of its ‘strong commitment to working with tenants and to make sure that tenants have a say in the services delivered to their homes and local communities’. The successful candidate will also ensure ‘tenant expectations are met and where possible exceeded and the resident experience is continuously improved’.

In other words, if the roof’s leaking, it gets fixed. If the fuse box blows, it gets repaired. Isn’t that a legal obligation for landlords? What else are they talking about? More public sector doublespeak!

To find the winner this week I have been on a journey. No, I haven’t been racking-up expenses on the TPA corporate credit card. Instead I have been on a virtual tour from Medway to Brussels, via Dunkirk and Ostend.

Has anyone heard of the AIMER project? AIMER is an acronym for Achieving the Integration of Migrant Communities. Here are the opening lines on its website:

This Website has been designed to help you if you are new to the UK (Specifically new to the regions of Medway, East of England and Essex), to Dunkirk (in the Nord-Pas-de Calais Region in France) or in Oostende (in the Flanders region of Belgium).

Its purpose is to help you learn about life in the UK, France and Belgium in general, and the area where you live in particular.

Medway Council is searching for a Community Inclusion Coordinator as part of this project, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) within the INTERREG IV A 2 Seas Programme.

None of us want racial tensions in Britain, but does it really need the EU’s involvement to solve any problems that may exist in Medway? Does Medway really need a Community Inclusion Officer to deal with any problems it has? Community groups, working with councillors, are more than capable of dealing with issues when they arise.

Tameside’s jobs for the boys

Jun 23rd, 2011
by Liam Billington.
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Back in 2010 in Tameside, we had a leadership battle between Labour councillors with the then incumbent leader Roy Oldham and Councillor Kieran Quinn. At the time Roy was suffering from cancer and had little time to rally support and ended up losing the leadership in May last year. He died just two months later. I always had respect for Roy, but we also had our disagreements. One of them was over political assistants, a position highlighted by the TPA as a non-job.

I remember Councillor Kieran Quinn’s first speech as leader where he promised that he’d change several things which would please Tameside’s bloggers who, at the time were questioning the need for political assistants in the face of incoming budget cuts. To Councillor Quinn’s credit, he removed both Labour and Conservative political assistants which saved the council £67,438 per year.

Mike Kane (right) with Ed Balls

However, a year later it seems political assistants are creeping in under a different name. Tameside Council has just appointed Mike Kane as a “Senior Executive Assistant” to work in the leaders office. Kane has moved from working for Stalybridge and Hyde MP, Jonathan Reynolds as his office manager, a job he inherited when former Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell stepped down from the seat. He also briefly served as a Labour councillor for the Northernden Ward at Manchester City Council.

Mike Kane is a political assistant all in name. Senior Executive Assistant may sound like a jumped up PA (which is probably what he is), but there is no denying Kane’s close links with the Tameside Labour Party and you have to ask if this was the reason he was brought in to work for the council. It stinks of jobs for the boys. It clearly shows the lack of judgement shown by Tameside’s Executive Council Leader, Kieran Quinn. On one hand he complains about the lack of money for frontline services, yet somehow he can find the money for more backroom staff for his own personal benefit and increased trade union funding.

Non-job of the week

Jun 22nd, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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How well is your council performing? Given the number of performance managers and change managers there are, they should be performing well. Councils tell us they need to bring in people from outside of their organisations to help them become more efficient. Then they tell us they need to pay salaries greater than the prime minister to attract the best. They want it both ways, and this week’s selection includes a variety of dubious jobs and inflated salaries.

Here’s your starter for ten. The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham requires a Group Manager – Policy and Performance. From the job advert we now know there is a new Corporate Policy and Public Affairs division, with a new Divisional Director, which signals a fresh emphasis on the importance of quality policy and performance support to Members in making key decisions. So what about all the other highly paid managers previously responsible for this? Are they surplus to requirements? Were they so poor at their jobs that the council felt the need to create a new division?

Non-Job of the WeekI have written before about public sector bodies using the employment agency Morgan Hunt. This is a nice little way for them to hide their identities so taxpayers don’t know the inflated salaries they are paying. Take this one: a growing regulatory body in the South East is looking to employ a temporary Procurement Manager. This job pays between £275-£325 a day. Similar jobs are being offered by Morgan Hunt, like the role of a Chief Press Officer for one of their government clients, paying £250-£300 a day. What troubles me, more than the salaries being paid, is the fact we don’t know which regulatory authority or government department is recruiting.  If the government wants true transparency, this is something it must address. This is our money being spent by government, and we have a right to know how it is being spent and by whom.

Thanks to a supporter, this week’s winner isn’t a non-job – it’s a non-contract awarded by the City of Westminster Council. The cabinet member responsible for Customer Services and Transformation awarded a contract to PWC to provide the council with transformation and change management consultancy support. This contract is worth up to £960K. I checked with the council yesterday to make sure councillors had called in this decision for scrutiny. They had not, and I was informed the contract is going ahead as planned.

It seems that all the senior officers earning six-figure salaries can’t do the job. Go on to the council’s website and you will find (excluding pension contributions) that the chief executive earns £200K, while the Director of Finance earns £185K. Westminster Council also has around twice the number of directors as most other comparable councils, and the total number of officers earning above £100K is an amazing 33! In total there are 169 officers earning over £60K, a salary which puts them in the equivalent senior civil service pay band.

Westminster, along with Wandsworth, continue to provide the lowest council tax bills in the country. Last year Westminster froze council tax, but so did other councils as a result of receiving a government grant. With the sheer amount of high earning officers, it should not be spending £960K on change management consultancy support. It should not be resting on its laurels, it should be looking at reducing council tax further.

Non-job of the week

Jun 15th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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A councillor’s job is to represent their constituents interests. They should be finding out what is going on in the community, engaging people in the democratic process, and where there are problems, they should be troubleshooting, ensuring we get what we pay for. Why then does Oxford City Council require a Tenants Involvement and Development Officer?  Here’s part of the job description:

The post of Tenants Involvement and Development Officer, within Oxford City Council’s Communities and Neighbourhoods Team, offers an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic team player to develop and support new and existing ways of involving tenants and leaseholders and enabling participation from a broader range of tenants and leaseholders in all areas of work related to Oxford City Council.

Do we really need extra council officers to enable this? Isn’t this what councillors and community groups do? Of course councils should be listening to tenants’ concerns, but they don’t need to employ extra staff to prove they are.

Non-Job of the WeekThe accolade this week though goes to Greenwich. The council is searching for an Active Travel Development Officer. The job description goes like this:

Greenwich is continuing its dynamic transformation. We are developing land, buildings and new transport links to make our Borough the destination of choice for people who live, work or visit Greenwich.

This role is based in the Council’s Strategic Development team, a team responsible for the corporate Greener Greenwich programme. Funded by Greenwich NHS, this role will develop and expand Active and Sustainable Travel in the Borough with the aim of increasing the numbers of local people making the positive choice of including physical activity in their daily travel plans.

As a great communicator you’ll be able to create links between organisations and individuals. Working with partner agencies and local people you will be developing and promoting activity which will help deliver both sustainable transport and health improvements to those in Greenwich.

Here we go again! The nanny state wants you to change your lifestyle. On one hand the council says it believes in choice, and on the other it preaches at us, telling us the choices it wants us to make. All of us have a right to freedom of speech. Just don’t use my money to tell me what to do!

Non-job of the week

Jun 8th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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A different week, but the same old jobs being advertised at inflated salaries. Trafford Council is looking for a Programme Manager, on a ‘senior manager pay grade.’ The job advert states:

Trafford Council is driving forward an exciting journey of Transformation to redesign services to become even more flexible, efficient and customer focused. To continue on our success in the delivery of the Transformation Programme we are seeking to recruit a self motivated, dynamic professional with a proven track record in successful Project/Programme delivery to undertake a lead role within our established Transformation Team.

When you think councils are looking forward and cutting the numbers of senior staff, you see they manage to sneak another person in under the guise of ‘change’.

Last week’s non-job was a Sustainability Manager (Community Engagement) in Camden, and pays between £40,506-£43,152. This week, Enfield has managed to go further. This council is looking for a Head of Sustainability on a salary between £53,700-£63,177. If you think you are the ideal candidate, here’s the job description:

Enfield Council is seeking a strategic individual to lead a new area of service to ensure we meet our commitments for a sustainable environment. We want to reduce our own impact on the environment and also to facilitate, encourage and bring investment into the borough, to support communities and businesses to develop sustainable futures.

The ideal candidate will be able to : * Strategically manage and develop key initiatives around sustainability, energy and environment. * Identify and tender for external funding opportunities for environmental initiatives. * Deliver carbon and energy reductions through developing initiatives whilst managing others to deliver these programmes. * Liaise with Council Departments to promote initiatives & achieve best environmental practice. * Take a lead role in all energy related matters and manage the carbon reduction commitment requirements. * Advise master planning groups and the Council’s Development Management Service to ensure sustainability is at the forefront of all new development and policies. * Ensure that the Sustainability Team is self-financing in three years. If you have the leadership, drive, vision and ability to deliver to this agenda for Enfield Council, we would welcome your application for this key position.

I’m going to look at two key phrases from the paragraph above:

  • Identify and tender for external funding opportunities for environmental initiatives.
  • Ensure that the Sustainability Team is self-financing in three years

Not only are we paying for this non-job, but we are also paying for the grants it will be chasing. They will come from Quangos (paid for by us), and no doubt the EU (again paid for by us). The only way the sustainability team is going to be self-financing is by either reducing the council’s energy bills and/or chasing grants.

Reducing energy consumption saves money, and is something we do at home. We switch-off lights that don’t need to be on. In winter we may turn the thermostat down a degree or two to save some money. I switch my computer off when I’m finished working. As we highlighted last year, Windsor and Maidenhead Council reduced its energy consumption by 15% after installing smart meters.

The money saved by councils should them be used to protect front-line services, and help reduce council tax bills. In Enfield it will merely be ploughed back into protecting the financially unsustainable ‘Sustainability Team’ who will also take more of our money by ensuring the grants are in place for it to continue doing its work.

We have to move away from this grant chasing mentality, and remember what councils are for. They are not employment agencies. They exist to serve us, and provide first class services at the best possible price.

Non-job of the week

Jun 1st, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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On 19 January, my non-job of the week was a Performance Improvement Manager at Oxford City Council. It appears something has gone wrong, as the same job has been advertised again. You will see by clicking on the links, it is exactly the same job advert. In addition, the council is also looking for a Business Improvement Partner, on exactly the same salary, £33,661 – £37,206.

In Brent, the Liberal Democrat group is looking for a Political Assistant, paying £34,986. This was one of the non-jobs we identified in a report last year. There were 141 full time equivalent council employees working as Political Advisors at a cost of nearly £5 million in 2009-10. It seems the Lib Dems in Brent are going to add to this figure. As we said in our report:

The question has to be asked: why do local councillors require such advice? Councillors – who generally operate on a part-time basis – should be well  accustomed to their  ward and issues concerning their local residents. If there is a need to elect a better standard of councillor, then that is a separate question.

Councils should stick to  providing key services,  such as keeping streets clean and maintaining  vital  infrastructure. Paid professional political advice  could mean that councillors become too ambitious above and beyond these fundamental goals.  It is an unnecessary role, proven by the fact that many councils operate perfectly well without them.

The non-jobs of the week this week though are in Camden. The council is looking for a Sustainability Manager (Community Engagement) and a Sustainability Officer to help Camden become a low carbon and low waste borough. Here is a snippet from the manager’s job advert:

You will be responsible for leading on green community engagement projects and act as the Council’s expert advisor on green community engagement matters. Whilst successfully managing a small team, you will ensure the council uses effective, evidence-based approaches and initiatives to drive green behavioural change across the whole community in Camden. You will work across a number of different teams and in partnership with senior managers, external agencies and community groups to increase green actions taken by residents.

Since when did we pay our council tax to have our behaviour changed? In a report last year, we highlighted the business of ‘Taxpayer Funded Environmentalism‘. As you can see, this also happens at your local town hall. We expect our taxes to be spent wisely, and in the case of councils, we expect them to use our money providing quality front-line services.

We do not pay our taxes to be preached at and have our behaviour changed, or pay for political advice to councillors, or pay for performance managers – especially when councils are full of highly paid managers already. Unfortunately, as we see every week – we do!

Non-job of the week

May 25th, 2011
by Andrew Allison.
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We have another array of unnecessary jobs this week. Surrey County Council is looking to expand its Change Department – something I have commented on in the past. This time it’s looking for a Change Communications Manager on £54,085 per annum.

Surrey is also looking for in Internal Communications Co-ordinator. Internal communications is a subject that gets many people commenting on this website. There are some who passionately defend this role. There are others who work or have worked in the corporate world and agree with me that when a company is looking to reduce costs, this is one of the first jobs to go. Surrey County Council seems intent on increasing the amount of backroom managers, when other councils are looking at reducing the numbers. Almost every week there seems to be a new job advert looking for change managers. How much change are they contemplating?

If you live in Reading, expect a knock on your door or your telephone to ring, as you may be contacted by one of the councils ten Seasonal Personal Travel Plan Advisors. Here’s what the job advert says:

The role of the Seasonal Personal Travel Plan Advisor involves discussing with people how they travel to work, school, go shopping, etc and identifying if there are different travel options available to them. Once the options are identified, the Advisor then provides information and incentives to encourage people to try out different ways of travel.

With the cost of fuel at a record high, many people – including myself – are thinking about the journeys we make. Do we really need the council spending our taxes to advise us on how we travel to work or go shopping? Another bit of state interference we can do without, with ten of thousands of pounds wasted over the summer months that could be spent on front-line services or reducing council tax bills.

The title this week though goes to the European Union. It is looking to employ an Executive Director of the South West European Partnership. Whilst government departments and councils have seen their budgets reduced, the EU continues to spend money regardless of the economic climate. It likes to think itself immune from what is going on around it; as if it’s living inside a bubble.

UK taxpayers are being dragged into more bailouts for the failing Euro, and we have launched a petition requesting the government to say no to more Eurozone bailouts. This is on top of the £20.8 million net contribution we pay every day to Brussels. Now it wants us to pay the salary for a director whose job is ‘to lead the development of this new social enterprise and ensure clients receive the highest quality of European Services.’ This job will also involve extensive travel between the UK and Brussels, so on top of the £50-£60K salary, you can add a substantial amount of extra costs as this person shuttles their way between the two places.

This non-job has more to do with public relations, and is a typical example of EU largesse. This is on top of the costs of maintaining and staffing existing EU offices in what it regards as the different European Regions. It is the duty of our government to say no to increases in the EU budget, and no to more bailouts. We are already generous net contributors, and should be looking at reducing our payments, not spending more, and paying for non-jobs like this one.

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