The job with a £200k salary to lead ‘a place of contrasts’ through turbulent times

Oldham has started its search for a new permanent chief executive. It comes following the departure of Harry Catherall to Tameside Council at the end of last year.

A job advert published on the town hall’s website seeks a ‘resilient’ new boss who could receive more than £200,000 to lead ‘a place of contrasts’ through a period of ‘rapid change’.

The vacancy is as a result of Mr Catherall’s move to crisis-ridden Tameside council, where he will be tasked with rescuing the authority’s failing children’s services. He currently has a ‘timeshare’ arrangement in Oldham, with acting chief Shelley Kipling leading the town hall four days a week and Mr Catherall in the office one day. 

But the arrangement is due to end in April, with the council in need of a more permanent solution.  

In a video accompanying the job advert, council leader Arooj Shah said: “Oldham is a place of contrasts. Our people are wonderful. But there are huge differences in the lives our residents live. 

“The life expectancy in our most affluent areas compared to our most deprived areas can differ by up to 12 years. And the income our residents take home can differ just as much. So we need a Chief Executive who will work for all our residents.” 

Coun Shah added: “I can’t promise it will be easy, but I can promise it will be incredibly rewarding.”

The council is offering between £179,420 and £200,623 to a candidate with a ‘proven record of senior strategic leadership in complex, high-profile environments’. They would have to work full-time, and their responsibilities would include ‘becoming accountable for the effective financial leadership’ of the borough, promoting Oldham and ‘emergency planning’. 

The job ad comes at a turbulent time for the local authority, which is at the centre of a national debate about inquiries into historic child sexual exploitation cases. The borough is also in the midst of a huge regeneration project, which has pledged to ‘save the dying high street’ and bring 2,000 new homes to the town centre. 

The council wants to conclude the interview process by February 21, so that the decision can be submitted for Full Council approval on March 6.