Glasgow City Council offer new Chief Executive £200k starting salary amidst budget crisis

Glasgow City Council are hiring a new Chief Executive to deal with 'significant social economic challenges' - the job role offers a starting salary between £200,618.22 - £209,817.10.

Advertising on Myjobscotland - Glasgow City Council hope to recruit a Chief Executive with the 'experience, knowledge and skills to build upon our successes'. The listing also asks that the applicant 'put the challenges and aspirations of Glasgow's people and communities at the heart of every decision to help address, support and deliver on the city's main priorities.'

The Chief Executive role will discharge the statutory duties of Head of Paid Service while providing leadership to the various council departments alongside the arms-length organisations like Glasgow Life.

Applicants are expected to be educated to degree level or equivalent, alongside relevant professional qualifications - the ideal person to fill the role would have 'proven leadership skills' gained at a senior level in a large and complex organisation.

Leader of the council, Susan Aitken, said of the job posting: "If you believe you have the experience, passion and enthusiasm to lead our team, I welcome your application."

This job listing comes after Scottish councils were forced to scrap the pay cap on Chief Executive roles after a successful grievance was raised by the Scottish branch of the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives trade union.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) offered a 5% increase for senior officers in 2022-23. A spokesperson for COSLA said that lifting the pay cap on senior council officers recognised that "Scotland’s chief executives and chief officials do an extremely challenging and important job, and are entitled to be fairly remunerated for their efforts.’

According to the Town Hall Rich List 2023, the most comprehensive list of council employees in the UK receiving over £100,000 in pay, Glasgow City Chief Executive Annemarie O'Donnell made £260,999 from remunerations in the 2021-2022 period, alongside £36,562 in expenses, the second highest expense bill by UK local council employees in 2021-2022.

Interviews are set to take place at the end of March, with the appointment of a new Chief Executive expected by April. You can view the full job listing here.