Council's long search for new education boss finally ends

The local authority had struggled to fill the six-figure salaried role amid a “limited pool of suitable candidates”, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Haringey Council’s children’s services department in Wood Green

Haringey Council has appointed an unnamed director of school and learning after two failed recruitment campaigns.

The formal appointment for the important education post was made on Tuesday, 31st March after a meeting by its appointments panel, chaired by council leader Peray Ahmet.

The decision came nearly three months after the closing date for applicants in the council’s last unsuccessful recruitment drive, which ended in early January this year.

A report prepared ahead of last week’s appointments meeting said “both recruitment exercises generated a limited pool of suitable candidates for this senior and strategically important role”.

This is despite the council creating a 14-page specialised ‘candidate pack’ in partnership with private recruitment and development agency Faerfield.

The document also included a foreword of over 400 words by the local authority’s corporate director for children’s services. It described the function of the role as providing “effective, inspiring and visible leadership to maintain and develop Haringey’s already high-performing education service”.

The minimum advertised salary for the job was £115,794. The application process required candidates to send their CV and a supporting statement “of no more than 1,000 words”.

On its website Faerfield says they “understand what good leadership looks like”.

The company, who helped organise the failed recruitment drive, adds: “Our approach, informed by decades spent supporting organisations to hire and develop leaders, is underpinned by the latest academic research.

“We focus on the behaviours, values and attitudes which define effective leadership – whatever someone’s background”.

The new school and learning director has been appointed on an initial one-year fixed-term contract, with the option to extend for a further year. Who they actually are has yet to be announced.

The latest news came last Thursday (2nd). In response to questions from the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) a spokesperson for Haringey Council said: “The appointments panel meeting took place on Tuesday 31st March and an announcement will be made in due course.”

At the time of reporting no further updates have been issued.

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