Senior posts recruitment
Whilst at one time senior appointments to local government posts such as Chief Executive or Director were made to people who had spent most of their working lives employed in the public sector, increasingly we are now seeing a change with public sector organisations recognising the transferable skills and experience that the private sector can bring to their organisation.
Direct entry at Chief Executive level will in most cases require local government experience or a background of working at a senior level in a public-funded body such as the NHS, charity or civil service.
The most likely entry point into a senior public sector role would be at Director level or Service Head. These posts usually report directly to the Chief Executive and don’t necessarily require in-depth knowledge of working for a council, although areas such as Social Services and Education will be much more difficult to break into than Corporate, Planning, Housing and IT.
Professional staff will find it much easier to move into local government if they are in a more generic field such as HR, IT, Legal, Property or Environmental services where the skills are very transferable.
The Benefits
As in the private sector, salaries will vary from council to council. A Chief Executive can earn from £70,000 in small district councils to £140,000 in a large metropolitan council. Service Heads can expect to earn from £40,000 to £100,000. Other benefits such as car related schemes vary by employer. A major benefit for anyone considering a move into the public sector is the Local Government Pension Scheme, which is presently a contributory final salary pension scheme.