Former county council boss lands top job shared between authorities
West Sussex County Council’s former chief executive, who left last year with a six figure payout, has landed a shared senior role at councils in Norfolk and Lincolnshire.
Nathan Elvery will be interim head of paid service at Breckland Council and South Holland District Council.
He will split the two-daysa-week role across the two authorities, with the position lasting for six months.
Although no official explanation has ever been offered for Mr Elvery’s departure from West Sussex by ‘mutual consent’, he left amidst serious problems within children’s services.
The department was rated inadequate by Ofsted last May and services are in the process of being transferred to an independent trust out of the council’s direct control.
Appointed in 2016 on a
£190,000 a year salary, he left West Sussex with a £265,000 financial settlement.
Breckland council leader Sam Chapman-allen said Mr Elvery was not a replacement for outgoing chief executive
Anna Graves and would have ‘no direct line management responsibility’.
He added that recruitment had been carried out through national agency Penna which headhunted Mr Elvery before
a joint appointment panel interviewed the candidate.
The appointment was agreed at a council meeting earlier this month.
Although opposition several councillors questioned whether more due diligence was needed before signing off the hiring, Mr Chapman-allen said: “Some very robust questions were asked and the candidate gave some very honest and candid responses and gave confidence to the panel. It was a unanimous decision.”
Speakingafterthemeeting, a council spokesman said: “Mr Elvery will be providing strategic advice and focusing on project work, rather than delivering business-as-usual services. Following a joint appointment panel, it was felt that Mr Elvery has the skills and experience we need to help both councils move forward.”
When asked what he would be paid, the spokesman said: “It would not be appropriate to disclose commercially sensitive details. We can confirm that this role will be picked up as part of our current budget and will be split between Breckland Council and South Holland councils.”