Wellington City Council paid $50,000 to recruit chief executive

Wednesday, 4 December 2019

Wellington City Council spent more than $50,000 to recruit a new chief executive and the winning candidate only had to move offices.

The council recently announced Barbara McKerrow, currently its chief operating officer, would take over as chief executive from Kevin Lavery in March.

Documents obtained under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act show the recruitment process cost the council $51,320, which it paid to recruitment company Jackson Stone.

The figure was made up of a base fee of $37,000 plus GST, and $8770 in advertising costs.

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The recruitment process involved advertising, candidate searches, arranging interviews, and reference checking.

Another recruitment company quoted the council a base fee of $32,500 for the job, plus GST and undisclosed advertising costs.

A second company quoted a base fee of $54,000, plus GST and $12,450 in advertising costs.

'Jackson Stone and Partners was selected because of their experience in local government, their approach, capability, and capacity to deliver on recruiting for a senior executive role,' the council said.

'Their proposal was competitive, and as leaders in recruitment, they have significant market experience which gave the council confidence to run the process.'

McKerrow was announced as the council's new chief executive on November 20.

She will replace outgoing chief executive Lavery on a minimum five-year deal.