THE next public relations chief for the West of England Mayor could be paid £138,000 a year.
The West of England Combined Authority is advertising for a new director of communications and corporate affairs for a salary of between £102,000 and £138,000 depending on experience.
The top of the salary range is £50,000 more than Metro Mayor Helen Godwin is paid.
WECA wants someone to “define and amplify the region’s voice.”
The job advert states: “You will be an accomplished professional and a collaborative communicator with a strategic mindset and proven political acumen.
“As this role comes with genuine breadth and depth, we need a leader capable of both successful delivery of reputation-shaping campaigns and of effectively handling media crises and managing reputational risk.”
The high salary is understood to have been established through “benchmarking” against similar jobs at the same level at similar organisations.
The successful candidate will also get 31 paid days of annual leave, on top of bank holidays, and discounted bus tickets as WECA is a member of the First Bus Commuter Club, which companies can join free of charge.
Applications closed in August.
The recruitment campaign took place after WECA chief executive Stephen Peacock told the combined authority’s scrutiny panel in July that the organisation had breached its own procurement rules – although not the law around public procurement – when it brought in two consultants to address issues in communications and the overall organisation.
WECA spent £150,000 hiring the former chief of staff to Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees, Kevin Slocombe, for nine months between July 2024 and March this year.
It also spent £118,200 to bring in Bristol’s former Clean Air Zone communication and engagement director Nicki Beardmore from July 2024 until this June.
Mr Peacock told a scrutiny meeting the appointments “did fall short of our own internal standards”.
Mr Peacock, who joined WECA last year after five years with Bristol City Council, said: “The two individuals that I asked to bring in brought specific relevant track records that meant they were the right people at that right moment.”
Mr Slocombe has since been appointed deputy to Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner Clare Moody.
Although best known in the Bristol area for his role with the former Bristol Mayor, Mr Slocombe also served as a press spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn when he was leader of the Labour Party and was previously director of communications for the Communications Workers Union, which represents postal workers.
He said: “I’m looking forward to supporting Clare on the delivery of her Police and Crime Plan priorities and getting stuff done for the people of Avon and Somerset.”
Ms Moody said: “Kevin comes with a wealth and breadth of experience in local and national government.”
By John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporting Service