These responsibilities are in addition to the councillor role profile.
Purpose
The purpose of Executive Members is to:
- take responsibility within the Executive on the basis of individual and/or collective responsibility for a delegated portfolio of services or functions of the council
Key duties and responsibilities
The key duties and responsibilities of Executive Members are to:
- participate in the Executive and to implement agreed policies by taking responsibility individually and/or collectively for any portfolio allocated by the Leader of the Council, including providing a lead on and proposing new policy, strategy, programming, budget and service standards in line with the strategic themes set out in the Council Plan
- exercise delegated powers in line with the council’s constitution
- consult and communicate with members of all party groups, council officers and key partners as appropriate to make sure decisions are well formed and that council policies are widely understood and positively promoted
- make sure that the party group is briefed at the appropriate time on significant issues within the respective portfolio – that is, those which have financial or other major resource implications, will result in a change in established policy, or which are contentious or politically sensitive
- act as spokesperson within and outside the council for matters within the portfolio
- have responsibility for liaison with Chief Officers and other senior officers responsible for the services within the portfolio
- answer and account to the council and the community for matters within the portfolio
- respond within agreed timescales to the recommendations of relevant overview and scrutiny panels
- seek to involve and consult non Executive members in the area of work for which they have responsibility, particularly members of the relevant overview and scrutiny panel
- represent the council and the political administration in the community and elsewhere as required by the Leader
Key skills
The required key skills of Executive Members include:
- advanced leadership skills for areas of individual responsibility
- ability to work as part of an executive team to drive forward the continuous improvement of the council
- ability to challenge the status quo and deal with complex strategic issues and problems
- ability to manage a busy and complex workload, often to tight timescales and deadlines
- ability to represent the council in a variety of settings both inside and outside the council
- ability to communicate effectively and to work constructively with officers, councillors, partners, members of the public, the media and other organisations
Knowledge
An Executive Member should have the following knowledge:
- detailed understanding and in-depth knowledge of the respective portfolio, the scope and range of the relevant services for which they are responsible and an awareness of current agreed policies in respect of those services
- detailed understanding of the national policy framework and its impact on local policy development for areas of individual responsibility
- detailed understanding of local government finance and audit processes and the ability to interpret council budgets and accounts
Functions
The functions for which individual Executive Members are responsible, are set out in Part 2, Section 5 of the council's constitution.