Cheshire East Council creates new Executive Director role

FrankJordanPhoto (1)

Cheshire East Council has appointed Frank Jordan as Executive Director of Place.

This newly-created post will include responsibility for a range of issues, including planning, regeneration, highways and countryside. He joins from Leicester City Council, where he is strategic director for city development and neighbourhoods.

Frank, who will take up his new post this September, has had a long career in local government, holding senior posts at Newcastle City Council and at Northumberland County Council before moving to Leicester in 2012.

During his career he has held director level posts for over 10 years, developing and delivering strategies for economic development, inward investment and large-scale regeneration projects, such as the redevelopment of Leicester city centre.

In addition, Frank has developed a number of change management programmes, for example he carried out a review of Leicester's technical services which will result in £10m of savings over three years, as well as improving the quality of delivery for service users.

The new role of Executive Director of Place was created by Cheshire East Council as part of a wide restructuring of the authority. Services now fall into three new directorates – People, Place and Corporate Services.

Council Chief Executive Mike Suarez said: "Cheshire East has made these changes in order to reduce management costs and to make things easier for residents. By 2020, the authority aims to be in a position to be completely self-funded and already £5m of management savings have been made.

"I am delighted that Frank is joining the dynamic and innovative team we have at Cheshire East – and I'm sure he will be a real asset and receive a warm welcome from colleagues."

Cheshire East is the third largest unitary authority in the North West and the 13th largest in the country but has one of the smallest cost and number of top-tier management.

The Council's workforce has reduced from 3,880 in 2012 to 2,770 (full time equivalents) in the current financial year – an overall reduction of 27.7 per cent.

Frank Jordan said: "I have very much enjoyed my time at Leicester and I am now really looking forward to coming to Cheshire East.

"I've been very impressed with the Council's ambition and with the innovative approach which it takes. I am pleased to be joining Cheshire East at this time as I believe that the Council's new structure will set a template for others to follow in delivering quality services in a cost-efficient manner.

"I am excited by the opportunity to work on major projects and by the chance to deliver improved services to residents, businesses and communities. In particular, I can't wait to get my teeth into major pieces of work, such as HS2 coming to Crewe and the regeneration Crewe and Macclesfield.

"On a personal level, I am looking forward to working in a beautiful part of the country where there always seems to be something interesting and exciting happening."

Tags:
Cheshire East Council, Frank Jordan
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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Nick Jones
Tuesday 26th July 2016 at 5:52 am
Shouldn't they be concentrating on merging East and West ? Why Cheshire was ever partitioned in the first place for such a small county was ridiculous... And in times of alleged cut backs and austerity measures... Why is this position required ? and who is paying this additional salary from their taxes ?? Absolute Nonsense.. Hypocrisy in Action... AGAIN !!
Nick Jones
Tuesday 26th July 2016 at 2:35 pm
Surely a 1110 reduction is 28.6 % ? (Excluding the addition of this expensive unnecessary additional position) So now CEC spend more on wages to save money ?? . In this proposed ‘self-funding’ perpetual model as has been demonstrated already by the track record and ‘fiscal faux pas’ at Lyme Green, Co-Socius, Core Fit and everything in between …. the laws of finance, economics, common sense and efficiency appear strange bedfellows… One word comes to mind HOODWINKED ! … Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Fred Rayers
Tuesday 26th July 2016 at 3:23 pm
Sounds fishy to me.
Alan Brough
Tuesday 26th July 2016 at 4:14 pm
@Fred Rayers,

He was the sole candidate for the job!
DELETED ACCOUNT
Tuesday 26th July 2016 at 5:26 pm
He has a "long career in local government" and they regard this as an asset. According to Leicester's accounts he was paid circa £118,000. How much is Cheshire East paying him? Seems he carried out a review of technical services in his previous role, - hasn't Cheshire East already done that with the establishment and failure of Cosocious?
Pete Taylor
Tuesday 26th July 2016 at 9:03 pm
He might want to start here: http://bit.ly/2ajvgYh

Erica Wenzel (Google her) was paid a King's ransom to sort this out...
Kym Riley (Google him) was paid a King's ransom to sort this out...
Mike Suarez (Google him) was paid a King's ransom to sort this out...

Scrap Cheshire East/West now. At least this new bloke has some form regarding combining authorities (on paper) http://bit.ly/2arYjJa
Barry Buxton
Wednesday 27th July 2016 at 12:09 pm
A good move, but only if they make him into a net profit centre.