When will Newcastle City Council appoint new chief executive and how much will they be paid?
For the latest North East news and updates subscribe to the free ChronicleLive newsletter here Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice  A replacement for Newcastle City Councils departing chief executive could be appointed by September, civic centre officials hope. It was announced on Tuesday that Pat Ritchie will be standing down from the local authoritys top job later this year, after eight years in the post. The hunt now begins for a new face to step up to the huge task of managing the citys recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The first step in the search for a new chief executive will be appointing a specialist recruitment firm, with the city council confirming that it will be bringing in outside help to find the right candidate. The local authority is expected to put out a tender for that imminently, but also said that the job will be advertised openly  so anybody can apply. There has not been a specific job description or criteria published yet, but the council will almost certainly be looking for someone with a wealth of senior management experience in local government or similar large organisations. Prior to her appointment in 2013, Ms Ritchie was the chief executive of the government's Homes and Community Agency  now known as Homes England. She was also deputy chief executive of the One North East Regional Development Agency. The role of chief executive is the highest-ranking non-political post at the council. Alongside the councils elected leadership, the chief executive is ultimately responsible for pushing forward a vision for the city and ensuring the local authority delivers its huge range of services  everything from social care to bin collections. The chief executives salary has been a source of some controversy over recent years, with Ms Ritchies pay jumping substantially over the last five years to almost 189,000. It has not been confirmed what salary her replacement might be offered. But according to the councils most recent pay policy statement, the salary range for the authoritys chief executive is between 172,753 and 188,948. While Ms Ritchies salary has jumped by around 40,000 since 2016, she is not the highest paid council chief executive in the North East. Durham County Councils interim boss John Hewitt earns 201,742 per year, while both Sunderland and Northumberlands chief executives take home more than 190,000. The recruitment is overseen by the councils constitutional committee, which will approve an interview panel to choose the successful candidate. That panel will likely be made up of councillors, senior council directors, and potentially other high-ranking figures from other organisations in the city outside of the council. It is hoped that an appointment could be made by September, potentially allowing a new chief executive to come in during a transition period and take over from Ms Ritchie when she leaves later in the autumn. But, depending on when the new boss is appointed and when they can start, it may be that an interim chief executive needs to take over for a while  likely drawn from within the councils existing crop of directors.