Appointment committee meets to discuss new chief

THE SEARCH for a new SIC chief executive got under way in earnest on Friday morning when Shetland Islands Council’s appointment committee met for the first time.

Mark Boden will retire on 31 January after five and half years at the helm of the administration. A new chief executive could be appointed by the end of February.

The closing date for post, which carries a salary of £105,000, was 14 January.

With the help of the council’s legal service, the nine strong committee – chaired by council leader Cecil Smith – will first have to view all of the applications and draw up a long list of candidates.

After further checks a shortlist will emerge over coming weeks and individual candidates will be invited for extended interviews and presentations.

Once the committee has made up its mind on a preferred candidate, it is the full council that makes the appointment.

The SIC is extremely tight-lipped as to the interest in the post and wasn’t even able to say how many had applied for the role.

The appointment committee is made up of senior councillors. They are: council convener Malcolm Bell, Alastair Cooper, Steven Coutts, Allison Duncan, Andrea Manson, Cecil Smith, George Smith, Ryan Thomson and Beatrice Wishart.