A COMMITTEE which will choose a new joint chief of Malvern Hills and Wychavon District Councils have been accused of a “jobs for the boys” approach.

Concerns have been raised that only a single candidate is reportedly being considered as a successor to the incumbent, Jack Hegarty, who is due to step down after five years at the helm.

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A selection committee will choose who will replace Mr Hegarty, who is currently both CEO at Malvern Hills District Council and managing director at Wychavon District Council.

However, the process is being carried out internally - rather than advertised publicly - and it has also emerged that there is only one candidate being considered for the job, which pays more than £100,000 per year.

Councillor Dan Boatright, who sits on Pershore Town Council, accused the council of taking a “jobs for the boys” approach, saying the process was not inclusive enough.

Cllr Boatright, who is also chair of the West Worcestershire Liberal Democrats, said: “I understand the desire to ensure progression at work and make existing staff feel there are opportunities to move into new roles, but in order to ensure equality, especially at the top, the process has to be as inclusive as possible.

“Interviewing one person from within the institution does not ensure equality of opportunity and casts doubt on the suitability of the individual involved.

“While the suggested process has the person measured against a set of standards, a far more inclusive process would have included several people being interviewed from different places so that a true range of people, and maybe with a different ethos or with different experiences can be compared.

“How can we ever truly know we have the best person for the job if we only interviewed one person? I am personally so disappointed in the use of a closed ‘jobs for the boys’ style approach.”

Mr Hegarty will leave his role as Joint Chief Executive/Managing Director of both councils at the end of July. The decision follows two significant health scares in recent years and his desire to spend more time with his family and pursue other interests.

Mr Hegarty has been in charge of Wychavon for 16 years and for the last five has also been head of Malvern Hills District Council. He is the joint longest serving chief executive in Wychavon’s 45 year history, alongside Pat Rust MBE.

During his time in charge of both councils, Mr Hegarty has worked with nine different council leaders, 22 different chairman and eight different administrations.

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A joint statement from Cllr Sarah Rouse, leader of Malvern Hills District Council, and Cllr Bradley Thomas, Wychavon’s leader, said: “Wychavon has achieved some amazing things under Jack’s leadership and Malvern Hills District Council has been transformed with him at the helm.

“Jack leaves a tremendous legacy amongst the communities that he has served. We wish him well for the future and whoever replaces him will have a very tough act to follow.

“We agreed to advertise the post internally first because we have talented individuals working for both councils and it is right to give them the opportunity to showcase their skills and see what they can offer.

“If the selection panel does not believe they have found someone capable of taking both councils to the next level, then we will seek someone from outside the organisation.”