Exclusive: £11,500 cost to recruit Brighton’s new bin boss

The recruitment of the person tasked with preventing further city-wide bin strikes is costing the taxpayer £11,500.

Brighton and Hove City Council confirmed the sum as applications for its new head of Cityclean and City Parks closed.

The figure, which has been paid to external consultants and includes the creation of a specially-created website, can be exclusively revealed by The Latest.

It comes as the threat of a further bin strike was averted after union representatives and council officials struck a deal.

Mark Turner, of GMB, described the sum as “diabolical” and “outrageous”.

He told The Latest: “I’ve never really understood why employers engage with recruitment consultants. This particular job should have been advertised in the specialist magazines.

“The job is not even in the top two tiers of council management. If they are doing it for this role they should do it for every job at that level and that’s going to cost the taxpayer a fortune.

“I really don’t see the sense in it. I could have shortlisted a bunch of candidates for them for nothing.”

According to the advert, the role will pay up to £75,000 a year.

The advert, which has been posted on a specially-created website with artwork, states: “Accountability. Delivery. Personal impact. Working together. These are more than just words at Brighton and Hove.

“They are our shared objectives, and everyone has their part to play in realising them – including our next Head of Cityclean and Parks.

“This is a hugely important role in the council, managing some of our most high profile, customer-facing services.”

A council spokeswoman said £11,495 bill was “fully inclusive of search, assessment and recruitment activity”.

The Latest asked for a further comment on whether the sum was value for money but had yet to receive a response at the time of publication.

It comes as union representatives and officials struck a deal over the latest refuse and recycling dispute.

Workers were unhappy claiming that cost-cutting measures to take vehicles off the road had left them with too much work to do.

This meant that bins and containers were being uncollected across the city.

After months of unrest a deal has been struck which will see an an extra refuse vehicle be made available on a trial basis until early autumn.