Reforms to top job in Isle of Man civil service proposed

Reforms would give the chief secretary more performance management duties

Reforms to the top job in the Isle of Man's civil service have been put forward to improve how senior officers are held to account.

The Council of Ministers has proposed renaming the chief secretary's post to chief executive officer, while giving it new performance management powers.

It comes after an independent review found "a management vacuum" where under performance had not been tackled well.

Chief Minister Alfred Cannan said the new remit of role would improve that.

Performance management across the government was "just not strong enough", and the new chief executive officer role would see department heads "properly managed from the centre", he added.

New role

Mr Cannan commissioned the review in May in the wake of a damming employment tribunal which highlighted issues with the actions of senior civil servants during the pandemic.

Several senior officers stepped down following the case, including former chief secretary Will Greenhow, who took early retirement.

The review, undertaken by management consultants Beamans, found the scope of the chief secretary's role was "far too wide" and should be refocused to provide more oversight of other senior civil servants.

Ministers have proposed installing a chief operating officer to head the Cabinet Office in order to free up the revised top role, while other reforms include the creation of a new operational performance board.

The proposed shake-up should see workforce issues addressed more effectively and see the government move away from the "number of cheques that are written when individuals leave", Mr Cannan said.

In January Tynwald will be asked to approve the rebrand of the role, which is currently occupied on an interim basis by Treasury chief officer Caldric Randall.

If the court backs the change, the government will begin recruitment for the chief executive officer in 2023.