The Chief Executive of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is Stella Manzie.
The Chief Executive is the statutory 'head of the paid service' of the council, and is responsible for the management of our staff, services and operations, as well as setting the strategic direction for the authority and its partners with elected Councillors.
As our principal policy adviser the Chief Executive ensures that central government legislation and inspection regimes, in relation to local government are translated/implemented locally through policy planning, reporting arrangements for making decisions, and strong performance management systems.
The Chief Executive is responsible for the organisation and management arrangements of the council, and with the 4 Directors forms the Corporate Management Team which manages our £400 million plus revenue and capital budget and 8,000 plus workforce to deliver elected councillors ambitions for the community and area we serve.
The Corporate Management Team therefore works closely with both Executive and Scrutiny councillors to translate their priorities into firm proposals and actions.
Although managing the whole council, there are a few service areas where central government places a requirement on the Chief Executive to personally ensure that the arrangements being put in place by directors/departments are sound - these are emergency planning, the protection of vulnerable children, and ensuring effective partnership working to reduce crime and promote community safety.
The Chief Executive deals with the most serious complaints (stage 3 of our complaints procedure) that have not been resolved at departmental level, and liaises with the Local Government Ombudsman on complaints referred to this independent adjudication service.
Details of the Chief Executive's pay and expenses, together with details of other senior managers' pay, can be found on the pay and expenses page.
An extract from the Council's statement of accounts provides the number of staff in salary bandings above £50,000 for the year 2008-09.