Each of the Council’s 14,800 members of staff is employed to provide high quality services to the citizens of Wakefield district.

For more information about the Council directorates and management structure please see 'Downloads'.

Some members of staff have important roles, these are:

Chief Executive

The most senior officer of the Council is the Chief Executive.

The role of Chief Executive is a full time appointment made by elected members; it provides leadership and takes responsibility for all the Council’s employees.

By law, the Chief Executive is not allowed to participate in any party political activity and is expected to advise and assist all councillors, irrespective of their political affiliation. The Chief Executive works closely with the Leader of the Council and other elected members – particularly the Cabinet - to provide leadership, strategic direction and operational management.

Corporate Directors

The Corporate Directors form the Corporate Management Team (CMT) which is responsible for managing Council employees and for advising elected members on the potential implications of political decisions.  

CMT is chaired by the Chief Executive and made up of three corporate directors, supported by the Director of Finance and Property and the Director of Public Health.

By law, senior Council officers are not allowed to participate in any party political activity and are expected to advise and assist all councillors irrespective of their political affiliation. 

Statutory Officers

Each council has to nominate certain statutory officers. The following hold these responsibilities for Wakefield:

Chief Executive Head of Paid Service Electoral Registration Officer Returning Officer	Joanne Roney OBE Tel: 01924 305102 Email: jroney@wakefield.gov.uk
Head of Finance Section 151 Officer	Judith Badger Tel: 01924 305388 Email: jbadger@wakefield.gov.uk
Head of Legal Monitoring Officer	Bernadette Livesey Tel: 01924 305177 Email: blivesey@wakefield.gov.uk
Director of Childrens Services	Elaine McHale Tel: 01924 307725 Email: emchale@wakefield.gov.uk
Director of Adult Social Services	Sam Pratheepan Tel: 01924 306791 Email: spratheepan@wakefield.gov.uk
Borough Planner	Ian Thomson Tel: (01924) 305858 Email: ithomson@wakefield.gov.uk

Some Council employees are entitled to claim for certain expenses incurred in the carrying out of their duties. See below for more information.