IT'S one of the most important jobs in Sheffield - and Star readers are being given the chance to help choose the right candidate.
A new chief executive must be appointed at Sheffield Council over the coming weeks.
The position is the most senior on the authority, responsible not only for thousands of employees but crucial services affecting everyone in the city, from libraries to schools and roads.
Readers are being invited to send in questions they would like answering by applicants.
And five readers will be chosen to join the interviewing panel and quiz each person directly. Readers' views on the candidates will then be used to help decide who gets the £180,000-a-year job, replacing Sir Bob Kerslake.
New council leader Coun Paul Scriven said: "It's an exciting opportunity to get real issues at the heart of the interview process and see how the potential applicants connect with the people of Sheffield.
"We want to put local people's concerns at the heart of what the council does. What better way than by allowing ordinary Sheffielders to ask questions about issues that affect them and their families than by letting them help choose the new chief executive?"
Questions should be short and punchy, and can be on local issues like education, environment, jobs or schools - but not about a personal issue. The winning entrants will be selected by Coun Scriven and The Star.
Traditionally, decisions about who takes the top job on the council have been made behind closed doors but Coun Scriven says allowing the public to help choose the best candidate is "one of the first ways we will be able to make a difference" after the Lib Dems swept to power.
Coun Scriven said: "People whose entries are chosen will be able to put their questions directly to the applicants and listen to the answers.
"They will be asked for their views on how the candidates responded - which will be used to help decide who is chosen."
Applicants will be interviewed over two days and Coun Scriven said a decision on who is offered the job is likely to be made by the first week in July.
- Readers' questions must be submitted in writing to The Star before Monday June 9.
Email paul.license@sheffieldnewspapers.co.uk or write to The Editor, The Star, York Street, Sheffield, S1 1PU.
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