MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falkland’s set to appoint Barry Rowland as new Chief Executive

Barry Rowland formerly worked as Chief Executive for Newcastle City Council before leaving in 2012.

The Falkland Island’s Government (FIG) announced yesterday that a conditional offer of employment had been accepted in principle by Mr. Barry Rowland for the position of Chief Executive. Current FIG Chief Executive, Keith Padgett, is retiring later this year after serving as head of the civil service for the past 5 years.

 The new Chief Executive (CE) of the Falkland Islands is set to be Mr Barry Rowland it was announced yesterday by the Falkland Islands Government (FIG). Following the recent recruitment process – which is estimated to have cost FIG £64,500 – the Governor of the Falkland Islands, Colin Roberts CVO confirmed that a “conditional offer of employment” had been made and had been “accepted in principle” by Mr Rowland.

Mr Rowland is expected to replace the current CE, Keith Padgett, who retires in October after 5 years of service having been initially appointed as interim-CE in 2011 and then fully appointed as the first locally recruited CE in 2012. FIG added that it aimed to have the “new Chief Executive in post to enable an effective handover when Mr Padgett retires”. FIG also noted that a formal offer of employment had yet to be confirmed, due to “a number of administrative arrangements” still to be completed beforehand.

Mr Rowland, who was one of five applicants interviewed for the position in the Islands approximately 3 weeks ago, left his previous post as Executive Director for Northumberland County Council in August 2015. Speaking at the time, the Council stated he had chosen to leave to “purse fresh challenges”, with many Council colleagues praising his “dedication and commitment” during his 3 years in post.

Prior to his role in Northumberland, Mr Rowland formerly worked as Chief Executive of Newcastle City Council, but left by mutual agreement after a very public falling out with Council Leader Nick Forbes, for which he received £215,331 in compensation. He had worked for the Council for more than 30 years, the last three as CE, before his departure.

The post of Chief Executive in the Falklands is one of the only positions where Members of Legislative Assembly in the Falklands have a direct influence on who’s appointed. The new CE is expected to earn anywhere from £97,000 up to £130,000 per annum and is likely to be in post for a minimum of 3 years.