By Rachel Alexander
The authority’s chief executive, Emma Bennett, received the highest salary of between £190,000 – £195,000.
Below the chief executive are four executive directors, each receiving between £145,000 and £150,000.
The remaining 14 directors earn various salaries between £90,000 – £120,000.
Council officers are the paid employees of a Walsall Council, responsible for implementing policies, delivering services, and providing advice to councillors.
While your ward councillors make the decisions, officers carry out those decisions and manage the day-to-day operations of the council including statutory duties.
Below is a complete list of the authority’s senior staff, including their job titles, salaries, and responsibilities as of March 31, 2025.
The authority is currently undergoing a restructure of its senior staff, so some post holders will have changed in the time leading to its publication this month.
Emma Bennett, chief executive
Salary: £190,000 – £195,000
Responsibilities: Bennett works with elected members and ensures all staff adhere to the direction set by the elected members. She also acts as principal policy adviser to elected members and oversees financial and performance management, risk management and people management within the council.
Judith Greenhalgh, executive director of resources and transformation
Salary: £145,000-£150,000
Responsibilities: Greenhalgh works with the chief executive, elected members and other directors to develop and implement the council’s vision, aims and priorities.
Colleen Male, executive director of children’s services
Salary: £145,000-£150,000
Responsibilities: To improve the outcomes of children, young people and their families across the borough. She leads social work and education, ensuring actions from all inspections and reviews are followed through.
Dave Brown, executive director of economy, environment and communities
Salary: £145,000-£150,000
Responsibilities: Provides leadership for the regeneration of the borough, the borough’s housing needs, and improving the borough’s economy, place and environment services.
Kerrie Allward, executive director of adult social care
Salary: £145,000-£150,000
Responsibilities: Allward is responsible for the efficiency, effectiveness, availability and value for money of the adult social care services provided by and commissioned by the council.
Tony Cox, director of governance
Salary: £115,000-£120,000
Responsibilities: Leads on legal and democratic services and provides constitutional and electoral advice to counsellors, corporate management team, managers and staff across the organisation.
Shaun Darcy, director of finance, procurement and assurance
Salary: £115,000-£120,000
Responsibilities: Leads on financial, audit, risk and insurance, business planning, accounting, tax and corporate performance.
Sharon Kelly, director of access and inclusion
Salary: £105,000-£110,000
Responsibilities: Kelly’s role is to improve outcomes for all children in Walsall, creating partnerships with schools and other key partners.
Paul Gordon, director of resilient communities
Salary: £105,000-£110,000
Responsibilities: Leads on the voluntary and community sector, community cohesion, libraries, community safety unit, CCTV, Prevent, domestic abuse, licensing applications, trading standards and statutory nuisance and environmental crime enforcement.
Jennie Pugh, director of adult care
Salary: £105,000-£110,000
Responsibilities: Leads on provision of adult social care services in Walsall, including access and delivery of services in order to meet the needs of residents in accordance with legislation.
Nadia Inglis, director of public health
Salary: £105,000-£110,000
Responsibilities: Inglis is the principal adviser on all health matters to elected members and officers, and oversees health improvements, health protection and healthcare public health.
Michele Leith, director of human resources, organisation development and administration
Salary: £105,000-£110,000
Responsibilities: Leads on the council’s workforce, HR strategy, oversees the organisation’s culture and administration functions across the authority.
Carol Williams, director of transformation and digital
Salary: £105,000-£110,000
Responsibilities: Oversees projects and programmes, engaging directly with departments to manage transformation projects.
Elise Hopkins, director of customer engagement
Salary: £105,000-£110,000
Responsibilities: Leads on customer functions responsible for general enquiry handling, requests and signposting at the council.
Keith Beech, director of communications
Salary: £105,000-£110,000
Responsibilities: Leads on the council’s communication strategy.
Rita Homer, director of children’s social work
Salary: £100,000-£105,000
Responsibilities: Leads the safeguarding services for children’s social work and improves outcomes for all children in Walsall.
Isabel Vanderheeren, director of early help, WR4C and partnerships
Salary: £100,000-£105,000
Responsibilities: To provide the strategic direction in creating capacity for early help in children’s services, and leads on Walsall Children’s Safeguarding Partnership.
Kathryn Moreton, director of place and environment
Salary: £95,000-£100,000
Responsibilities: The council’s lead officer for environmental policy and climate change mitigation. Moreton leads on highways maintenance, pollution control, parking, road safety, engineering, traffic management, waste management, markets, leisure centres, bereavement and registration services, parks and open space management.
Simon Tranter, director of regeneration and economy
Salary: £90,000-£95,000
Responsibilities: The council’s lead officer on culture and its cultural assets. Also leads regeneration and development, planning policy, employment growth and skills, Walsall’s New Art Gallery, Walsall Arena, the Leather Museum and planning and building control.
Vacant, director of commissioning
Salary ceiling: £107,319
Responsibilities: To provide strategic and policy advice to Walsall Council in all aspects of commissioning, procurement and provider quality assurance.