A NEW role of "executive support officer" for the leader of Derby City Council has been created with pay of up to £41,000 a year.
The job replaces the role of personal assistant to the leader but will carry extra responsibilities and pay.
Council leader Ranjit Banwait said the person who got the job would, for the first time in a role like this, be required to work weekends and evenings.
He said that the post would enable him to "do an effective job for the city of Derby" and added that it will be "part of a wider review of council services to save money".
Mr Banwait said one recent example which showed the need for an assistant to "think outside the box and work outside normal hours" was when he spent a weekend talking to those affected by missed bins following this month's public sector strike.
The new role – which has come up now because the current PA to the leader retires this week – has already come under fierce criticism.
David Jowett, assistant branch secretary of Derby Unison, said his organisation had "serious concerns" over whether the spending on the role was needed.
He said: "In the light of severe pressure on the budget, and services for the vulnerable being cut, this clearly doesn't send the right message to the electorate.
"Unison agrees that councillors need to be well supported in their roles but, at the same time, believes the creation of this role is not necessary."
Tory opposition leader Philip Hickson said it was "completely unnecessary recruitment".
He said: "The leader has always had secretarial support at a much more modest level than this proposed post and that has proved to be wholly appropriate for a succession of different council leaders from all political parties."
He added that the cost, a salary of between £37,578 and £41,148 per year, was "completely unsupportable".
Mr Banwait said he had nothing to do with setting the salary level as it was "dependent on the requirements of the role".
He said the amount of pay would be comparable to someone with a similar job at Nottingham City Council.
A Derby City Council statement said: "We have consulted the leader on his expectations of a PA and have designed the post accordingly, including weekend and evening work.
"The post is designed to support the leader only, but we will assess if there is any spare capacity to support other cabinet members after appointment."
