Professionalism among Icelandic Mayors: Job Postings, Experience and Education as Determinants of Professionalism at the Icelandic Local Level

Abstract

Professionalism is thought to be synonymous with good governance, a vital component of a modern and efficient local government. Traditionally, top managers, such as American city managers, are seen as the archetype of professionalism, while municipalities ruled by executive mayors have been judged to be less professional. In Iceland, mayors are recruited largely through two processes: through hiring following nationwide job postings (managermayors) and through political appointment from within the municipal council (political mayors). An analysis of job postings for manager-mayor positions and of the level of education and experience acquired by Icelandic mayors demonstrates an increased level of professionalism. However, during interviews, manager-mayors recruited through job postings emphasised their professionalism by citing their political neutrality, while political mayors stressed their professionalism by citing their level of education. Nevertheless, there is a fundamental lack of standardisation in the qualifications required for mayoral positions in Iceland. Finally, although there is a substantial number of mayors with similar educational backgrounds in business and economics, a high turnover and a lack of mutual understanding of the experience and education required for the position indicate low levels of professionalism. Thus, although the level

Administrative capacity and long-term policy making at the Icelandic local level

“…One of the main measurements on administrative capacity is the local governments capacity to hire professional and specialised staff into the town hall (Kjaer and Mouritzen 2003;Lundtorp 2000). Previous studies have shown that Icelandic local authorities stress professional capacity and skills when hiring manager-mayors (Hlynsdóttir 2016b), less is known about the overall capacity of the local administrative level. In his 2001 study on Icelandic local government, Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson pointed out that size was a crucial factor in defining the structure of local administration.…”

“…The first type is an individual who is also a member of the council (political mayor) and the second type is an individual who is not a member of the council (manager-mayor). Both types of chief executive play central roles and often possess considerable political and professional capacity (Hlynsdóttir 2016b).…”

“…The first explanation, following the example of the 2006 European mayor study, is that Icelandic political mayors have more discrete power and thus do not experience the lack of goal setting in the same way as the manager-mayors. The second explanation suggests that size is an important factor, as political mayors are more often found in larger municipalities that are able to provide more professional support to the political mayor, while the manager-mayor is more often hired by smaller municipalities in order to provide the experience or skills that cannot be provided by other staff in the town hall (Hlynsdóttir 2016b). The third and final explanation is that the political mayors may be more reluctant to admit to vague goal setting as they are at the very heart of the goal-setting process.…”

Dutiful citizen or a pragmatic professional? Voluntary retirement of Icelandic local councillors

“…Most local authorities have a relatively small local administration; and the council plays an important role in the process of task implementation alongside the municipal manager. Therefore, a high level of turnover in the council, combined with a high level of turnover among municipal administrators (Hlynsdóttir 2016c) and a small administration, poses a threat to the overall performance of the local level of government.…”