A SALARY of at least £153,700 is on offer to the person who is recruited to take on the post of Kent County Council’s environment and regeneration chief.

The job, which involves being in charge of transport, planning, the environment and economic development, will become vacant in June when Peter Raine leaves the county council as its managing director.

A recruitment company appointed by KCC to lead the search for his successor is advertising the post at a salary of £153,700. But it holds out the prospect of even more for what is described as an “exceptional candidate.”

The earnings package on offer could top £170,000 as it also includes the promise of a 15 per cent performance bonus.

Other perks include the offer to pay for help finding a new home and a bridging loan to help with relocation costs.

The news comes after it emerged that the county council has the highest-paid chief executive in the country. Peter Gilroy earned nearly £230,000 last year, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The job description says the successful candidate will be responsible for 700 staff and a budget of more than £200million. It states: “You will be committed, resilient and able to work across a number of different disciplines. A sense of humour also helps!”

Earlier this month, county council leader Paul Carter strongly defended the salaries of KCC’s senior executives. He said: “Kent County Council is a massive organisation with massive responsibility. I think that quite rightly Kent needs to attract the very best people to run and be responsible for services.”