Director of People & Governance
We are currently recruiting for the Director of People & Governance at both Rochford District Council and Brentwood Borough Council.
This person will play an involved role in the ongoing change programme, working closely with elected members from both authorities and ensuring that each council’s governance model supports effective and informed decision-making and that political autonomy is observed. With responsibility for the councils’ People Services, there will also be a central role to play in managing the ongoing restructuring and cultural change programme that will continue through these early stages of our partnership.
The role’s full portfolio is made up as follows:
- Democratic services
- Civics
- Elections
- Legal Services
- People Services (HR and OD)
- DPA/FOI
- Post room and Secretarial Support
- Association of South-East Local Authorities (ASELA) – working with partners across greater Essex and the ASELA region
This role has been identified as potentially taking on the statutory role of Monitoring Officer for the councils, working closely with the Chief Executive and Director of Resources who fulfil the other key statutory functions. But we are open-minded on this, and should your professional background not include the required experience for this responsibility, it can be allocated elsewhere in the organisations.
Effective governance models will be essential to the success of our partnership: ensuring that each locality is served well, and that elected members are supported in their local focus. The emphasis will be on evidence-led decision making and ensuring that members benefit from high quality officer advice.
The short to medium term focus for the councils will continue to be on our #OneTeam approach, so the People Services aspect of this role will be highly visible and influential across the organisation.
Such a diverse role demands a breadth of expertise and a genuinely strategic mindset. We expect that you’ll already have experience of leading cross-cutting change in a multi-disciplinary setting. And whether your professional expertise lies in Legal, Democratic Services or HR, it’s essential that you are adept and experienced in operating within a political environment.
Please note that the postholder will be employed by Rochford District Council.