The role

Job Description

Salary:	£144,199 to £166,477
Authority:	ADC / WBC
Post Number:	0105
Management responsibility for:	Deputy Chief Executive (Director for Economy, Regeneration & Climate), Director of Housing & Communities, Director of Core Services and Assistant Director for People & Change.
Authority to liaise with:	Internal: Leaders of the Council, Cabinet Members and Members of the Council, Chief Officers and all other appropriate Council officers and managers. External: Members and Officers of other bodies, specialist agencies, media, contractors and consultants, partner agencies across the public, private and voluntary sectors.
Meetings attended on a regular basis:	Joint Strategic Committee, Cabinet, Full Councils
Work style:	Fixed / Flexible / Mobile

Principal purpose of job

Responsible to the Councils for their overall management, performance and the quality of service delivery provided to the communities of Adur and Worthing and for the continued development of services and organisational effectiveness.

Development of strategy and policy to enhance partnership working between the two councils and with others; effective leadership and management of all resources, delivering agreed priorities and responding to changing needs. Advise on the options and professional solutions that will take forward the vision and priorities of the Councils.

Undertake the duties and responsibilities of the Head of Paid Service and other responsibilities required by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and any other relevant legislation.

As a member of the Corporate Leadership Team you will operate across the organisation and provide leadership beyond the boundaries of your role. In doing this you will embrace and bring to life our three core principles; resilience, adaptability and participation – embedding them in the daily working practices of the team.

As councils, we are committing to a new operating model which will bring digital and data into the heart of the organisation. As a leader in the organisation we will ask you to champion this shift and to ensure that your own practice and your service is demonstrably adopting new ways of working.

We expect all members of the Corporate Leadership Team to lead the response to the climate emergency by ensuring services and projects transition to low carbon delivery models at pace, while also taking every opportunity to protect and recover nature and biodiversity.

You will undertake an investigatory management role or hearing manager role in regards to employee relations cases, working to uphold our Council’s values and behaviours.

You will be responsible for developing effective multi disciplinary teams from across the organisation for missions based work, ensuring you have the right people to deliver the required outcomes and ensuring:

Collaborative practice
Clear communication
Clear definition of tasks and responsibilities
Clear goals, objectives and strategies
Recognition of and respect for the competence and contribution of each team member
Competent leadership

Main duties, tasks and responsibilities of post holder

Key Accountabilities

Advise and support the decision-making processes of Leaders and Cabinets in the formulation, monitoring and review of customer- focused objectives, strategy and policy; work in a dynamic and collaborative way to provide solutions and to support councillors in undertaking their responsibilities.
Develop and implement strategy and policy to deliver continued partnership working and support the further development and integration of council services; including the transition of the organisation to a new unitary authority, and promote a culture of change, innovation and improvement.
Lead the strategic management team in the planning, development, coordination and implementation of the Council’s policies, objectives and priorities; ensuring that the highest standard of advice and service is provided to all stakeholders.
Lead the development of a culture of accountability and responsibility which ensures that all services are provided efficiently and cost-effectively, ensuring that statutory functions are fulfilled and financial targets are met. Encourage flexible deployment of resources and expertise to enhance service delivery.
Lead the further development of a positive working environment for all employees, creating a culture of engagement which involves them in the development of the two councils and their services and a culture of organisational and individual development and learning.
Promote effective customer engagement to ensure the councils are working for the benefit of the citizens of Adur and Worthing. Work with the Councils partners to develop quality services delivered in a cost effective manner to meet the changing local needs.
Ensure that the Councils vision and objectives are effectively communicated to staff, customers and all relevant parties.
Ensure compliance with the Councils statutory duties and responsibilities and internal policies and procedures as set out in the constitution of the councils. This includes equality, diversity, sustainability, human rights, health and safety, community safety, data protection and risk management responsibilities. Ensure that these are communicated and understood throughout the council.
Undertake all duties in accordance with Council policies, in particular those relating to Customer Care and Equal Opportunities.
Undertake such other duties as may reasonably be allocated to the postholder, which may involve providing assistance in any section of the department as may be required from time to time.
Undertake any duties regarding health, safety and welfare at work, civil contingencies and business continuity which may reasonably be allocated to the postholder as a result of legislation, codes of practice or Council policies.
Promote the service and Council positively at all times.

Responsibilities expected of all CLT members

Leadership

Create a culture of adaptivity and creativity, setting the direction by role modelling our behaviours and principles
Work to make teams more representative of the communities they serve in terms of equalities and inclusion
Build strong working relationships and embed a culture of genuine collaboration and partnership working across the organisation
Provide positive and inclusive leadership – acting with openness, honesty and integrity and instilling a clear sense of direction, priority and pace whilst ensuring that any concerns are addressed promptly.
Lead through change – being brave enough to get your hands dirty to make sense of what needs to happen.
Bring creativity and innovation to problem solving with your team – co-create a range of imaginative solutions or options, identifying the risks associated with each option
Drive the organisation’s focus on delivering a quality and committed service and gather the data needed to provide effective performance management and development
Provide an excellent employee lifecycle experience, including onboarding, quality conversations and appraisals and development opportunities

Corporate

Member of the Council Leadership Team
Participate in the GOLD Business Continuity rota
Undertake all duties in accordance with Council policies, the Code of Conduct for Officers, and in particular policies those relating to Customer Care and Equal Opportunities
Undertake any duties regarding health, safety and welfare at work, civil contingencies and business continuity which may reasonably be allocated to the postholder as a result of legislation, codes of practice or Council policies
Promote the service and Council positively at all times

Other Responsibilities

Act as Returning Officer, on behalf of the Councils in respect of all matters relating to elections and electoral registration.
Undertake such duties and responsibilities delegated to the post under the Council’s scheme of delegations; where appropriate arrange for further delegation to officers as appropriate within the Councils.
Attend Council and joint strategic committee meetings, corporate management team meetings; meetings of outside groups and organisations; and other meetings as required.
Undertake any duties regarding health, safety and welfare at work which may reasonably be allocated to the postholder as a result of legislation, codes of practice or councils policies.
Undertake such duties as required under the council’s emergency plans.

As the post holder, you will be required to undertake such other duties as may be required within your grade and competence, and therefore the list of duties in this job description should not be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive.

Duties will be set out in this job description but please note that the Council reserves the right to update the job description, from time to time, to reflect changes in, or to, the role. The post holder will be consulted about any proposed changes. Significant permanent changes in duties and responsibilities will require agreed revisions to be made to this job description.

Adur & Worthing Councils recognise the need to ensure the welfare of children and vulnerable adults when they come into contact with services provided by the Councils. Employees, volunteers and Elected Members have regular contact with the general public during the course of their work and are in a position to observe signs which might indicate that a person is at risk of harm and abuse. If signs, which cause concern, are observed, all employees (temporary and permanent), volunteers and Elected Members have a duty to report allegations, disclosures and suspicions of abuse or neglect in line with the Councils’ Safeguarding Policy.

Person Specification

The core skills and competencies below are taken from our organisational Skills Framework in terms of Leadership behaviours and are an indication of the expectations we have of our employees. The full document will be shared with you as part of the onboarding process.

Participative

Build strong relationships with people inside and outside your team and organisation to make a difference to improved outcomes for the local area.
Engage in clear and positive written and verbal communication to help people understand what you want to achieve and how they can help.
Value the unique strengths of people from different backgrounds to promote a culture of inclusion, equality and diversity.
More detail can be found in the Participation Skills & Competencies

Adaptive

Adopt an active interest in learning and development opportunities that will enable you to strengthen and broaden your skills.
Experiment with new ways of working to help continuously improve how we deliver outcomes (including through the use of digital tools and platforms).
Anticipate new challenges & opportunities to be able to adapt to change around you.

Resilient

Embrace a consistently positive attitude and effectively prioritise workload to support your own wellbeing.
Cultivate a supportive environment with colleagues so people feel part of a team that looks out for each other.
Prioritise the use of resources that helps us be financially and environmentally sustainable.

Leadership

Be open to coaching approaches to support others in finding solutions to problems.
Role model the principles above to inspire others to demonstrate positive behaviours.
Develop an understanding of the political processes that guide our organisation and show commitment to the safeguarding of others.

Manager Competencies

Take a strategic approach to managing policy development, financial resources, and evaluate risks in order to mitigate against them.
Be agile in decision making and adopt an open mindset to managing change in different settings, and be able to reflect on your own performance and that of others in order to drive improvement.
Facilitating the contributions of others to a range of outward facing activities and adopt a storytelling approach to sharing good practice.
Use a range of different communication skills to share your vision and influence others, while using the organisation’s governance processes to work with Members effectively.

Qualifications

Degree educated, relevant professional qualification or an appropriate level of experience in a senior management role.

Knowledge

Significant awareness of the challenges and opportunities facing public sector organisations and of the particular challenges facing the communities of Adur and Worthing.
Understanding the political and democratic infrastructure for local government.
A strong understanding and commitment to the principles and ethos of the public sector.

Experience

Proven experience of providing effective and innovative leadership to senior management.
Significant experience of working within a political environment, providing clear, balanced advice and guidance on strategic issues that achieve corporate and service objectives.
Significant experience and achievement at senior manager/board level in a large and complex environment.
Proven track record of successfully delivering major service. improvements, cultural and organisational change and complex resource management
Proven experience of facilitating effective partnership working with a wide range of bodies from public, private and voluntary sectors to achieve corporate and service objectives.
Experience of and commitment to community engagement and involvement in service design and delivery.

Communication

Ability to use high level interpersonal and diplomacy skills effectively to work collaboratively and to communicate clearly and concisely.
Ability to manage strategic change and promote clarity about organisational priorities.
Able to communicate complex and sensitive issues with clarity and credibility to residents, councillors, partners, and the media.
Able to lead whole-place transformation in collaboration with partners, influencing across local, regional and national levels.

Relationship Building

Ability to inspire, lead and motivate staff at all levels, and to achieve a high performance culture.
Ability to assess, understand and manage the political pressure and demands upon the organisation.
Able to model inclusive, values-based leadership and develop leadership capacity across the whole system, not just the council.
Able to work confidently and constructively with political leadership across parties, enabling informed and balanced decision making.

Analytical

Highest level strategic thinking, analytical skills and with the ability to exercise sound judgement in seeking creative and innovative solutions to complex problems.
Able to apply future-focused and systems thinking approaches to reimagine the role of local government in response to long-term challenges.

Planning/ Organising

Ability to determine resources required and deployment of these.
Ability to identify and manage risk, exploit opportunities and provide solutions to problems and challenges.
Ability to deal effectively with conflict and poor performance.
Able to lead strategic financial planning across the council and wider place, aligning resources to priorities in the face of fiscal constraints.
Able to create the conditions for bold innovation, informed risk-taking, and adaptive learning across the organisation and partnerships.
Able to build a culture of high trust and high challenge, holding senior leaders and partners to account while supporting improvement.

Other requirements

Acceptance of political restriction.
Valuing kindness and compassion in the workplace.
Able to travel within the Adur and Worthing Districts.