Local Government South East
Director of Legal & Governance (Monitoring Officer)
Get notified of more jobs like this · No spam, ever
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Full Time
Permanent
Reading
Posted 3 hours ago
£96,900 to £112,827 Per year
Closes: 21 September 2026
Website: Reading Borough Council
Some career opportunities stand out from the crowd: offering greater scope and challenge and a wider remit where your skills can flourish. This role presents the opportunity to draw on your professional expertise and take on a wider corporate perspective as part of Reading’s leadership team.
This is a great opportunity for an experienced and accomplished legal / governance professional to play an influential role in Reading’s corporate team, and beyond. As a member of our senior leadership team, you will help shape the organisation’s strategic direction, providing trusted advice and challenge whilst enabling the Council to deliver its ambitions for residents, communities and businesses.
You’ll provide overall strategic direction and professional leadership to our Legal and Democratic Services team – ensuring a high-quality, customer focused approach defines how we work. You’ll ensure accurate and timely legal advice underpins key political decisions and delivery across a range of programmes, acting as an enabling function while supporting informed and proportionate management of risk.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
As the Council’s statutory Monitoring Officer you will ensure that sound governance principles and systems support the political process. By fostering strong professional relationships across all political parties, you’ll be able to present impartial advice to elected members, and ensure clarity on roles and accountabilities, and that political debate and discourse is managed appropriately.
Reading BC hosts the Joint Legal Team that provides Children’s and Adults’ Social Care legal service to the six unitary authorities in Berkshire. You’ll oversee this provision, paying close attention to quality assurance and building positive relationships with stakeholders across the county.
It’s likely that you are a qualified legal professional – though practical experience as a Monitoring Officer could be considered as equivalent to this. Whatever your background, it’s essential that you have an excellent understanding of how local authorities operate, the role of effective governance in supporting effective decision-making, and expert knowledge of the legislative framework that applies to councils.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Success in this role will require the ability to offer direct and impartial legal advice, while working as an enabler to the Council’s strategic ambitions. That means an emphasis on outcomes rather than process, while being clear on where to draw the line in terms of risk.
You should have the ability to see issues ‘in the round’ and collaborate with different stakeholders to agree the best way forward. Equally important is your ability to lead people. You will create a culture of high performance, learning and professional excellence, developing capability within the team and empowering colleagues to thrive.
Through visible and authentic leadership, you will help shape not only the future of Legal and Democratic Services, but also the wider culture and success of the Council.
Visit www.team-reading.co.uk or contact Steve Guest at Solace in Business on 020 7976 3311 for a confidential discussion.
Closing date: 21st September 2026
To apply for this job please visit www.team-reading.co.uk.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location