Lancashire County Council
Director of Strategy & Transformation
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Shape the Future of Lancashire
Let's be honest: leading strategy, transformation and organisational improvement at one of the largest local authorities in the country is a rare and compelling opportunity. It’s a hugely exciting role and your exceptional leadership will be key to delivering our transformation ambitions, preparing for Local Government Reorganisation and shaping the future of Lancashire.
We're at a pivotal moment in our journey and have ambitious plans for the future. We need someone who can work alongside us to translate strategy into action, deliver what matters, help us secure significant financial savings, foster a whole-council approach, and help us achieve the very best for our residents.
We appreciate this is a demanding brief but we're seeking an exceptional leader because exceptional leadership is exactly what's required to deliver our transformation ambitions, prepare for Local Government Reorganisation and shape the future of Lancashire.
You will play a key role in shaping the future of the Council, providing strategic leadership to drive innovation, reform and large-scale transformation at a time of significant change across local government. Reporting to our Executive Director of Resources, you will work closely with the Chief Executive, Cabinet Members, Elected Members and senior leaders to ensure the Council is well-positioned to deliver its ambitions for residents, communities and partners.
The Opportunity
This is a role for a leader who combines strategic vision with a relentless focus on delivery. Someone who can shape the future, mobilise people behind a shared ambition and deliver meaningful change that improves outcomes for residents and communities.
You will lead a significant portfolio of organisational change and improvement programmes, ensuring that transformation delivers measurable benefits for residents, improves services and realises substantial financial savings. You will champion innovation, modernisation and continuous improvement across the organisation, helping us become more agile, customer-focused and efficient.
A key priority will be leading the modernisation of the Council's data, intelligence and insight capability, ensuring evidence and analytics drive decision making across all services. You will help establish a truly insight-driven organisation where data informs policy, performance and resource allocation.
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You will also play a critical leadership role in preparing the organisation for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), working across all council departments and closely aligning with the wider LGR transition programme. This will require exceptional collaboration, political awareness and the ability to bring people together behind a shared vision for the future.
Help us shape the future of local government and deliver better outcomes for Lancashire's residents, communities and businesses.
Key Responsibilities
As our Director of Strategy & Transformation, you will:
- Lead the Council's strategic planning, transformation and improvement agenda.
- Deliver a substantial portfolio of transformation programmes that improve outcomes, increase efficiency and realise financial benefits.
- Lead the development of a modern data, intelligence and insight function, enabling evidence-based decision making across the organisation.
- Support organisational readiness for Local Government Reorganisation, working across all services and connecting with wider transition arrangements.
- Reinforce a whole-council approach in everything we do, bringing services together around shared priorities and outcomes.
- Build effective partnerships with communities, public sector partners and key stakeholders.
- Provide strategic advice and policy leadership to Members, the Chief Executive and Executive Leadership Team.
- Ensure the Council remains responsive to national policy developments, emerging opportunities and sector best practice.
About You
Success in this role will require a leader who brings:
- Proven experience of translating strategy into transformational change within a large, complex organisation.
- A strong track record of leading and delivering significant portfolios of change and organisational improvement programmes.
- Experience of realising financial savings and sustainable benefits through transformational programmes.
- Demonstrable success in leading large-scale organisational modernisation, including data, insight, performance and service improvement functions.
- Exceptional stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence, build relationships and secure commitment across diverse audiences.
- Experience of working successfully within a political environment and providing strategic advice to elected Members and senior leaders.
- Strong programme, portfolio and change leadership expertise, coupled with excellent strategic judgement and analytical capability.
- A collaborative leadership style that reinforces a "one council" approach, builds organisational capability and creates a culture of continuous improvement.
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Why Join Us?
This is an opportunity to make a lasting impact on the future of Lancashire. You will join a forward-looking organisation with ambitious plans for reform and improvement, leading a talented team and influencing decisions that affect communities across the county.
If you are an inspirational leader with the vision, resilience and track record to deliver transformation at scale, we would welcome your application.
Local Government Reorganisation
The Government has confirmed that local government across Lancashire will be reorganised, with the current 15 councils being replaced by four new unitary councils covering North, South, East and West Lancashire from April 2028.
As part of Local Government Reorganisation, future organisational structures are still being developed and this role may be subject to organisational redesign and change. Should you wish to discuss what this means for the role and your application, please contact us.
Throughout this period, our focus remains on delivering excellent services to our communities. By joining us now, you'll play an important role in shaping the future of local government and helping to build a strong new organisation that will serve residents for years to come.
How to apply…
We would love the opportunity to have an initial informal and confidential chat so please feel free to contact Laurence Ainsworth our Executive Director of Resources by emailing: Laurence.Ainsworth@lancashire.gov.uk [Laurence.Ainsworth@lancashire.gov.uk]
If you are ready to apply, click the link and complete the application process by attaching your CV and writing a personal statement indicating your skills, experience and attributes in relation to the essential criteria.
Closing Date: 13.9.26 (midnight)
Interviews: W/C 28.9.26
Job Description & Person Specification [https://lancashire-county-council-umbraco-sites.uksouth01.umbraco.io/media/13uhbkfm/jdps-director-of-strategy-and-transformation-august-2026.docx]
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