Head of Corporate Services

Ready to lead at the highest level? If you are a strategic adviser with the credibility to influence senior leaders and elected members, and a proven track record of leading teams through change to deliver results, we would love to hear from you.

Join us and play a pivotal role in shaping our HR and Business Partnering, governance, workforce, legal and performance services as we transition into the Strategic Authority. Apply today.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Professional strategic HR management qualification (e.g. CIPD) or equivalent demonstrable experience.
• Demonstrable experience of leading multiple corporate service functions.
• Strong understanding of public sector governance, finance, workforce and performance management frameworks.
• Significant experience of establishing, managing and leading high performing business functions, ensuring the delivery of effective, efficient and customer-focused services.
• Experience of providing leadership to staff, ensuring effective budget management and playing a key role in strategic decision-making on major spending priorities.
• Excellent people leadership skills, including experience of performance management, with the ability to inspire, support and empower individuals and teams to achieve outstanding outcomes.
• Excellent political awareness and a strong understanding of the local government landscape, with experience of working successfully within complex political environments.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with the ability to communicate confidently and credibly with colleagues, partners, senior leaders and external organisations.

For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.

Rewards and Benefits

We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

• A laptop and mobile will be supplied if applicable to your role. You will benefit from 30 days annual leave plus the opportunity to buy additional leave and an excellent local government pension scheme.
• A range of discounts give our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform.

For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CPP01391.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Louise Hettiche at Louise.Hettiche@westsussex.gov.uk to arrange a informal conversation with the hiring manager, Sabrina Pennington-Down.

For issues or queries regarding your application please contact Rosa.Siracusa@westsussex.gov.uk

Click apply below, upload your CV and cover letter.

Your cover letter should:

• Outline your motivations for applying.
• Explain the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills in the attached job description).

Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to right to work within the UK, enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, satisfactory references, and a health check.

Any candidates wishing to apply for this position, who would require sponsorship can determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for the post by assessing their circumstances against criteria specified on the gov.uk website.

Equity, inclusion, accessibility and diversity is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all cultures, ethnicities, identities, backgrounds and lived experiences, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.