About the Role

First, the big picture. WSCC has made great strides in recent years, and we continue to make steady progress on a number of challenging issues. Fundamental strengths include good governance, financial resilience (including the capacity to invest where needed), and a healthy democratic culture. Our executive leadership team is enviably strong, and our outgoing Chief Executive, Becky Shaw, is leaving a very positive legacy for her successor.

Our priorities over the next two years will include a continued focus on adult social care reform, strengthening the county’s economy, organisational consolidation and development, and planning for a potential devolution offer. In each case, work is already underway and we are well-sighted on the key issues – we’ll look to our new CEO to keep making steady progress on the strategic plans and the enabling culture needed to deliver improvement. And in common with local authorities across the country, maintaining a robust financial position will be a key determinant of our success in the coming years.

Economic resilience is crucial to the continued prosperity of West Sussex, and we must continue to play a leading role in this agenda across the county. Engagement and consultation with businesses based in the county tells us that the key factors constraining growth are labour, skills and infrastructure, and the panel is particularly interested in exploring candidates’ proposals to take this forward at pace.

We will be developing a new governance model for economic development following the projected dissolution of the LEP in March 2024, and West Sussex local authorities recently commissioned Metro Dynamics to review how the county, district and borough councils across West Sussex collaborate on economic development, regeneration and growth. Their report provides a compelling evidence base for our next steps.

Excellent service delivery underpins everything the council does. Children’s Services continues to make sustained improvement, as does Adult Services – though the greater complexity of challenges in the latter mean that there is still much to do. The County Fire Service has also improved over the past couple of years, but again there is still some way to go. Highways is a relatively small service by comparison, but its visibility means that it’s highly salient with residents, and there are aspects of our working model there which need focus. Waste management is a modern service with a track record of self-improvement, and our target of Net Zero by 2030 is on track to be achieved through a mix of decarbonisation (operations and estate), biodiversity and nature recovery, and some sequestration.

Candidates will be calm, mature, and able to operate very effectively in a political context. Returning to a full-time chief executive will create additional capacity for investing in relationships with our partners and our stakeholders, and building a shared vision of how we can collaborate in the service of prosperity and wellbeing. A marked preference for, and skill in, working relationally would therefore be a distinct advantage.  It’s likely that you will have direct experience of leading county-level service delivery, and of managing significant budgets; but if you are presently in another part of the local government ecosystem that need not be a barrier.

Why apply? West Sussex is a beautiful place to live and work, and you’ll find colleagues and partners to be genuinely inspiring and committed to doing the best they can for residents, employers and visitors alike. We’ve come a long way in recent times, and all the ingredients are in place for us to really fly in the next few years. For the right person it will be an amazing and career-defining opportunity.

DOWNLOAD THE ROLE PROFILE HERE

Indicative timetable:

Closing date for applications:  Friday 2 February 2024
Preliminary/Technical Interviews:  Monday 19 February 2024
Final interview by Appointments Committee:  week commencing 18 March 2024

To apply:

To apply for this job please click on the Apply button below and fill out the requested information. When prompted, please submit your CV and a Supporting Statement (no more than four sides of A4 each).

With your CV, please also provide the names and contact details of two referees, one of whom should be your current or most recent employer. Referees will only be contacted if you reach the final stages, and we will not contact referees without your permission.

Your supporting statement should express why you are interested in this role and what experience you can bring to the organisation. The statement should tackle the specific requirements of the role; outlining examples and outcomes showing how you meet those requirements.