Joint Assistant Director of Place

Across Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent in South Wales, our councils are doing something genuinely different. As Wales’ first and only federated councils, we’re pioneering a new leadership model that brings two sovereign unitary authorities together around shared ambition, aligned leadership and collective impact. Both councils are also the first Marmot councils in Wales, embedding a clear commitment to tackling inequality, improving wellbeing and focusing on long‑term outcomes through everything we do.

This is a deliberate, innovative approach to collaboration, designed to unlock scale, capability and influence that neither council could achieve alone. It provides unprecedented scale and mandate for action to work across two distinct boroughs, with refreshing freedom to innovate and the credibility to influence regional and national conversations about how public services evolve.

Reporting to the Joint Director of Economy & Place, and with significant professional autonomy, this new role provides strategic leadership and delivery for a range of functions across both organisations. You’ll turn our shared corporate and place‑based priorities into coherent strategies and programmes that deliver high‑quality places, inclusive growth and community wellbeing. Focused on delivery and outcomes, you’ll ensure that a range of complex programmes achieve measurable improvements for places and communities.

Candidates will need proven experience in leading placemaking or regeneration programmes, in which you’ll have gained a comprehensive grasp of capital project delivery, urban design, and stakeholder engagement. Excellent partnership development and strategic planning skills are a must, as is knowledge of Welsh planning and placemaking frameworks. Specific regional knowledge – such as the Cardiff City Region, the Tech Valleys Programme, or other relevant stakeholders / programmes – would be a definite asset.

We want to hear from people who want to build something new, operate at scale, and help shape a model of public service collaboration with national relevance. If that catches your imagination, let’s explore the possibilities together.

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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 of no more than 1000 words.

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.