Welcome to Nottingham City Council

Nottingham City Council are looking for three key leadership roles - Chief Executive and Corporate Directors for both Adults and Children’s Services.

Recent years have seen a series of high-profile local difficulties for Nottingham, in addition to those the council has faced alongside the rest of local government. In response, over the past three months, the Council has accepted the appointment of government Commissioners, elected a new Leader, Deputy, and Executive, and is putting together a new plan for its future – one that purposefully aims to build on its ambitions, not to limit them.

Newly elected Leader, Councillor Neghat Khan, says: “Money remains tight, and we know that further difficult decisions will be needed. However, I believe that cuts to our funding does not mean we can’t afford to be ambitious; it means we can’t afford not to be.” And Lead Commissioner Tony McArdle agrees: “There’s no doubt the city has a task in front of it, but I’m absolutely confident that it can be accomplished.”

To deliver on the promise of these changes, the Council needs an energetic and determined Chief Executive. This will not be a typical Chief Executive appointment. There are significant opportunities that the city needs to grasp, and which will require skilful leadership.

The newly formed East Midlands Combined Authority offers a challenge to the Council in ensuring that the city benefits fully from this devolution of powers and funding. The appointment of new Directors of Children’s Services and of Adult Services will be the first tasks in the in-tray, giving the postholder the ability to shape much of their own team from the outset.

These colleagues will join a team that is already committed to substantial change in support of a clear uniting mission to secure the Council’s and City’s future.

All this needs to happen, however, while managing a budget gap of £170m over the next three years. Fundamentally, ways of doing things within the authority also need to be revised and relationships need to be rebuilt. This all needs to happen at pace, and in support of the new political leadership.

The new Chief Executive will join a constructive model of working so far developed between the Commissioners and the Council, and which is fully committed to supporting the Chief Executive to be successful in driving the necessary changes. These changes will go far beyond simple compliance with the Council’s best value duties, using them rather as a spur to resetting its operations and driving sustainable improvements. The Council believes it can secure better outcomes for citizens and understands that it needs to change at pace to do this.

There is much to do – and as Chief Executive of an ambitious city, there always will be – but the opportunity to give leadership to one of Britain’s core cities at this point in its journey is unique. It won’t be for the faint hearted, but the rewards will be extraordinary.

Tony McArdle, Lead Commissioner
Cllr Neghat Khan, Leader