Chief Operating Officer
Sheffield inspires: always has, always will.
Sheffield is an amazing, inspiring place to live, work and visit. It’s a city of makers and pioneers, artists and engineers, and the greenest city in the UK. As a Council, we’re committed to the highest performance, so we can play our part in achieving Sheffield’s ambitious City Goals. Our Future Sheffield programme is making great progress, with lasting impact across both the organisation and the communities we serve.
This job is all about maintaining and accelerating that forward momentum, and embedding a strong culture of relentless self-improvement. You’ll lead an integrated portfolio of business-critical services: policy, finance and commercial, HR and people, legal, ICT and digital, plus organisational strategy, performance and change, and democratic services.
The critical foundations are in place. You’ll inherit a strong, capable and committed senior departmental management team, some of whom have joined us in within the last couple of years – attracted to our fabulous city and to a council that is on the move. We’ve committed significant resources to our change programme, including support and expertise from external partners.
Perhaps most importantly, there is strong political and senior leadership team support for our direction of travel and a clear commitment to do what is required to become the council we want to be.
Yes, it’s a big job, but for the right candidate, it’ll open all sorts of doors. We’re looking for people who combine an impressive grasp of the professional detail with an inspiring ability to see and communicate the biggest picture. The experience you gain here could be career defining – and a potential springboard to becoming a CEO of the future, if that is in your sights.
If you’re passionate about making Sheffield a better place, please view the role profile below.
For an informal conversation about this role, please contact:
Sean Anderson
Email: sanderson@faerfield.co.uk
Tel: 0121 312 3755Martin Tucker
Email: mtucker@faerfield.co.uk
Tel: 0121 312 3755
Indicative timetable:
Closing date for applications: Midnight Sunday 7 December 2025
Preliminary/Technical Interviews: 18, 19, and 22 December 2025
Stakeholder Interviews: w/c 12 January 2026
Final Panel Interviews: 27 or 28 January 2026
(Dates may be subject to slight change)Please let us know if there are any interview dates within the indicative timetable on which you are likely to be unavailable.
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.
