Chief Executive

Bracknell Forest Borough Council; Bracknell; On-site; GBP 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Bracknell Forest Borough Council is seeking an exceptional local government leader to become Chief Executive. You will shape strategic direction, lead a high-performing management team, and work with partners to improve services for residents.

This is a bold transformation agenda, building financial resilience, delivering ambitious plans, and ensuring outcomes for communities while strengthening Bracknell Forest's standing beyond its boundaries.

Job description

Proud of our place. Ambitious for our future.

Bracknell Forest is a place with much to be proud of and even more to look forward to. Our strong and inspirational communities, excellent schools, exceptional green spaces, thriving economy and enviable connectivity make this a distinctive borough in which to live, work and do business. We are a well-run, high-performing unitary authority with a strong community mindset, a clear sense of purpose and confidence in our future.

We already punch above our weight. As host and accountable body for the emerging spatial development strategy, and an active voice in discussions about the future strategic authority, Bracknell Forest is helping to shape the next chapter for the wider region. We are exploring new approaches to housing, strengthening how we work with communities and partners, and looking beyond organisational boundaries to secure the best outcomes for our residents.

Our strong foundations do not make us complacent. A changing funding environment, rising demand and increasing costs bring new challenges, and we are facing them head on. Our next Chief Executive will lead an ambitious programme of transformation: strengthening our financial resilience and turning our emerging three-year plan into sustainable change. You will harness evidence, data, digital innovation and collaboration to improve how we work, while protecting the services and outcomes our communities value.

We are looking for an exceptional local government leader who can help Bracknell Forest achieve even more. You will bring strategic insight, political acumen and the personal credibility to lead complex change and bring people with you. With a strong understanding of the breadth of a unitary authority, you will combine financial rigour with a fierce commitment to place, public service and better outcomes for residents.

Visible, open and inclusive, you will support and challenge an experienced senior team, work constructively with members and build trusted relationships with staff, communities, town and parish councils and partners. You will lead an organisation whose values - Inclusive, Ambitious and Always Learning - are not simply words, but behaviours our people recognise and live every day.

This is an opportunity to lead a successful and stable council into a bold new phase: addressing our challenges directly, seizing the opportunities ahead and ensuring Bracknell Forest continues to deliver for its communities while influencing far beyond its boundaries.

If you share our pride in this place and our excitement about its future, we would love to hear from you.