Chief Governance & Compliance Leader

New Start; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 140,000 - 171,000; Full time

Job summary

Tower Hamlets London Borough Council is seeking a visionary Chief Compliance Officer to lead governance, assurance and culture across the council. You will also serve as the statutory Monitoring Officer, guiding elected members and senior officers toward ethical, transparent decision-making in a complex public sector environment.

This newly created role requires strategic leadership across legal, governance and audit functions, strong stakeholder engagement, and a track record of service

Qualifications

• A strong track record of leading governance, legal, and compliance functions within a large and complex organisation.
• Significant experience operating as a statutory Monitoring Officer.
• A deep understanding of corporate governance, organisational assurance, risk management and ethical leadership, alongside the ability to translate these principles into practical organisational outcomes.
• A proven track record of leading complex service transformation, organisational improvement and cultural change programmes.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across political, organisational and professional boundaries.
• Strong leadership experience, including responsibility for people, budgets and organisational performance, coupled with a relentless focus on service quality and continuous improvement.
• Political awareness, resilience and sound judgement, with the ability to provide clear and confident advice in a complex and highly visible environment.

Responsibilities

• Strategic governance and assurance leadership – shape governance framework, enable robust decision‑making and accountable leadership.
• Monitoring Officer responsibilities – act as statutory Monitoring Officer, advise on ethics and governance.
• Directorate leadership and organisational assurance – lead governance and compliance across functions, strengthen risk management.
• Organisational culture and improvement – embed accountability and continuous improvement across the council.
• Partnership and stakeholder engagement – build relationships with members, regulators, auditors and communities.

Skills

Governance leadership

Monitoring Officer

Ethical governance

Stakeholder management

Public sector leadership

Risk management

Strategic thinking

Job description

Tower Hamlets London Borough Council is seeking a visionary Chief Compliance Officer to lead governance, assurance and culture across the council. You will also serve as the statutory Monitoring Officer, guiding elected members and senior officers toward ethical, transparent decision-making in a complex public sector environment.

This newly created role requires strategic leadership across legal, governance and audit functions, strong stakeholder engagement, and a track record of service