Corporate Director - City Operations

Brighton & Hove City Council; England; On-site; GBP 141,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in the UK is seeking a strategic leader to join its Corporate Leadership Team. The role requires a forward-thinking individual committed to driving change in a diverse community. Responsibilities include aligning resources with priorities, shaping the organization's vision and culture while ensuring inclusivity. The ideal candidate will have extensive senior leadership experience and will work closely with both elected members and partners. The salary range is £141,466 - £169,248 per year.

Benefits

Relocation support

Flexible working arrangements

Employee wellbeing initiatives

Qualifications

• Considerable senior leadership experience within a place-based role.
• Ability to set vision, tone, and culture of the organization.
• Experience advising at the senior level.

Responsibilities

• Work with elected members and partners to implement the Council Plan.
• Align resources and new revenue streams to organizational priorities.
• Ensure our values and behaviors are demonstrated in all actions.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Leadership

Communication

Community engagement

Change management

Job description

Job introduction

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board.

Want to help shape a better Brighton & Hove for all?

Brighton & Hove is a bold, diverse and iconic coastal city. It's a place our residents, workforce, businesses and visitors care deeply about. With rich cultural assets and a vibrant community spirit, we also face complex social challenges and stark inequalities that demand courageous leadership and fresh thinking. Our leadership team is united in tackling challenges head-on, backed by an ambitious transformation programme and a commitment to digital innovation even through a tough financial landscape.

We're looking for a strategic, forward-thinking leader to join our corporate leadership team and report directly to the chief executive.

As a learning organisation, we continuously strive to be:

• connected
• confident
• innovative and creative
• diverse and inclusive
• healthy and psychologically safe

Key Dates

• Closing date - 5pm on the 18th January 2026
• Technical interviews - week commencing 26th January 2026
• Final interviews - week commencing 2nd February 2026

Please note that dates are being finalised and may change. Prospective candidates will be kept updated through the recruitment process.

If you are applying for a role under an employer-specific commitment (for example Disability Confident, Armed Forces Covenant), please clearly state this in your covering letter.

About the role

As part of the Corporate Leadership Team, you will work with elected members, senior officers, and partners to bring our shared vision for the city to life through the priorities in our Council Plan.

You will be instrumental in:

• setting the vision, tone and culture of the organisation
• advising at the most senior level
• ensuring resources, income and new revenue streams are aligned to priorities
• ensuring we demonstrate our values and behaviours in all we do

We expect that you will already have considerable senior leadership experience within a place-based role.

Before you start your application, please read our guidance here (Application Form guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) and (Shortlisting guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.

This role is politically restricted.

Additional information

Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.

Relocation support may be available if qualifying criteria are met.

We are a workplace that supports flexibility and employee wellbeing in the way we work whilst providing the best service for our customers. Team and service working arrangements are designed to support both employee work life balance and team collaboration. These would be part of your individual working arrangements alongside any personal preference agreed with your manager in advance of joining. Your contractual location will be the designated council office for your team and travel to and from your contractual location would be at your own expense.

For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us

Encouraging a diverse workforce

Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.

Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).

Salary range

• £141,466 - £169,248 per year

For further information and a confidential conversation, please contact Jess Gibbons (Chief Executive) via [e-mail]