Corporate Head of Data, Strategy and Performance

Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames; Greater London; On-site; GBP 72,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A progressive municipal authority in Greater London seeks a Head of Data, Strategy and Performance. This pivotal role requires a leader to drive data capability and foster a performance culture across the organisation. The ideal candidate will have significant experience in data management and strategy implementation, alongside strong leadership and engagement skills, ensuring improved outcomes for the community. The position offers a competitive salary and encourages a collaborative work environment.

Benefits

Generous annual leave of 25-32 days

Enhanced family leave policies

Hybrid working options

Learning and development opportunities

Discounts on local services

Local Government Pension Scheme

Qualifications

• Significant experience in leading data and strategy-focused services.
• Strong performance culture in teams.
• Proven track record in managing partnerships effectively.

Responsibilities

• Drive data capability and strategic use of insight.
• Lead governance and improvement frameworks.
• Engage with stakeholders to improve public outcomes.

Skills

Cross-organisational working

Leadership skills

Financial management

Stakeholder engagement

Adaptability

Innovation

Education

Degree in a relevant discipline

Job description

About the Borough

Found in zone 6 with good transport links in and out of London, Kingston is a vibrant and diverse university town which creates the rich sense of community shared across the borough and its Residents. Kingston boasts an idyllic riverside location, good shopping and great restaurants, as well as a mix of modern and historic town centre. Kingston has lots of open parklands and cycle routes that help connect the district town centres into an enjoyable place to live and work.

We are passionate about working closely with our residents and vulnerable groups to help them maintain their independence and create a balance between support and independent living.

About the Service and Team

The Head of Data, Strategy and Performance plays an important strategic role in ensuring the Council makes informed, evidence‑led decisions that drive better outcomes for residents and communities. Reporting to the Director of Strategy and Transformation, this role leads and aligns three key functions: Data and Insight, Corporate Strategy and Partnerships, and Corporate Performance and Risk.

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

Working at the heart of the organisation, the postholder brings together performance, planning and data expertise to create a joined‑up approach to how the Council is performing, where change is needed, and how strategic priorities can best be achieved. The role plays a critical part in strengthening the Council's planning, governance, and improvement frameworks to ensure they support delivery of the Council Plan and the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

As a senior leader, the Head of Data, Strategy and Performance, will drive the development of data capability, promote the strategic use of insight, and embed a performance culture rooted in transparency, collaboration, and accountability.

This is a key leadership role that supports the Council to become more adaptive, ambitious and data‑driven in the way it delivers services and achieves its goals.

About You

In order to successfully deliver the responsibilities of the role, you will need to:

• Demonstrate strong cross‑organisational working and external engagement with partners to ensure data, strategy and performance work collectively to improve outcomes and public value.
• Understand and demonstrate that you are able to adapt the Council's transformational and leadership approach and contribute to the collective leadership required to continually develop this.
• Have exceptional leadership skills, modelling a strong performance culture and constructively building achievement, confidence and skills in others.
• Question and challenge conventional thinking, with a continual eye on the bigger picture in terms of the corporate context and external environment.
• Display commercial confidence and the financial management skills to bring about demonstrable improvements in efficiency, value for money and income generation.
• Be politically astute and able to build high levels of credibility and impact quickly, working within networks to deliver through and with others.
• Role‑model agility and adaptability in mindset and ways of working.
• Have significant experience and a proven track record of achievement in leading and managing data, strategy, partnership, performance and/or risk focused services and activities.
• Work successfully with elected members, partners and key stakeholders including residents, businesses, communities, partner organisations and other public services.
• Have a degree or equivalent professional qualification, preferably in a relevant discipline.
• Demonstrate commitment to own personal and professional development to meet the changing demands of the role.
• Demonstrate a high level of innovation and creativity.

Our Offer to You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we're committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We're constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:

• A generous annual leave entitlement of 25‑32 days, plus bank holidays (pro‑rata if part‑time working hours apply) depending on service and grade.
• Enhanced Maternity, Paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave.
• Three volunteering days per year in Kingston.
• Hybrid working (dependent on the role).
• Flexible and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks.
• Learning and development portal offering a range of courses.
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres.
• Interest free season ticket loans.
• Local Government Pension Scheme.
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme.
• Zip car scheme.
• Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support.

Application Process

Apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application and check your CV details have been uploaded correctly in the relevant sections.

We understand and recognise the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace and are embracing AI where appropriate, to boost our productivity and streamline how we deliver our Council services efficiently; to provide the best possible outcomes for our residents and communities.

However, we reserve the right to reject applications where it is apparent that AI‑generated content has been used in isolation and without personalised responses. At Kingston we value authenticity and are looking for individuals who can clearly demonstrate their own skills, experience and motivation for the role that they are applying for and embrace and demonstrate our STAR values.

Here at Kingston we have core values of Transparency and this is to be demonstrated during the application process and completion of the supporting statement and will be further tested at interview and selection stage for those who progress forward.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

As part of our award‑winning Diversity Programme we anonymise all applications received to reduce conscious and unconscious bias enabling every application to be reviewed on the knowledge, skills and experience shown in your application. We encourage our interview panels to be as diverse as possible (age, cultural, neurodiverse etc.) to reduce bias where possible. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.

Additional Information

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups.

To support our workers and their families we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are also proud to be a disability confident employer and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role. As an accredited London Living Wage Employer all our employees are guaranteed the London Living Wage regardless of their length or type of contract.

The UK has a points‑based immigration system affecting EU and Non‑EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case‑by‑case basis.

Salary range

• £72,399 - £79,119 per year