Head of Democratic Services

Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority; Southampton; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid working

Competitive salary

Professional development

Leadership team collaboration

Local Government Pension Scheme

Job summary

Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority is recruiting a Head of Democratic Services to lead governance, overview & scrutiny, and constitutional compliance. You will manage resources, budgets, and staff to support democratic processes and ensure robust challenge and transparency.

The role demands extensive governance experience, stakeholder influence, and the ability to work across partners, committees and boards in a devolved, fast-moving environment.

Qualifications

• Substantial governance experience in a complex field.
• Experience advising Members on decision-making and constitutional matters.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders to commit to new actions.
• People management experience with leadership and performance management.
• Advanced understanding of local government legislation and CA structures.

Responsibilities

• Lead the democratic services and scrutiny functions and design systems for constitutional changes.
• Direct the statutory scrutiny function to promote the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
• Oversee the Call-in process and pre-scrutiny frameworks for transparent decisions.
• Oversee delivery and financial performance of Democratic Services and Scrutiny and budgets.
• Develop relationships with HSCCA Board, committees and partners to adapt governance frameworks.

Skills

Governance leadership

Advice to Members

Stakeholder influence

People management

Legislative expertise

Job description

Are you looking for a role where you can help shape something new, make a visible difference and work alongside people who care deeply about their place? If so, the HSCCA could be a brilliant next step. We are building a new Combined County Authority for Hampshire and the Solent, bringing together partners across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton to bring investment to the region and to create opportunities for our people, places, communities and businesses.

The Role

As the Head of Democratic Services, you will hold accountability for the Authority’s democratic services and overview & scrutiny functions, exercising direct control over the resources, budgets, and staff required for Democratic Services, Overview & Scrutiny, including Members’ Allowances and Member support. To have wide discretion to determine how the Authority meets its statutory obligations with regard to democratic processes and Access to Information.

What you'll be doing?

In this role, you’ll play a crucial part in ensuring our teams have the tools, knowledge, and processes they need to deliver a high‑quality service. You will:

• You will lead the Authority’s democratic services and scrutiny functions and design resilient systems to manage constitutional changes and reviews ensuring the organisation is prepared for future new devolved powers.
• Direct the Authority’s statutory scrutiny function, ensuring the Statutory Scrutiny Officer effectively promotes the role of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
• Oversee the "Call-in" process and pre-scrutiny frameworks, ensuring that executive decisions are transparent and subject to robust independent challenge.
• Oversee the delivery and financial performance of the Democratic Services and Scrutiny and functions, maintaining accountability for service standards and budget management.
• To develop and maintain positive relationships with Members of the HSCCA Board, committees and boards. Influence and support senior officers, elected members and partners to adapt to evolving governance, scrutiny and constitutional frameworks, fostering shared ownership of new ways of working.

What you’ll bring?

We’re looking for someone with:

• Substantial, sustained experience in a complex governance field, demonstrating seasoned professional self-sufficiency.
• Knowledge and Experience of providing advice to Members and officers on decision making processes, overview and scrutiny and constitutional matters.
• Extensive experience influencing senior stakeholders to secure lasting commitment to new, complex courses of action.
• Experience of people management with the ability to effectively lead, motivate and performance manage.
• Legislative Expertise: Advanced understanding of local government legislation, Combined Authority Board and committee structures and constitutional frameworks.

Why join the HSCCA?:

We are building the HSCCA on the basis that how we work is as important as what we deliver. We want people who bring enthusiasm, drive, and authenticity - who are proactive, open to challenge, and motivated by progress rather than process. We value collaborative leadership: the ability to bring people together across organisational boundaries, respect the expertise of others, and create shared direction without needing to own everything.

We act in line with the Nolan Principles. We use public money responsibly, make evidence-based decisions, and hold ourselves to high standards of integrity, inclusion, and accessibility. We expect feedback to be given and received constructively, challenge to be welcomed, and relationships to be built on openness, trust, and mutual respect.

This is a complex, fast-moving environment. We need people who are energised by that, not unsettled by it.

What the HSCCA will offer in return?:

As we take on new responsibilities devolved from Government, you will have a genuine opportunity to contribute to building a public service organisation that does things differently.

Our reward package includes:

• A flexible working environment, with hybrid working arrangements as standard (minimum 2 days per week in our office)
• A competitive salary and benefits package
• Investment in your professional development and leadership growth
• The chance to work alongside a leadership team that is committed to building an organisation where people thrive
• Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme

The HSCCA is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive and accessible workplace where everyone feels valued and able to thrive. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences, particularly those from groups that are currently underrepresented in our workforce. This includes people from ethnic minority communities, disabled people, neurodivergent people, LGBTQ+ people, parents and carers, and individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds. We are committed to removing barriers to employment and encourage candidates to let us know about any reasonable adjustments they may need at any stage of the recruitment process.

Selection process:

Your application will progress through the following stages:

• Application Review

Your CV and supporting documents will be reviewed by Reed Recruitment against the essential criteria outlined in the Skills & Experience section of this advert.

Please ensure your CV clearly demonstrates how you meet the required criteria in order to be considered.

• Telephone Interview

If shortlisted, you will be invited to an initial telephone interview.

• Face-to-face Interview

If shortlisted, you will be invited to a final face-to-face interview. During this stage, you will be assessed against the Skills & Experience criteria and your overall suitability for the position.

This is the final stage of the selection process and will determine the outcome of your application.

• Feedback

Feedback will be provided following the final face-to-face interview stage.

Please note that feedback is only available to candidates who attend the final stage interview stage. Successful candidates will then be considered for an offer.

Further information:

As a Disability Confident Committed employer, we run a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants. If you meet the essential criteria listed in the job description for this position and would like to be considered under this scheme, please state this in your application.

All data collected is anonymous and has zero bearing on your application. If there is anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let the recruitment team know.

We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment. As part of this, we use anonymous shortlisting to ensure candidates are assessed solely on their skills, experience, and suitability for the role.