Principal Business Planning and Performance Lead

West Sussex County Council; Chichester; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 53,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Local government pension

30 days holiday

Flexible working options

Maternity/paternity leave

Volunteering opportunities

Coaching and mentoring

Staff discounts via West SussexChoices

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

West Sussex County Council in Chichester is seeking a Principal Business Planning and Performance Lead to shape business planning, develop meaningful KPIs and deliver insights that drive operational performance.

You will oversee performance frameworks, lead reporting for major programmes and ensure robust data governance, supporting resource allocation and strategic decisions. You will also lead the annual Business Plan and develop two team members.

Qualifications

• Experience of business planning and performance management within a multi-service organisation.
• Proficient in Power BI and understanding of performance frameworks, KPIs, and reporting.
• Strong analytical skills, capable of interpreting complex data and providing insights to senior leaders and elected Members.
• Proven ability to manage large data volumes to deliver high-quality management information.
• Good knowledge and understanding of data governance, assurance, and audit requirements.
• Experienced in leading and developing staff, including workload management.
• Excellent numeracy, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Experienced in influencing senior stakeholders in politically or operationally sensitive contexts.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, adept at negotiating, influencing, and challenging constructively.

Responsibilities

• Lead on the annual Business Plan for the directorate and oversee performance frameworks.
• Develop meaningful KPIs and deliver high-quality insights that enhance operational performance.
• Provide evidence-based advice to support resource allocation, risk management and strategic decision-making.

Skills

Performance management

KPIs

Data analysis

Stakeholder management

Staff development

Numeracy

Communication

Problem solving

Adaptability

Tools

Power BI

Job description

Join us and serve as the driving force behind strategic performance and planning to enhance service delivery,fortify governance and improve outcomes for our communities.

The Opportunity

Salary: £49,817 to £53,051 per annum

Working Pattern: Full time 37 hour per week

Location County Hall, Chichester with hybrid and flexible working opportunities

Interview date: Wednesday30th September 2026 at County Hall, Chichester

As a Principal Business Planning and Performance Lead, you will work closely with senior leaders to shape business planning, develop meaningful KPIs, and deliver high-quality insights that enhance operational performance.

You will also oversee performance frameworks, lead reporting for major programmes, ensure robust data governance, and provide evidence-based advice to support resource allocation, risk management, and strategic decision-making. You will also lead on the annual Business Plan for the directorate, as part of a wider council programme which shapes how we operate both now and in the future. You will also be an excellent manager and help develop two team members.

What are we looking for?

To be successful in this role you need to have:

• Experience of business planning and performance management within a multi-service organisation.
• Proficient in Power BI and have understanding of performance frameworks, KPIs, and reporting.
• Strong analytical skills, capable of interpreting complex data and providing insights to senior leaders and elected Members.
• Proven ability to manage large data volumes to deliver high-quality management information.
• Good knowledge and understanding of data governance, assurance, and audit requirements.
• Experienced in leading and developing staff, including workload management.
• Excellent numeracy, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Experienced in influencing senior stakeholders in politically or operationally sensitive contexts.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, adept at negotiating, influencing, and challenging constructively.
• Capable of adapting priorities, identifying innovative solutions, and diagnosing issues independently.

For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.

Working for us

As well as adding real value to our service users and our communities, as an employer we recognise our employees are central in being able to achieve this. To recognise this we want to help support your development and provide a great place to work ensuring you can fulfil your full potential, have access to a range of benefits including:

• an excellent local government pension scheme
• generous holiday entitlement of 30 days (plus opportunity to buy additional leave)
• range of flexible working options, depending on your job role
• maternity, paternity, dependencyand adoption leave
• volunteering opportunities
• training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
• a range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform (see our Staff discounts page if you are a business looking to offer a discount)
• health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme,Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans

For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further information

The reference number for this role is EIE01597.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Jane Glue at [e-mail]

For issues or queries regarding your application please contact [e-mail].

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.This post is subject to 3 years referencing and a health check.

Equity, inclusion, accessibilityand diversity is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applicationsfrom people of all cultures, ethnicities, identities, backgrounds and lived experiences, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.