Have you got what it takes to scoop historic Staffordshire job and £135k salary?

Wanted: diplomat, transformation expert, financial strategist, organisational architect, risk manager and occasional political tightrope walker. (You also need to be strategic, credible, inclusive, decisive, resilient, courageous and stewardship-orientated.)

It’s a tall order but there’s a big salary up for grabs and a chance to make history in Staffordshire. 

Could it be you?

Do you have what it takes to create two councils, bringing together 11,000 employees and keeping £1.5 billion of public services running while navigating the competing interests of 10 existing authorities?

Here’s what the successful applicant will need:

• The ability to turn an ambitious political vision into two functioning unitary councils by April 1, 2028.
• Experience of leading enormous, complicated transformation programmes, preferably involving organisations that are not always accustomed to agreeing with each other.
• The diplomatic skills to win the confidence of council leaders, chief executives, elected members, government departments and numerous statutory officers.
• The courage to have “difficult conversations” with powerful people while somehow retaining their trust and support.
• The resilience to maintain momentum when deadlines are looming, risks are multiplying and several sovereign councils have different ideas about the destination.
• An impressive grasp of governance, assurance, finance, employment law, organisational design and public-sector reform.
• The ability to establish and run a programme management office capable of tracking every workstream, dependency, benefit, risk and emerging headache.
• Experience of managing large budgets and ensuring taxpayers receive value for money throughout the transition.
• The organisational skills to prepare for shadow elections, leadership appointments and vesting day while making sure everyday public services continue without interruption.
• The judgement to manage the transfer of thousands of employees, assets, contracts, technology systems and legal responsibilities.
• A collaborative leadership style built around the principle of “One Programme. One Team.”
• Complete impartiality: the successful candidate must act in the interests of the two future councils rather than favouring any of their 10 predecessors.
• Ideally, previous experience of local government reorganisation, devolution, combined authorities or another major public-sector transformation.

Still interested?  The salary could be as much as £135,000 a year. You can apply here.