Head of Strategy & Design PO11

This is an exciting time to join Waltham Forest – London’s first Borough of Culture and the winner of the “MJ Council of the year” award. This is your chance to join an ambitious, people-focused organisation during a time of significant change, transformation and new challenges.

The crisis brought by COVID-19 has required Waltham Forest Council to be increasingly innovative in finding new ways to make a difference for our residents and businesses. As a Council we needed to listen, understand and lead through unparalleled uncertainty as the pandemic impacted our borough. We worked in a dramatically more flexible and adaptable way, working alongside communities, solving problems across organisational boundaries. This role will play a critical part in shaping our strategic response to the most pressing challenges which will allow us to quickly respond to the issues COVID-19 has brought to the borough. This includes new responsibilities to embrace to keep our residents safe but also bold new actions we will take to support our residents at this critical time whilst remaining focused on a long-term positive future for Waltham Forest. You will value public service and help implement a shared effort across the borough and demonstrate modern leadership, enabling everyone to live quality lives whilst understanding the need to be adaptable in the face of change.

We need trailblazing leaders who can deliver fast-paced, people-centred design approaches to strategy, change and design. We will design for delivery with work that is insight led, co-created and digitally enabled, pushing collaborative working and igniting creativity.

About the role:

The Head of Strategy & Design will be integral in embedding the Council’s new corporate strategy, working collaboratively across services with senior stakeholders to ensure the strategic priorities of the organisation are being delivered. The role will be responsible for leading the Strategy & Design service, championing and nurturing a spirit of innovation, creativity and co-design. You will be key in helping to reimagine how our services are delivered as we adapt to meet the changing needs of our residents and borough.

About you:

The successful applicant will have a positive, can-do attitude and approach to supporting the council to deliver their priorities. You will have demonstrable experience of leadership and management skills, and a proven track record for designing and delivering strategies and complex change initiatives.

You will have excellent written and oral communication skills, and the ability to work creatively and positively to find solutions to problems. You will be resilient, highly motivated and able to work with agility in a pressurised political environment. You will be confident, open and outgoing in order to build lasting relationships across the Council and with external bodies. You will have experience of working in a senior strategic or policy role, working with politicians and senior leaders within a complex organisation. Research, analysis, interpretation and evaluation experience, as well as of writing reports and briefings to a high standard is also an advantage.

 If you are a committed leader, with drive and enthusiasm we would love to hear from you.