Head Of Cabinet Office
Salary
£73,855 \- £80,961
Contractual hours
37
Basis
Flexi Hours
Package
We are pleased to offer a wide range of benefits to support you and your wellbeing. You can read about them on our Why work for us pages.
Date posted
11/05/2026
Job reference
REQ0000904
Are you ready for an exciting career opportunity? Could you bring leadership experience, diversity of thought and policy thinking ? If so we would love to hear from you.
This is a fantastic opportunity to lead our Cabinet Office and be at the forefront of driving policy and growth for our vibrant and diverse city by\-the\-sea.
Interview date: TBC June 2026
This vacancy is only available to existing staff and current agency workers. Please apply via PIER self\-service \- for any access issues please contact Joel Caines, Head of HR (Delivery \& Transformation).
For an informal conversation about the role with Jess Gibbons, Chief Executive, please email Terie.Harrison@brighton\-hove.gov.uk to schedule a convenient time. About the Role
We are seeking a strategic and forward\-thinking leader for our Cabinet Office, driving council policy, economic growth, tourism and support to the Leader and Cabinet. This pivotal role sits on the Corporate Leadership Team and reports directly to the Chief Executive of the City Council, with a dotted line to the Leader of the Council. Key Responsibilities
- Work closely with Members utilising your political acumen and expertise in change management and policy development.
- Lead economic growth, tourism, devolution and policy development for the City Council.
- Embed the new structure to meet the evolving needs of our Council and City, delivering at pace and with agility.
- Be part of the Corporate Leadership Team in driving our key priorities: financial sustainability, devolution, local government reform, and embedding a culture of continuous learning.
- Lead the annual Council Plan refresh and delivery, holding the whole Council to our mission of a Better Brighton and Hove for all.
As a valued colleague at Brighton \& Hove City Council, you will already understand the impact of the work we do for our city and communities. This role offers a unique opportunity to build on that experience and step into a pivotal leadership position at the heart of the organisation.
You will be joining the Corporate Leadership Team at a critical and exciting time for a transforming Council. We are continuing to strengthen our financial sustainability, driving forward our Council Plan priorities, and playing a leading role in shaping Devolution across Sussex and Brighton. You will be central to this, supporting the Council’s contribution to the emerging Sussex \& Brighton Mayoral Strategic Authority and helping to translate ambition into delivery.
In this role, you will work at the centre of decision\-making, supporting the Chief Executive, Leader and Cabinet and be able to influence the strategic direction of the Council, shaping policy, growth and public affairs. Our expectations of you as a leader
As a member of the Corporate Leadership Team, you will role model and embed our learning organisation approach to be;* Connected – working as one council, building on your existing relationships to bring people together around shared priorities
- Confident – leading with agility, using experience and judgement to navigate complexity and continuously improve
- Innovative \& Creative – using insight, reflection and new approaches to shape effective policy and delivery
- Diverse \& Inclusive – ensuring different perspectives are heard and reflected in decision\-making, supporting an inclusive culture
- Healthy \& Psychologically Safe – creating an environment where colleagues feel supported, trusted and able to perform at their best
If you are a leader of people, politically savvy, and ready to make a significant impact, we want to hear from you! Apply now to become the Head of Cabinet Office and play a crucial role in shaping the future of our city.
Together, we will drive forward a Better Brighton and Hove for all!
Encouraging a diverse workforce
Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton \& Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.
Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti\-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton\-hove.gov.uk).
Why work for us?
As a council, we want to:
- be connected
- be confident
- be innovative and creative
- be diverse and inclusive
- be healthy and psychologically safe
How to apply
Please read our Apply for a job at the council pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.
As part of your application, you will need to provide your education and career history and answer some application/shortlisting questions. Your answers to the application/shortlisting questions are the most important part of your application as they will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our Shortlisting questions guidance (brighton\-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.
AI advice for candidates
We are interested in hearing about your experience and skills in your own words. While we value people who know how to use AI, we ask that you minimise using it in your application.
We are keen to hear how your experience and skills align to our values and the skills and experience needed to perform well in our roles with clear real examples from you. To support you in this, we have guidance on using the STAR model which can help you ensure you are telling us your whole story. We also provide clarity on the skills we are looking for in our adverts and in the job description/person specification attached to each job advert.
All the applications we receive are read by at least two hiring managers and we do not use AI in this process. Our experience of reading applications is that those that have heavily used AI contain generic paragraphs that are strikingly similar to other applicants’ responses. This makes it extremely difficult to differentiate between applications, and doesn't give us enough evidence of your individual skills. There is a risk that we will therefore not be able to shortlist you. Instead, we recommend you ensure your application stands out by presenting clear examples of your actual skills and experiences in your own words.
Additional information
Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term\-time only.
This role is politically restricted. For further information on what this means for employees in post, please click on the document attachment above.
We are a workplace that supports flexibility and employee wellbeing in the way we work whilst providing the best service for our customers. Team and service working arrangements are designed to support both employee work life balance and team collaboration. These would be part of your individual working arrangements alongside any personal preference agreed with your manager in advance of joining. Your contractual location will be the designated council office for your team and travel to and from your contractual location would be at your own expense.
This listing is from indeed. View original listing ↗