Service Director (Resources & Performance)

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Job Description

Cornwall Council is seeking a highly motivated and experienced leader to join our dynamic leadership team as Service Director Resources and Performance.

Reporting directly to the Council’s Section 151 Officer, you will have the overall strategic leadership responsibility for the Council’s resources, including Treasury management, Accounts, Assessments, Billing and Collection, Business Planning and Performance Management framework and reporting.

This role has a broad strategic remit spanning across the Council. To be successful, you will be committed to supporting the organisation in discharging its responsibilities towards proper financial management. By taking a long-term strategic view over the Council’s capital investments and financial sustainability you will ensure that residents can have confidence in Cornwall Council now and into the future.

You will be responsible for the Council’s council tax and benefits services and have oversight across all other resource streams, funding Council operations connecting financial planning into organisational business planning and leading work on the Council’s upcoming comprehensive spending review and annual budget setting process. You will have outstanding leadership skills, able to inspire confidence from colleagues, residents, the political administration and investors ensuring that Cornwall is financially set up to attract good growth and long-term financial security for Cornwall. This is a challenging and exciting role and would suit someone who is motivated by working in an ambitious Council dedicated to making Cornwall a wonderful place to live and do business.

ABOUT TEAM CORNWALL

As one of the largest unitary Council’s in the Country, Cornwall Council is an exciting, thriving Council. We have the widest set of responsibilities across all local authorities, and with this brings ambition, complexity, scale and impact. We have c. 5,800 employees and serve a population of c. 570,000 as well as being responsible for a wholly owned group of companies providing a wide range of services to the communities of Cornwall.

Across the Council, we have an ambitious growth agenda, with a significant capital investment portfolio (c.£2.1bn) and large revenue budget of £770m and increasing. We proudly have good and outstanding children’s services and rapidly improving adult social care services and fire and rescue service. Our employee engagement scores continue to increase and currently at c. 76% we have an engaged, motivated and highly capable workforce.

As the Service Director for Resources and Performance, you would lead a team of around 320 and manage a budget of around £10m. You will lead a team of qualified accountants, pension experts and experienced revenues and benefits officers as well as a small business planning, corporate performance and data and insights team.

Diversity of thought is central to how we operate, and we welcome new thinking and new ideas so that we can stay ahead of the curve. We recently welcomed the LGA to peer challenge our approach to Equality, diversity and inclusion and were shortlisted for a national award.

We are an ambitious Council, which is enshrined in our values: Fair, Ambition, Inclusion and Respect (FAIR). Our work to secure more devolution continues, and we support recent calls for a Minister for Cornwall to maximise investment and opportunity into Cornwall.

Whilst we might be geographically remote, our Council ambition is reflected in how we are investing in our infrastructure and Cornwall has never been more connected, with recent announcement of a mid-Cornwall metro, a great airport, and recent improvement work to the A30. We are also connected digitally and seriously innovative in this space – Cornwall played a pivotal role in the development of transatlantic communication – and we continue to innovate in terms of digital and green energy.

TO APPLY

To apply for this role please click on the Apply button below and fill out the requested information. When prompted, please upload a two-page statement of suitability and CV demonstrating evidence across the following criteria:

1. Proven experience in a senior leadership role within a complex political organisation. Able to navigate and thrive within a complex and ambiguous environment being adept at finding consensus and forward momentum.
2. Strong strategic thinking and the ability to link service, directorate, and corporate priorities, able to work confidently in a matrixed environment to connect the organisation’s overall strategic priorities.
3. Strong expertise in financial management. Either fully qualified accountant or with significant equivalent professional experience, able to demonstrate ownership and accountability over complex revenue and capital budgets and financial planning.
4. Demonstrable ability to lead a strong performance culture. Able to translate business strategy into organisational performance objectives and being able to inspire public and political confidence in performance reporting.
5. Outstanding and proven leadership skills with the ability to directly and indirectly lead and inspire diverse teams building professional capabilities, building a culture of strong budget management.
6. Please also note that this position will be subject to a basic criminal record disclosure check.

The deadline for applications is midnight on Tuesday 11th March (at 9am).

To support your application , you may wish to refer to some of the following:

1. A brilliant place to grow up
2. A thriving, sustainable Cornwall Council
3. Vibrant, safe, supportive communities
4. An empowering and enterprising Council

You can access a copy of our 2023/24 Annual Report.

Our commitment to equality and diversity

Our recent LGA Equalities Peer Challenge

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy

Indicative timetable:

Closing date: Tuesday 11th March 2025 (9am)
Technical interview: w/c 17th March (this will be on-line)
Assessments and Final Interviews: Thursday 27th March

Details of the Panel Members and arrangements for interviews will be provided to selected candidates.

Working Pattern:

37 hours per week.

Hybrid working is available however there is a requirement to attend New County Hall, Truro on a regular basis.

What you’ll get in return:

Cornwall Council’s ambition is to be an employer of choice, a high performing Council and a learning organisation. We commit to providing a reward and benefits package to attract, motivate and reward our employees. We offer a range of flexible working options to our staff. This helps provide our employees with a greater work/life balance. Whilst still ensuring that service needs are met.

Our core employee rewards and benefits include:

1. A competitive salary.
2. A defined benefit pension scheme, based on your career average earnings. This includes the option for extra voluntary contributions
3. A generous annual leave entitlement with the potential to purchase additional leave.
4. A national award-winning employee health and wellbeing programme
5. Relocation scheme
6. Employee benefits scheme giving employees access to a wide range of discounts to local and national goods and services.

Additional Information:

Please note, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role

The full success profile is attached here.

We recommend saving a copy of this to refer to if you are invited to an interview.

For more information or an informal chat about the role please contact

Application Process

Please attach a supporting statement to your application, you can add your Education & Qualifications details manually using the application form timeline or you can upload your CV. Remember to demonstrate why you are suitable against the criteria above using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience, which clearly illustrates what you did and the effect it had. Guidance on how to complete your application can be found here – The application process.

Please note that applications cannot be edited after they have been submitted, please contact if you have any queries or require assistance with your application.

About Us

Cornwall Council deliver services to more than half a million local people and over five million visitors a year. Find out more about working and volunteering for us.

Fairness and inclusion are at the heart of our vision for Cornwall. In order to best serve our communities, we are striving to achieve a diverse workforce that is inclusive of all backgrounds, cultures and identities; e.g., race, disability, sex, gender, age, religion and sexual orientation. We are an equal opportunities and Disability Confident employer, and we will assess applicants on their merits.

Cornwall Council is committed to safeguarding and following safer recruitment principles to help make sure our staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children, young people and adults at risk. It’s a vital part of creating a safe and positive environment and making a commitment to keeping all service users safe from harm.

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