Sector Growth & Skills Lead- Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Sector (inc. Defence & Security) in Chelmsford

Fixed Term / Secondment (to 31st March 2027), Full Time £45,990 to £54,105 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Closing Date: 7th June 2026

This is a hybrid‑working role contractually based in Chelmsford. You will work from the Chelmsford office 2‑3 days per month and across our operational area on other days, depending on business need.

Essex County Council is a systems leader for Skills and Economic Growth, partnering with public and private sectors to position Essex as a hub of innovation, enterprise, and ambition. Through our business‑facing services, we drive an inclusive, integrated approach to skills development, business support, sector growth, and inward investment across the County.

The Sector Growth and Skills Lead will support Essex’s sector development, business growth and skills alignment objectives by delivering initiatives and major projects that drive productivity, sustainability, innovation, job creation, skills development, and sector growth. The role will involve taking a lead on the Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Sector (including Defence & Security) and will involve working with regional partners to deliver regional initiatives including Made Smarter and ERDSC.

Focusing on key growth sectors and businesses, this role will work to identify industry needs, foster strategic partnerships, and facilitate initiatives that enhance ECC skills and economic growth and skills ambitions. The Lead will contribute to developing and delivering targeted strategies and action plans and engage with partners, businesses, and educational institutions to enhance business growth and employment opportunities for residents, ensuring a well‑coordinated approach to Essex's economic priorities.

Central to the role is building and managing partnerships with local authorities, government bodies, education, training providers, and businesses to drive coordinated efforts in skills enhancement, business support and sectoral growth. This includes leading working groups focused on overcoming shared challenges, such as skills shortages and productivity barriers. By fostering these partnerships, the role will amplify the impact of business, sector and skills initiatives, ensuring Essex businesses have access to resources and guidance to thrive in a competitive landscape.

Role responsibilities

• Responsible for supporting the definition and development of strategies and action plans that support business growth, job creation, sector growth and skills alignment within priority sectors.
• Lead the delivery of regional projects, including setting up and coordinating sector‑based working groups to identify and address shared challenges, including skills shortages, access to finance, innovation, productivity issues, and opportunities for sector clustering.
• Support the development of commissioning responses to key business growth, employability and skills issues facing Essex, coordinating with external providers and stakeholders to address identified growth challenges and increase the skills of the Essex workforce.
• Deliver ECC’s business account management approach and serve as a primary point of contact to build and maintain trusting relationships with businesses, industry representatives and partners.
• Act as a subject matter, sector or industry expert and a central point of contact in ECC for a range of economic growth subject areas to provide advice, technical knowledge, project management across business facing activities.
• Support data collection and analysis to inform strategy adjustments, monitor progress on sectoral, skills and business growth metrics, and evaluate the impact of economic initiatives.
• Lead the delivery of business engagement events, summits, workshops and webinars to advance ECC’s business‑facing goals, while collaborating with communications and marketing teams to maintain consistent messaging, branding and campaign identities.
• Represent the council in sector, business and skills related forums and meetings, advocating for resources and raising awareness of Essex’s economic development goals.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Educated to RQF level 6 (degree level) in business management, economic development, a key growth sector, public service, business development or equivalent by experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and good knowledge and understanding of economic development principles and practices, including knowledge of local, regional, and national economic policies and trends.
• Familiarity with business, sector growth, skills programmes, funding opportunities, and grants, including knowledge of the factors that drive business skills and growth investments.
• Proven track record in designing, delivering and monitoring business, skills or sector growth programmes, projects and initiatives, at pace for evidenced impact.
• Proficiency in building collaborative partnerships and business relationships at senior level, with the ability to actively listen, assess needs, and develop and recommend solutions that support skills development and the sustainable growth of local businesses and sectors.
• Ability to provide robust written and verbal recommendations on proposed courses of action to senior leaders.

Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. We encourage you to keep in mind that this post will see progressive responsibility and the importance of ensuring that strategic initiatives continue to drive evidence-based outcomes.