Head of Business and Strategy (Public Health and Communities) in West Bridgford

This role leads business strategy and performance within the Public Health and Communities division at Nottinghamshire County Council. As a senior leader, you will shape policy, oversee corporate and strategic functions, and ensure services are evidence-based, high quality, and deliver value for money. Managing the contracts and performance team, you will work across complex multi-agency partnerships to improve public health outcomes and ensure effective governance, while providing strategic leadership to support the future direction of the service.

Main duties of the job

• Provide strategic leadership across the Public Health and Communities division, guiding corporate, business, and strategic functions.
• Oversee risk, budget, service planning, and business planning, ensuring all activity meets regulatory, statutory, and governance requirements.
• Lead the development of policy and strategy for the division, working closely with senior leaders, elected members, partners, and stakeholders.
• Manage the Contracts and Performance Team, ensuring services are evidence-based, reviewed, designed, implemented, managed, and evaluated effectively.
• Ensure value for money and improved public health outcomes across all commissioned and delivered services.
• Lead on clinical governance and quality assurance, ensuring safe, effective standards in Public Health and Communities services.
• Work within a complex, multi-agency environment, building strong influencing relationships across local government, the NHS, and external organisations.
• Support planning for local government reform, contributing forward-thinking insight and strategic direction.
• Represent the division as part of the Senior Leadership Team, contributing to organisational strategy, culture, and performance.
• Ensure effective internal and external partnerships, using strong communication and negotiation skills to drive collective outcomes.

About us

• Inclusive Workplace: Join a friendly environment where everyone is valued.
• Professional Development: Opportunities for training and career growth.
• Work-Life Balance: Flexible working arrangements.
• Generous Leave: Competitive leave package.

Job responsibilities

Are you a highly motivated, experienced strategic manager looking to develop your career? This is an exciting opportunity to work as the Head of Business strategy and performance in the newly formed division of Public Health and Communities, in the Place Department at Nottinghamshire County Council. Qualified to masters level or with equivalent experience, you will have significant experience of developing strategy, policy, business management, contracting and commissioning, in Public Health or related work, and ideally, knowledge of the local government and the NHS. You will be forward thinking and supporting planning for local government reform.

You will have excellent communication, negotiation and partnership working skills, and be able to develop strategic and influencing relationships with senior staff, elected members, external organisations and partners. You will be accountable to the Deputy Director of Public Health and will work in a complex, multi-agency environment.

As part of the Senior Leadership Team, your portfolio will include strategically overseeing the divisions corporate, business and strategy functions, including risk, budget, service and business plans, ensuring compliance with regulatory, statutory and governance frameworks and legislation. You will use your extensive strategic leadership experience to drive forwards policy and strategy for the division, working at a high level with internal and external partners.

You will manage the contracts and performance team, responsible for ensuring all Public Health and Communities services are evidence based, reviewed, designed, implemented, managed and evaluated to provide value for money and improve public health outcomes. You will also lead on ensuring effective arrangements are in place for clinical governance and quality in all commissioned and delivered Public Health and Communities services.

You will be primarily based at County Hall/ Trent Bridge House in West Bridgford with an expectation to attend different working sites. The Council has adopted a hybrid working arrangement, which will allow employees to work from home, as well as come into the office.

Nottinghamshire County Council has a NHS Pension Direction Order in place, which means that we are able to provide ongoing access to the NHS Pension Scheme (NHSPS) where we recruit eligible new joiners to public health roles who are currently in the NHSPS.

For an informal discussion about this post, please contact Thom Dunn, Deputy Director of Public Health and Communities.

Person Specification

• Current and broad knowledge of the context of local government, public health and communities services.
• Understanding and navigation of constitutional frameworks and public sector decision making.
• Knowledge of the national agenda and policies and the impact on local government and health commissioning management.
• Understanding of key issues affecting public health and community services, such as modernisation, local commissioning agendas including national policy on local government reform and devolution.
• Knowledge and understanding of contract and performance management processes.
• Knowledge of the public involvement agenda and experience of engaging community/patient groups.
• Knowledge and understanding of managing the key corporate elements of a Division (finance, HR, risk, and clinical governance).

Qualifications

• Management or professional qualification.

Full-time, Flexible working, Home or remote working.