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Head of Corporate and Customer Services
Candidate Information Pack
July 2015
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Contents Page
1. An Introduction to North Kesteven 03
2. Context and overview of the role 05
3. Role description 06
4. Person profile 10
5. Main terms and conditions of the role 16
6. How to apply for the role 17
7. Indicative timetable for recruitment 18
8. Further enquiries 18
9. Links to additional information 19
10. Equal opportunities monitoring form 20
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1. An Introduction to North Kesteven
North Kesteven is located in the central belt of England, just to the south of Lincoln and forms one of the seven districts of Lincolnshire. Its administrative headquarters are located in the pleasant town of Sleaford and the District covers some 356 square miles of predominantly arable land made up of small rural settlements and market towns. The 2011 census showed that North Kesteven (NK) was the fourth fastest growing district in England and Wales, and is set to grow by a further 16% in the next 10 years.
Delivering growth - jobs, homes and infrastructure – to support that increase will be critical over the next few years. As well as the predicted growth levels, the age profile of the population will change significantly with a projected 70% increase in the 65+ population by 2031. There is only one other district in England where there is a projected faster rate of increase.
The council has earned a reputation in recent years for ambitious growth and investment and has seen particular development in the field of creative and environmentally focused businesses which has benefitted both the Council and the area, both financially and in terms of much needed employment. The Council is widely recognised as a high performing, value for money organisation, and in particular for the quality of services it delivers. Despite this progress, the Council still faces many challenges over the next few years.
The District has lower house prices than the national average which helps to attract people into NK, but has the effect of pricing many local people out of the housing market. The
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challenge is to ensure the provision of low cost affordable homes suitable for all sections of the community and providing a range of tenures. The draft core plan for Central Lincolnshire includes policies for affordable housing, based on an aspiration for 40% affordable housing. The rising cost of fuel for homes and cars is driving fuel poverty in NK, whilst the UK commitments to reducing carbon footprint, moving towards a low carbon economy and developing renewable energy is a key area of focus for the district. Minimising waste and maximising recycling remain significant priorities, and maintaining a clean, green and safe environment is a key issue. The particular challenge will be to promote low cost solutions, which combine low carbon approaches with a reduction in cost for residents and businesses.
The Council continually challenges itself to improve services and to deliver value for money, through business transformation programmes, efficiency programmes and service reviews. In the last two years, it has achieved £2million in efficiency savings. The Audit Commission commented that the ‘Council performs well with the resources it has available’.
The Council is also recognised for innovation in delivering challenging priorities for the district. NK was the first council in the country to achieve 50% recycling, and the first to build energy efficient straw-built council houses.
NK Corporate Plan 2013-17 requires that services are commissioned to achieve quality and value for money through a combination of in-house delivery, shared services with neighbouring local authorities, and partnerships with private, voluntary and social enterprise organisations. A range of services are currently commissioned in partnership with the private sector (leisure services, recycling, housing repairs) as well as other public sector organisations (council tax, NNDR, benefits, waste, procurement and legal services).
Finally, the Council’s philosophy is of a partner and a community leader, working to ensure that North Kesteven continues to be a great place to live, work and visit.
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2. Context and overview of the role
We’d like to suggest that in order to learn more about the role, you first watch and listen to this brief video clip from Phil Roberts, Corporate Director, by clicking here or copy and paste this link into your browser: https://youtu.be/zxxVzSJihjA
Background/context:
- NK has a population of 116,000 and growing. There is a significant growth agenda that the Government wants councils to move on - growing businesses, infrastructure and new homes. Via our Corporate Plan, NK is developing a series of significant long-term initiatives to achieve this.
- Our Corporate Plan has four priorities:
o Economyo Homeso Communitieso Council
- The activities undertaken by this post and the staff resource underpins the development of the Corporate Plan - providing support, data, and a framework to monitor achievements and how/where we are going.
- Allied to that, we are developing what we call the ‘FIT Programme’.
o ‘F’ concerns future planning, pulling together lots of data about the district (some things we know already, and some things that are new to us), and then challenging ourselves and developing actions backed up by a flourishing communications strategy
o ‘I’ concerns improvement, in that this post will take the lead on and oversee an improvement programme, using a quality model – such as EFQM)
o ‘T’ is transformation, in that this post leads our transformation team and is focussed on ensuring we are operating as efficiently as possible towards our corporate priorities.
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3. Role descriptionRole title:
- Head of Corporate and Customer Services
Generic purpose of role:
- To support the Chief Executive and Directors in taking effective responsibility for the overall leadership and management of the authority, so as to deliver the Council’s vision, objectives and corporate agenda.
Specific scope and spheres of the role:
- Corporate and Customer Information (Corporate Plan; Scrutiny role; Information Management; Performance Management; Complaints)
- External Facing Partnerships- Information Technology (IT)- Web Team- Customer Services (front desk services at several sites throughout the District often
in partnership)- Communications- Transformation Team
At NK, transformation is about ensuring innovative methods of service delivery that meets customer needs. Linked to that is the work needed to plan around developing and gaining customer insight; genuinely knowing our customers; understanding the needs of our various communities and packaging our services together to meet their greatest needs; also being efficient, taking into account the various economic challenges facing local government and providing services at best value.
Generic management responsibilities:
As a member of the Senior Management Team, to participate in leading the organisation by:
Assisting in the development of the short, medium and long term forward programmes of the Council, which achieves the Council’s vision, objectives and priorities to meet the expectations of Members, customers, citizens and stakeholders.
Providing leadership and support to the organisation, fostering mutually supportive working across the Council, providing a clear sense of direction and collaborative purpose, achieving genuine corporate delivery.
Delivering the corporate commitments of the Council, as allocated from time to time, actively working across organisational boundaries, engaging local communities, partner organisations and stakeholders.
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Providing leadership and support to the Council’s governance mechanisms, as allocated from time to time, ensuring appropriate standards of performance, operational effectiveness, probity, open government and availability of relevant and timely advice and guidance to Members.
Promoting and ensuring the delivery of effective Performance Management throughout the Council, in conjunction with other members of the senior management team, providing timely and direct intervention to sustain high standards of corporate performance, and continuous improvement.
Providing leadership to promote and achieve customer and citizen focused services, empowering customers/citizens through service delivery and contact.
Contributing proactively to the Council’s strategic development and corporate management.
As a manager with responsibilities for specific activities and services, to deliver the corporate agenda to meet the changing needs and demands in line with the Council’s vision, objectives and Corporate priorities.
Setting the direction and the programmes for a portfolio of activities, ensuring that business plans, strategies and work programmes are provided, and to be responsible for effectively managing the risks for the portfolio.
Delivering and reporting on the performance of the portfolio of services to the Director, Chief Executive and/or Corporate Management Team and elected Members, including any specific personal or team performance targets, which may be set from time to time.
Promoting strong, direct and effective communications and consultations internally and externally, which provide accessible and responsive feedback mechanisms.
Through personal example, open commitment and clear action, providing employees with positive leadership, guidance, direction and motivation that harnesses the strengths and talents of individuals and promotes their performance and development in a confident learning environment, to benefit the corporate agenda, and to standards set by being an Investor in People.
Be an effective ambassador of the Council, promoting the Council’s vision and values, building a positive corporate reputation and developing active partnerships with relevant stakeholders, to influence their policies, programmes and delivery and improve the quality of life for all its citizens.
Promoting effective resource management that delivers the Council’s agenda within approved budgets, and provides for future activities through the pursuit of innovative and flexible working methods, effective and imaginative use of technology and the enterprising pursuit of external resources, inward investment and collaborative working with all sectors, to optimise the opportunities to achieve the corporate agenda.
Ensuring equality of opportunity and adhering to all equality legislation and ensuring that service requirements take into account, and reflect diversity.
Ensuring compliance and continual improvement for Health and Safety, Risk and Business Continuity within the Division.
Key Priorities:
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- Immediate: o Embed the new structure for Corporate Information and Business
Transformationo Communications:
Review the Communications Plan to ensure effective internal and external delivery; we tend to be good at external, and less good at internal
o Customer Services: Establish a renewed sense of purpose for the team around our high
local standardso Corporate Information:
Pull together the ‘FIT’ programme; you need to be genuinely moving us further forward on this, and flowing on from this implementing a new Corporate Plan
o Business Transformation: Embed the agile working programme that we are working on.
Reviewing a new programme of activity through the FIT processo Information Technology:
We will be completing a massive migration, putting us at the forefront of district councils; moving to Windows 8, plus a migration of servers, which we operate on a shared basis with West Lindsay District Council
- Medium/Longer term: o Reviewing our use of the term ‘100 flourishing communities’
Re-visit and re-define what that means so that we can communicate this more easily
Use the output of that thinking to help inform how we package our services together focussing on the areas of greatest need
Role reports to:
- Phil Roberts, Corporate Director
Responsible for:
- 46 FTE staff across the division
Other Key relationships:
- Other councils regarding IT Strategyo Especially regarding West Lindsay District Council with whom we have a
shared IT Manager post
- Lincolnshire County Councilo We share various functions, especially telephony
- Other Heads of Service
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o Eg. We have asked this group of 5 (including this post) to take the lead on business transformation at NK
- Elected Memberso This is a front facing service, so Members will get involvedo There is also a need to ensure the team is assisting them with their own
individual IT requirements o One member of Executive Board with responsibility for IT issues
- Other key officerso All managers reporting to the post o Special focus on the Business Transformation Team which the postholder will
need to work with closelyo Regular contact by Members, customers and other senior managers in the
organisation will lead to a number of differing competing priorities which will need to need to be navigated effectively
o Will report to Executive Board on performance management, annual report, and the Corporate Plan
- Key supplierso Eg. IT and software suppliers
- Other external partnerso Shared service providers on procurement, legal and revenues and benefits
serviceso Accommodation sharing partners including Lincolnshire County Council and
Job Centre Plus
Please also note:
1) Responsibilities will vary over time and other functions may be added to support the Council’s strategic direction.
2) This is a politically restricted post in accordance with Section 2(1)(b) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.
3) You will need to demonstrate a good standard of competency in a number of core competency areas as defined within the Council’s management competency framework. Additional competencies may also be required depending on the nature of the post. The knowledge and skills required to demonstrate the core competencies are integrated into the person specification for this post.
4. Person profile
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Part One:
These are the requirements, against which we will assess your written application, so please be sure to address each of them when putting your application together, and ideally providing examples of how you meet them.
Essential:
1. Demonstrable understanding of the principles of business transformation allied to relevant experience of delivering business transformation programmes that have, in practice, actually worked and delivered on the ground
2. A consistent track record of working effectively with customers (internal and external) to improve services, harnessing the customer ‘voice’ and embedding such in all processes - our customers must drive what we do and how we do it
Desirable:
3. Demonstrable experience of the development and successful delivery of corporate plans that have been quite literally ‘game-changing’, in terms of ensuring delivery against the needs of a particular area
4. Clear evidence of the successful delivery of Agile Working programmes in a local authority or wider public sector setting that link IT/Homeworking and the creative use of Office Accommodation with an improvement in standards and productivity
5. Substantial relevant management experience at a senior level in a local authority or similarly complex organisation, with a demonstrable track record of successfully leading a similar range of services
6. A through and ‘informed’ understanding of IT and IT strategies, customer insight, web opportunities and channel shift geared to shifting the nature of approach of an organisation towards delivering a particular service/range of services
7. A demonstrable and successful track record of innovation in designing and developing new models of service delivery, which have delivered value-added performance outcomes
8. A clear track record of successful programme and project management adapted to the context and needs of the organisation
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9. A proven leader with a demonstrable track record of staff development which has enhanced and harnessed the talents of employees at all levels, providing a clear benefit to both the organisation and the individuals involved
10. Consistent evidence of providing clear and timely advice and guidance to elected Members/boards and senior colleagues on key corporate, customer service and information technology issues
Part Two:
If invited to interview, the criteria outlined in Part One (above) will be tested further, along with the core competencies and personal attributes listed as follows.
Style, skills, attitudes, behaviours:
To survive and thrive within the organisation, you …
- Must be comfortable with the multi-faceted nature of the worko The role involves the management of a whole series of projects, so you will
need strong organisational skillso It may require a person who has some form of project/quality/programme
management training, but who is sufficiently pragmatic, adaptable and flexible in approach that they don’t inflexibly drive the organisation into the ground. It is vital that you apply a combination of best practice with the best of our current culture and strengths
- Will need a strong sense of and commitment to improving services from the customer perspective. You must be seeking to give the customer what they want, to the extent that we can; this means harnessing the customer voice, embedding that in all our processes, and in particular, finding a way to reach out to those who are normally silent
- Must take people with you. It is vital to ensure that the organisation is following along behind and that you are able to successfully win hearts and minds
For all of the above, however:
- We like constructive challenge, are always prepared to look at something new, and we like teams who have this shared mind-set
- We also believe that we have a ‘no blame culture’ that supports that sense of innovation, and the need for managed risk that goes with it
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- We don’t really do egos here; this is not an ego-driven organisation; most of us genuinely want to move the organisation forward; we commonly (and without embarrassment) talk about having family values – and indeed, we refer to our colleagues as family; the work environment here is a good and positive one, and we want to keep it that way
- We are looking for an inclusive leader, who also leads by example
- We want someone who is honest, relaxed, clear-sighted, hard working, accessible, and definitely not a ‘political’ game-player
Part Three:
The role reports to Corporate Director, Phil Roberts – so we asked him a range of questions on your behalf.
- What are you like to work for? Tell us about your style and what is important to you?
o I like to be organisedo I’m strategy led and outcomes focussedo I have a laser like focus on the customer (both internal and external)o I have an expectation of personal responsibility and delivery against targetso I like action planso I like to be comfortable that we know and agree priorities, and the general
order in which we are going to do thingso I do not run with a blame culture – rather, I try to encourage a ‘learning’
cultureo I take a personal interest in staff and their well-beingo I prefer a collaborative and team based approacho I try to ensure a strong nurturing relationship with people who sit in other
parts of the structure, and do not see them as simply rungs on a laddero I try always to be open door and accessible; and in discussions, try always to
be reasonableo I enjoy good humour at work; I’m generally relaxed; and not too status
conscious – actually, none of us are
- What attributes do you like to see in those who work with and for you?
o Strategic, but with an ability to deliver on detail regarding programmes, projects and services
o Strong customer focuso A strong degree of multi-tasking abilityo Honesty is critical – an absolute must!o Care passionately about the services that they lead and manageo Team players o Strong at building internal and external relationships
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o Sensitive to the political environmento The ability to effectively manage performanceo Able to provide leadership across a range of disciplineso Solution focussedo Structured/well organisedo A sense of humouro A capacity to be flexibleo North Kesteven District Council has very much a ‘family feel’ to it – so this
person needs to fit in and be comfortable with that o Not a ‘hunter-killer’, aggressive type; an ambition to ‘change the world’ is
fine – just so long as we do it together; an unguided missile/loner will not work well here, whereas a team player will
- What sort of relationship are you looking for with this new Head of Service?
o Informal; prefers not to have top-down ‘boss type’ discussions but genuine discussions and a meeting of minds about the way forward
o Absolute honestyo Treats the services for which he is responsible as his family; the new Head of
Service will be a new member of that family; he takes that responsibility seriously and cares passionately regarding what will happen to the services and staff in the future – and would hope that this new Head of Service will feel the same way
- Any other points that you want to reinforce?
o A strong sense of and commitment to improving services from the customer perspective allied to an inclusive style that enables the organisation to reach out, listen and then better interpret the customer ‘voice’ – this is absolutely key!
o The multi-faceted nature of the work in this role may require you to have some form of project/quality/programme management training or experience, but with the pragmatism to apply those principles sensitively within the organisation
o Critical to be able to take people with you and to win the ‘hearts and minds’ challenge, especially surrounding the business transformation element to the role and the delivery of the ‘Agile Working’ programme
o Innovative; really looking to push limits and push boundaries; there are no ‘holy grails’ here – we are willing to discuss and contemplate anything
o Past exposure to elected Members would most certainly be helpfulo An inherent ability to adapt and flex one’s styleo To repeat – ‘solutions’ focused
- Where might this role lead?
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o Ideally, we would like to see you be ready to take on this role for around 5 years; we like continuity here; but its not a deal-breaker
o That said, if you are excellent in the role and deliver all of the above, execute and deliver the corporate plan, and give us confidence regarding your abilities in performance management and transforming our business – then the sky is limit, and you could most certainly be on track for a Chief Executive role, here or elsewhere
- If I am that good, why would I want to come and work at North Kesteven?
The organisation:
o We really are a great organisation to work for; he knows that for a fact and can compare it with other employers where he has worked
o We offer lots of potential to make a real difference for our communities We are ambitious We have the resources to invest This is a great opportunity to deliver something ‘on the ground’ and to
transform both our organisation and the customer experienceo We have elected Members who really are ready to listen and engageo The role offers you a chance to get your teeth into really shaping and
delivering services that exceed our customers needs and expectationso We employ high performers and try always to be the besto Here, we have a strong sense of purpose – eg. our staff consultation sessions
have demonstrated to all how each of them fits in, what their role is, and how they contribute to our corporate priorities. He really does feel that this makes us a pretty unique place and organisation to work for
o We have excellent performance statistics and are right up there performance wise
o We are innovative; and we are passionate about the Growth Agenda We are already delivering regarding the businesses we are supporting We are developing a local plan that will deliver significant new
housing and infrastructure for the district We have excellent performance statistics – upper quartile nationally
The place:
o It’s a great area in which to live and worko There is a great quality of life hereo Education/schools are top notcho House prices are low relative to many areas in England o We are the safest (in terms of crime) district council in the country
The rewards:
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o The non-financial rewards have been outlined aboveo Remuneration is competitiveo We offer a good package for relocationo Generous terms and conditions; we still have private healthcare, essential car
allowance, and a good pension
Health & Wellbeing as an employer:
o We take the health and wellbeing of our employees very seriously
- What might this person be doing now, and where might they be?
o Could be involved in any of the services noted aboveo Could be in a different service but involved in roles that cover similar
challenges and require similar skills to those noted above aspectso May be in (or have been in) a business transformation teamo Could be doing the role nowo Could currently be in the private sector or another part of the public sector
provided you are able to demonstrate you have been involved in change/transformation programmes akin to those described above
5. Main terms and conditions of the role
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Salary:
The salary range for this post is £60,086 to £65,726.
Holidays:
Annual holiday entitlement is 33 days (36 days after 5 years service in Local Government), plus a further 8 public holidays.
Private Health Care:
You will be entitled to join the Council’s private health scheme.
Car Allowance:
You will be entitled to an essential car user allowance.
Pension:
You will have the opportunity to join the Council’s Occupational Pension Scheme (the Local Government Superannuation Scheme).
Relocation Assistance:
This will be provided depending on individual circumstances.
6. How to apply for the role
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General:
The final decision on appointment will be made by a panel of elected Members drawn on a proportionate basis from each of the political groups.
We recognise and welcome our responsibility to remove any barriers in our Recruitment and Selection process for disabled people. We have tried to do this, but if you have a disability and identify any barriers in the role description please tell us of these in your application. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to the role wherever possible and it would help us to know your needs in order to do this.
To apply for this role, we would like you to provide the following:
A motivation statement (ideally no more than 2 sides of A4), which explains why you are applying for this role and the contribution, style, skills and experience you believe you will bring to it.
A supporting statement, providing evidence/examples of how you match the 10 key requirements of the role as outlined in Part One of the ‘role profile’ above.
A comprehensive, up to date and current CV ensuring all gaps in employment and education history are fully explained.
Contact details of at least two referees so that we are able to take up your references if you are shortlisted for final panel interview (referees will not be contacted without your permission).
A completed Equal Opportunities monitoring form (see below). We are keen to ensure that our jobs are accessible to all members of the community and use this data to monitor our progress in doing this.
Details of how you first found out about this role.
Please ensure you return the above documents by the closing date, 01/09/2015 to [email protected]
Following long listing, you will be contacted directly with an update on the status of your application.
Below, you will find an indicative timetable for this appointment. Please ensure that you let us know in your covering letter if there are any specific dates that present you with a problem.
7. Indicative timetable for recruitment
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Closing date: Tuesday, 1st September
Longlisting: Tuesday, 8th September
Preliminary interviews: 11th 14th and 15th September
Shortlisting: Wednesday, 23rd September
Shortlist candidates: 25th and 28th SeptemberInformal meeting/conversation with Phil Roberts, Corporate Director
Assessment and Partnership Interview Panel
& Final Panel Interview:
8. Further enquiries Confidential Discussion:
If you would like to have an informal/confidential discussion about this role, please contact our advisors at Davidson and Partners:
Darren Meeks on: 07956 760 262, Jack Williams on: 07885 670 504, or Hamish Davidson on: 07932 698 807, or email them at:
[email protected]@[email protected]
The office landline is: 020 7183 0363.
9. Links to additional information
5th and 6th October
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Please click on the link below to access a Dropbox folder containing various strategy documents, reports and plans relevant to the role:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7w9p8y9hdm0gvcz/AAAMDnusxaeR_jZoOoAtsi8_a?dl=0
Each of the following files can be downloaded from the folder above to your computer.
Access Strategy
Agile Working Guidance
Annual Report 2014-15
Communications Plan
Communications Strategy
Community Plan
Corporate Plan 2015-2018
Equality and Diversity Policy
Heads of Service Structure
Corporate and Customer Services Departmental Structure Chart
Health and Wellbeing Strategy
Last Executive Board Performance Report
10. Equal opportunities monitoring form
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North Kesteven District Council has a policy of equality of opportunity for those wishing to serve in public appointments. This means that applications are welcome from all suitably qualified individuals irrespective of, for example, race, gender or disability. This form helps us build statistical information on gender, ethnic background and disability. Such information, no matter how it is requested, is always published in statistical summary form and no individual can be identified.
Thank you for your co-operation.
Diversity Monitoring FormRole:
Reference Number:
Your full name:
We are committed to employing a workforce that reflect the community we serve. Please help us to monitor our progress by completing the details below. Your information will be treated confidentially.
Gender
What is your gender?
Male Female Prefer not to say
Pregnancy and Maternity
A woman is protected under section 18 of the Equality Act 2010 and cannot be treated unfavourably because of her pregnancy
If you are a woman, are you pregnant, on maternity leave or returning from maternity leave?
Yes No Prefer not to sayDisability
The Equality Act 2010 says that a disabled person is someone with a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his/her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Examples include cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart conditions, hearing or sight impairments, or a significant mobility difficulty and mental health conditions or learning difficulties.
In relation to the definition above, do you consider yourself to be disabled?
Yes No Prefer not to say
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Age range18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ Prefer not to say
Religion or beliefPlease tick the box from the list below which best describes your religion or belief:
Christian Hindu JewishMuslim Sikh BuddhistNo Religion Prefer not to say
Any other religion, please specify:
Gender Reassignment
The Equality Act 2010 defines a transsexual person as someone who “is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person's sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex”.
In relation to the definition above, do you consider yourself to be transsexual?
Yes No Prefer not to say
Ethnic Origin
Please tick the box from the list below which best describes the ethnic group to which you belong:
White Black Asian
British British BritishEnglish African IndianScottish Caribbean PakistaniWelsh
Any other Black background, please specify:
BangladeshiIrish
Any other Asian background, please specify:
Northern IrishGypsy or Irish Traveller
Any other White background, please specify:
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Mixed Other ethnic group
Prefer not to say
White and Black African
Chinese
White and Black Caribbean
Arab
White and Asian
Any other ethnic group, please specify:
Any other Mixed background, please specify:
Sexual orientation
Please tick the box from the list below which best describes your sexual orientation:
Gay man Gay Woman/Lesbian Heterosexual/StraightBisexual Prefer not to say Other
Thank you for taking the time to complete this form.
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