Cherwell is a place of opportunity

Head of Chief Executive's Office
Salary: £68,930 - £73,320.50
Reporting to: Chief Executive
Responsible for: Policy Development Officer, Performance Team Leader, Communications and Marketing Manager, Executive Support Team Manager.

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This key role supports the Chief Executive directly and oversees key corporate functions including strategy and policy, performance, communications, and executive support. The ideal candidate will have a strong track record in management within complex organisations, with experience in driving continuous improvement, fostering high-performing teams, and aligning services with strategic priorities. If you’re passionate about shaping organisational culture and delivering impactful change, we’d love to hear from you.

Responsibilities that you should expect to undertake include (but are not limited to):

• To be an active member of the council’s corporate leadership team, encouraging an organisational culture of engagement, improvement, and high performance.
• To lead the council's strategy and policy, performance, communications and marketing and executive support services.
• To support the embedding and enablement of a culture of continuous improvement across the council.
• To manage the Chief Executive’s Office, ensuring effective and efficient arrangements in place to support the Chief Executive.
• To proactively assist the Chief Executive in prioritisation and forward planning, project coordination as appropriate, tracking delivery of tasks to support the aims and ambitions of the council.
• To ensure the Chief Executive is appropriately updated and briefed for meetings and events, and on relevant policies and issues relevant to the council.
• To undertake general tasks and duties on behalf of the Chief Executive as required.
• To support the council’s corporate priorities and support the aims and ambitions of the council.

A full job specification for this position is available upon request.

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Head of Biodiversity and Climate Resilience
Salary: £68,930 – £73,320.50
Reporting to: Executive Director Place & Regeneration
Responsible for: Climate and Natural Environment Officer, Climate Change Programme Manager, Sustainable Business Officer, Flood Risk Officer.

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As Head of Biodiversity and Climate Resilience, you’ll lead a multi-disciplinary team to deliver our Climate Action Plan, embed sustainability across council operations, and shape policy that supports net zero targets and climate adaptation. You’ll bring senior-level experience in environmental strategy, energy efficiency, and stakeholder engagement, along with a deep understanding of climate governance and resilience. If you're passionate about creating a greener, more sustainable future for our communities, we want to hear from you.

Responsibilities that you should expect to undertake include (but are not limited to):

• Provide strategic leadership in delivering CDC’s climate objectives, ensuring both the council and the wider Cherwell district achieve carbon net zero targets, by embedding climate action into strategic planning, investment decisions, and cross-sector collaboration.
• Lead and evolve CDC’s climate policy and governance framework, including the Climate Change Strategy and associated delivery plans, ensuring alignment with national policy, regional frameworks, and CDC’s corporate priorities.
• Develop and lead implementation of CDC’s Climate Action Plan as a cross-organisational transformation programme, ensuring integration across all service areas, alignment with budget and procurement strategies, and ownership at the highest levels of leadership.
• Strengthen and formalise strategic partnerships with key organisations including: Oxfordshire County Council, District/City Councils, LEP, Greentech, and the Joint Leaders Board, to deliver collective impact, resource alignment, and innovation in climate action and resilience.
• Provide strategic leadership on climate adaptation and resilience, including spatial planning policies that reflect future climate projections and community-based responses to increased flood risk and extreme weather.
• Champion an integrated climate resilience approach, working across disciplines to ensure that flood risk management, local drainage policy, and planning functions are fully aligned with the Local Lead Flood Authority and future-ready development.
• To work closely with the Executive Portfolio Holder for Climate Action and Leader, who holds the strategic remit for Climate Change, in developing and setting Climate and Environment Policies.

A full job specification for this position is available upon request.

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Executive Director of Neighbourhood Services
Salary: £113,435.50 – £125,379
Reporting to: Chief Executive
Responsible for: Assistant Director – Environmental Services, Head of Regulatory Services and Community Safety, Assistant Director – Housing and Wellbeing.

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We’re looking for an exceptional leader to join Cherwell District Council as Executive Director of Neighbourhood Services. This pivotal role requires a proven track record of senior leadership in complex, multi-disciplinary organisations, with experience across key service areas such as environmental services, housing, leisure, regulatory services, and community safety. The successful candidate will bring strategic vision, transformational leadership, and a passion for delivering high-quality, resident-focused services. If you’re ready to shape the future of Cherwell's communities and drive innovation across frontline services, we’d love to hear from you.

Responsibilities that you should expect to undertake include (but are not limited to):

• To be an active member of the council’s corporate leadership team with collective responsibility for the managerial leadership of the council, encouraging an organisational culture of engagement, improvement, and high performance.
• To jointly lead and support the council’s corporate priorities to support the aims and ambitions of the council and establish the service functional direction for:

Community leadership

1. Strengthen community collaboration and resilience.
2. Promote health and wellbeing with a focus on inequality.

Environmental stewardship

1. Safeguard the environment and promote biodiversity.
2. Promote the circular economy of reduce, reuse and recycle to minimise waste.

• To lead the council's environmental and regulatory services (including waste management and recycling) and environmental health and licensing services. Embed a culture of continuous improvement across the council. To have overall responsibility for the delivery of the statutory functions within these service areas and work in partnership with other councils for the effective delivery of these services.
• To lead the council’s leisure, housing services, health and wellbeing and community partnerships, ensuring they deliver the best outcomes for residents and communities.
• To lead and coordinate emergency planning and business continuity arrangements for the council.

A full job specification for this position is available upon request.

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