Job Details

Chief Officer – Legal & Governance

Location: Rugby, Warwickshire
Contract: 6 months
Hours: 37 hours per week
Working Pattern: Hybrid – 2–3 days per week onsite
Rate: £681.58 PAYE
IR35: Inside IR35
Start Date: ASAP
Interview: Teams

About the Role

Rugby Borough Council is seeking an experienced Chief Officer – Legal & Governance to provide senior leadership across Legal Services, Democratic Services, Elections, Business Support and Equality & Diversity.

This is a senior corporate leadership position and includes responsibility for acting as the Council’s Monitoring Officer, ensuring high standards of legal compliance, corporate governance and ethical decision-making across the organisation.

The successful candidate will provide expert advice to senior officers and elected Members on complex and contentious legal, governance, constitutional and democratic matters, while supporting the Council’s wider strategic and transformation priorities.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the Council’s Monitoring Officer, advising Members and officers on governance, constitutional and Code of Conduct matters.
• Provide senior legal advice on complex and contentious issues across the Council.
• Lead and oversee Legal, Democratic Services, Elections, Business Support and Equality & Diversity functions.
• Oversee democratic decision-making processes, including Council and committee meetings and scrutiny arrangements.
• Provide advice and support to elected Members throughout the democratic and scrutiny process.
• Ensure elections and referendums are administered appropriately and in accordance with relevant legislation.
• Oversee the preparation, review and approval of key legal and governance documentation.
• Represent the Council in contested civil and criminal matters, tribunals and inquiries where required.
• Lead on corporate governance, ethical governance and compliance across the organisation.
• Support Members’ training and development and oversee the Members’ Allowances review process.
• Lead the Council’s equality agenda and ensure compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.
• Contribute to corporate transformation, service improvement and the Council’s medium-term financial strategy.
• Develop effective working relationships with senior officers, elected Members, external partners and other public-sector organisations.
• Lead and develop staff, promoting a positive, customer-focused and collaborative culture.
• Take corporate responsibility for financial performance, budgets, assets and data within the services managed.

About You

You will be an experienced senior legal and governance professional with a strong background in local government and significant experience operating at a strategic level.

You will have:

• A professional Legal Qualification as a Solicitor or Barrister, with a current practising certificate.
• Significant experience in relevant legal, governance and democratic services.
• Previous experience as a Monitoring Officer or Deputy Monitoring Officer, or substantial experience working closely with the statutory Monitoring Officer function.
• Experience leading complex services and managing organisational change and service improvement.
• Strong knowledge of local-government governance, constitutional arrangements and democratic processes.
• Experience advising elected Members and senior officers on complex and sensitive matters.
• Excellent strategic leadership and people-management skills.
• Experience leading cross-service transformation and improvement programmes.
• Strong commercial awareness and an understanding of value for money and alternative service delivery models.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to provide clear advice to different audiences.
• Strong influencing, negotiation and stakeholder-management skills.
• A good understanding of equality, diversity and the Public Sector Equality Duty.
• The ability to work effectively in a complex and sometimes politically sensitive local-government environment.

Ideal Background

This role would suit someone currently working or recently working at Monitoring Officer, Borough Solicitor, Director/Head of Legal & Governance, Director of Legal Services, Chief Legal Officer or equivalent senior local-government level.

Candidates must be comfortable operating as part of a Senior Leadership Team and providing authoritative advice to both senior officers and elected Members.

Key Information

Client: Rugby Borough Council
Duration: 6 months
Hours: 37 hours per week
Location: Rugby – 2–3 days onsite
Rate: £681.58 PAYE / £950 Umbrella per day
IR35: Inside IR35
Start: ASAP
Interview: Teams