Executive Director - Modernisation and Customer Delivery
Designing a council that works as one
This is a senior leadership role at the heart of our most ambitious agenda: becoming a modern, sustainable, unitary council.You'll lead a directorate of around 550 colleagues spanning digital, data, technology, customer services, libraries, revenues and benefits, and our transformation programmes. If you're ready to shape how a council services its residents in the digital age, we'd love to hear from you.
Hear from our Chief Executive, Catherine Howe
Catherine talks about the role, what she's looking for, and why she thinks this is an exciting moment for Dorset:About the role
You'll be the council's senior leader for digital public service reform, setting the vision for how modern technology, high-quality data, customer-centred design, and streamlined processes come together to deliver services that actually work.Acting as principal adviser to the Chief Executive and Cabinet on major investment and organisational design, you'll also hold direct accountability for cyber security, information governance, and the council's overall digital resilience.
Key focus areas
Digital and data strategy
Set and deliver a modern and resilient digital strategy that positions technology and data as genuine enablers of council priorities, not a support function.Transformation leadership
Lead major programmes end-to-end with clear governance, rigorous benefits tracking, and real accountability for delivery.Cyber security and resilience
Act as the council's senior accountable officer for cyber security and information governance, ensuring a robust posture aligned with national standards.Customer experience
Champion user-centred design, simplify end-to-end customer journeys, and ensure digital services are accessible to every resident.Capability and culture
Build digital and data literacy across the workforce, including frontline teams, so that modern tools and agile ways of working become business as usual.Why Dorset
Dorset is a place like no other. From the Jurassic Coast to rolling countryside and busy market towns, its rich in heritage, natural beauty and strong communities, and it has real ambition for what comes next.We have big plans for economic growth, and we're honest that we're still on that journey. What we're building is a council genuinely at the cutting edge of digital public service, not despite being rural, but in a way that shows what's possible when you get this right outside of a city. The chance to do that while enjoying real quality of life in one of the country's most remarkable places is rare.
Our vision to become a modern, sustainable unitary council shapes everything, working alongside communities, focusing on prevention, and building the digital and data foundations that make all of it possible.
If you want to lead ambitious work in a place that gives you every reason to get it right, Dorset is worth a serious look.
Discover more about life in Dorset:
Our Recruitment Policy relocation scheme
Discover Dorset
Our Vision
Dorset Council is driven by a clear vision, working together to create a fairer, more prosperous and more sustainable Dorset for current and future generations. Our Dorset Council Plan 2024 to 2029 outlines how we deliver sustainable inclusive services to our communities.
Our Values
Respect
We value our differences, we treat everyone with fairness, dignity, and understanding.Openness
We welcome new ideas, we are honest, positive and inclusive.Together
We combine our strengths with others to achieve a shared purpose and common goals.Accountability
We take ownership for our work, our actions, and our decisions.Curiosity
We aspire to learn, explore, and adapt to new opportunities and experiences.Why this role, why now
Dorset Council has a clear direction and the investment and leadership commitment to back it. This role sits at the heart of that ambition. You won't be implementing someone else's strategy, you'll be shaping it.Key benefits of this role:
- you will be part of our Senior Leadership Team, reporting directly to the Chief Executive and providing a strategic leadership role across the whole organisation
- you will have the authority and backing to drive whole-council modernisation
- relocation support is available, designed to help you settle and succeed
- you will shape services that directly affect hundreds of thousands of people
The recruitment process
We've designed a thorough and inclusive recruitment process to find the right leader for Dorset Council. Here's what to expect:- Wednesday 3 June - closing date
- Thursday 4 and Friday 5 June - longlisting
- week commencing 15 June - stage 1 virtual interview
- Thursday 2 July (provisional) - final interview day at County Hall, Dorchester
How to apply
Are you ready to lead Dorset Council's modernisation? Apply online with a supporting statement that addresses the person specification directly, using concrete examples.
If you'd like an informal conversation with our Chief Executive, Catherine Howe, please contact Jennifer Prince, Senior Executive Assistant, by email [email protected] or call 01305 221394.
