AH Senior Strategy & Governance Officer

Overview

Are you someone who enjoys bringing people, plans and ideas together to make a real difference? Do you thrive in a fast-paced environment where no two days are the same and where your work helps shape services that impact communities across Buckinghamshire?

We're looking for a Senior Strategy & Governance Officer to join our Adults & Health team. This is a fantastic opportunity to play a key role in supporting strategic planning, governance, and leading directorate level staff engagement across a large and ambitious directorate, helping ensure services deliver the very best outcomes for residents.

About us

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally. 

About the role

This is a varied, visible and rewarding role that sits at the heart of the Adults & Health Directorate. Working closely with senior leaders, members, partners and colleagues across the organisation, you'll help drive forward strategic priorities, support governance and assurance processes, and ensure the directorate remains connected, informed and focused on delivering excellent services.

You'll have the opportunity to work on a broad range of projects and initiatives, from leading on staff engagement programmes and coordinating governance activity, through to researching emerging developments and producing insightful briefings that inform decision-making. Whether you're helping prepare for external assurance activity, supporting partnership working, or leading governance improvement projects, you'll be making a meaningful contribution to how the directorate plans, delivers and evolves its services.

This role offers a unique combination of strategic thinking and practical delivery, making it ideal for someone who enjoys building relationships, solving complex problems and influencing positive change across a large organisation.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the delivery of strategy, governance, and business management activities across the directorate.
• Play a key role in delivering the directorates staff engagement programme – thinking strategically about the offer, engaging with staff representatives, and translating that into consistent and meaningful delivery.
• Research and analyse local, regional and national developments, producing briefings and recommendations for senior leaders.
• Coordinate governance processes, assurance activity and directorate-wide improvement initiatives.
• Build strong relationships with colleagues, partners and stakeholders to support collaborative working and successful outcomes.

For a full list of responsibilities, please refer to the Job Description.

Any-Desk:

As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need a desk, screen a keyboard to get your job done. You’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

About you

We're looking for a proactive, organised and relationship-focused individual who enjoys working collaboratively and turning complex information into meaningful action. You'll be someone who can confidently manage multiple priorities, communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences and build positive working relationships across services and organisations.

You'll be naturally curious, with strong analytical skills and the ability to identify opportunities for improvement and innovation. Comfortable working with senior stakeholders, you'll have the confidence to provide advice, coordinate activity and influence outcomes while maintaining a high level of professionalism and attention to detail.

To be successful in this role, you'll bring experience from a large and complex organisation, ideally within the public sector, health, social care or a related environment. You'll have experience in areas such as strategy, governance, business management, engagement or project delivery, alongside excellent communication, organisational and problem-solving skills. A degree-level qualification (or equivalent experience) is essential, and experience of using Microsoft 365 and business systems to support effective working will be highly beneficial.

For full details of the essential and desirable criteria, please refer to the Job Description.

Why Join Us?

At Buckinghamshire Council, you'll be part of a supportive and forward-thinking organisation that is committed to making a positive difference for local communities. You'll work alongside passionate colleagues, contribute to meaningful change and have opportunities to develop your skills and experience within a collaborative and inclusive environment.

Join us and help shape the future of Adults & Health services across Buckinghamshire.

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

Other information

For more information about this role, please contact Ruth Cover at [email protected] for an informal discussion.

Closing date: Sunday 25th October 2026

Interview Date: w/c 2^nd November 2026

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions

For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

Our values

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Service Area

The new Adults & Health Strategy and Governance Team sits at the centre of the Adults & Health Directorate, helping services turn ambition into clear priorities, effective plans and measurable improvement. We provide strategic insight, coordination and constructive challenge, ensuring that decision-making is well informed, governance is robust and the directorate is prepared for external assurance and emerging national and local developments.

Working across adult social care, public health and wider partnerships, the team brings together strategy, governance, engagement activity. We connect colleagues, senior leaders, elected members and partners; translate complex information into clear advice and action; and help maintain a strong focus on delivery and better outcomes for Buckinghamshire residents.

As a newly formed team, we are developing a collaborative, visible and forward-looking service that adds value across the directorate and supports continuous learning, innovation and improvement. We are ambitious and dynamic and are committed to continuous improvement and encouraging development.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/