Video transcripts

Welcome video

[Jason] Hi, my name is Jason and I'm the Leader of North Northamptonshire Council. 

[Adele] I'm Adele I'm Chief Executive of North Northamptonshire Council.

[Adele] This role of Director of Law and Governance is one that I know really well. I used to be a Monitoring Officer so I really appreciate the role that we're looking for. You'll be part of the corporate leadership team reporting directly to me as Chief Executive. We've got a really ambitious dynamic team that are really excited to do some great things in North Northamptonshire; so if you're someone who is really creative and if you're looking to further your career, then I think this will be a really great opportunity for you.

[Jason] I absolutely agree with what you're saying. I think this is really important because this role touches every part of the democratic process. Members rely quite heavily on monitoring officers to guide them through difficult situations. I think it's important that the Monitoring Officer or legal individual comes into this authority with the type of view that they can facilitate members to achieve what they need to achieve within their communities.

[Adele] In terms of the specifics of this role, it will be managing legal services and that's really grown since vesting day. On vesting day, we didn't have our own legal services completely, so we have brought all those legal services in-house in 2022. Really recently, we brought in our Children's legal services as well. So, there's the opportunity not just to come into an established legal service, but to grow it and create an amazing service.  We also have Democratic Services; we've got a huge push at the minute on our scrutiny function and on making sure that we have governance that is really fit for purpose.  We've also got our Information Governance and our Registrations and Coroner Service as well. So, a really varied portfolio but really importantly, we're not looking for someone who just focuses on their own areas but thinks really corporately and wants to get involved in our One Council programme which is a really important corporate project across the whole of the council.

[Jason] Absolutely, it's a meaty role and it's something that people can get their teeth really into.

[Adele] OK, so we're looking for somebody who's really ambitious; who's dynamic, who can look at problems and really find solutions because that's really important. I think for me, what I'm looking for is somebody who is curious, so I don't want somebody who's going to be laid back. I don't think this is the council where you sit back and wait for things to come to you. You're going to have to be proactive and you're going to have to be dynamic and you really are going to have to drive things through; I think that's the corporate leadership type team dynamic that you'll be joining.

[Jason] I absolutely agree they have got to be super amazing individuals to fit in the corporate leadership team and the ambition of this council. It's so important that you come in, hit the ground running and bring something to the game and absolutely excel in your area.

[Adele] And really importantly, that you work with members and alongside them. I think that we've done a really great job of that so far.

[Jason] So this is an amazing opportunity and it's a pivotal point for this organisation to have a permanent Director of Law and Governance. I think the type of person we want, as I've already articulated, it’s got to be somebody who is amazing; that individual's got to be supercharged, ready to run with this and to keep up with you (Adele) and the rest of your corporate leadership team. I can't wait to look through the interview process. I can't wait for the people to come in and I look forward very much to receiving those applications.

[Adele] I absolutely totally agree with that. I am always up for a chat so please do contact us; please feel free to have that informal chat with me. I would love to hear from you and really importantly, best of luck in this process.

[Jason] Absolutely.

Our council

[Adele] North Northamptonshire Council is a large unitary authority with around 360,000 residents. We have around 2,600 employees and really importantly, provide around 800 services to our residents on a day-to-day basis.

[Jason] It's a very modern and outward looking council and it's really important that the type of people that we attract want to be part of an ambitious council which Adele has brilliantly set that agenda for going forward.

[Adele] I think that it's really important that we talk about the Peer Challenge because that's a key part of what we're doing right now that we're delivering. Our peer challenge said that we've achieved a massive amount of since vesting day which was in 2021.

[Jason] Absolutely, and it also talked about how well respected you were amongst partners which I think it's really key to this whole process of being a good chief exec within a council and attracting a very good calibre of staff into the authority. This is a really important role, law and governance is the fundamental, and I don't need to tell the chief executive because of her history of where she's come from as a monitoring officer. It's the founding foundations of a council.

[Adele] The really important thing for us right now and what we're really focused on is our BIG50 vision.

[Jason] Absolutely Adele and you know, there's such a focus on this. This is such an important part for this council to achieve that vision to make sure that the residents of North Northamptonshire live their best life as we go forward. It's unusual for councils to look so far ahead; we're always stuck in these circles of four years at a time but this BIG50 vision is about what we can do to improve our place, improve the outcomes for our residents. That's so important and I know you champion that very well along with the rest of the corporate leadership team and the wider staff.

[Adele] I think that says everything: The BIG50, we're not just doing the average we're not just doing what everyone else is doing; we want to be ambitious and we really want to try something really different. So that's why the 2050 bit is important, but really importantly that the members, across party as well, all the partners and our staff are really excited and engaged in the process.

[Jason] We're not an average council. We achieve nothing short of amazing. We definitely go out of our way to be an amazing council here and that's been picked up in our Corporate Peer Review as you've already mentioned.  I think it's important that anyone that comes to work for this council, comes to work for you as the chief executive, and myself as the leader, they have to be ambitious; they have to be driven and we want that we lay that challenge down so anybody who feels that they've got those qualities - come and talk to us.

Our area

[Jason] I think it's probably fair to say that North Northamptonshire is a collection of towns and villages of real natural beauty as well. We've got some amazing communities like here in Corby and Kettering and Wellingborough and of course Rushden and East Northants area and I think it's really important that we acknowledge our communities. I think it's really important for a new applicant that comes in to understand there are these geographical differences within our areas. We cover such a large area but it's an amazing area to live in we're doing everything we can to make it even better.  You know this new appointment will assist us along the way and help keep the governance all good and in order.

[Adele] What I find really interesting about the area is that you have got really urban centres like Corby and Kettering for example and our other towns which we have got high levels of deprivation. So, we've done loads of work around that. We've got those areas, but then we've got really beautiful countryside haven't we? We've got our Chester House Estate that we own; we've got, you know, all of our country parks so we do so much and it's so varied but I think that they matter. What you're working on is going to be completely different from day-to-day and I don't think that you always get that in local authorities.

[Jason] I totally agree; that geographical spread of North Northamptonshire lends itself well to rural, urban and so on but there is some beautiful places to come. So, come along, come and see us, come and have a chat with the chief exec about this role.

Last updated 08 January 2025