Shaping Trafford: Governance, Democracy and Trust
Governance at the Heart of Ambition
Trafford is a borough with a clear vision: to create a place where residents, businesses and communities thrive. Through our corporate priorities, from supporting children and young people to have the best start in life to creating thriving communities and driving sustainable growth, we are focused on delivering better outcomes for those we serve.
Strong governance sits at the heart of those ambitions. It provides the foundation for confident decision-making, enables innovation and transformation, protects public trust and ensures we deliver with integrity, transparency and accountability.
As Director of Legal and Governance Services and statutory Monitoring Officer, you will play a pivotal role in helping Trafford achieve its ambitions, providing the strategic leadership, assurance and judgement that enables confident decision-making across the organisation.
A Corporate Leadership Opportunity
This is far more than a legal leadership role. It is a strategic corporate leadership opportunity at the heart of the Council’s governance, decision-making and democratic accountability.
As Trafford’s Chief Legal Officer and Monitoring Officer, you will be one of the Council’s key statutory leaders and a trusted adviser to elected Members, the Chief Executive and the Corporate Leadership Team. You will build strong relationships across the organisation and with Members from all political groups, providing independent advice and constructive challenge while maintaining confidence and credibility.
You will provide independent advice on complex legal, governance, constitutional and ethical matters, helping decision-makers balance ambition, innovation and risk. You will have the confidence and judgement to offer constructive challenge when needed, supporting Members and officers to make informed, lawful and transparent decisions while maintaining effective working relationships.
At the same time, you will share collective responsibility for the Council’s wider success, contributing to organisational transformation, financial sustainability, organisational resilience and the delivery of corporate priorities across the borough.
The breadth of the role offers a unique opportunity to influence both strategic direction and organisational culture. Leading Legal Services, Democratic Services, Elections, Information Governance and Registrars, you will play a central role in shaping how governance supports the Council’s ambitions. You will oversee the Council’s democratic and electoral arrangements, helping to ensure effective decision-making, maintain public confidence and support local democracy. In doing so, you will help create a governance culture that enables innovation and transformation while maintaining high standards of transparency and accountability.
Leading Through Our EPIC Values
At Trafford, how we deliver is just as important as what we deliver.
Our EPIC values of Empowering, People-Centred, Inclusive and Collaborative shape our culture, leadership expectations and relationships with residents, colleagues and partners.
As a member of the Corporate Leadership Team, you will role model these values every day: empowering others to succeed, placing residents and communities at the centre of decision-making, championing inclusion and building collaborative relationships across the Council, with elected Members, partners and the wider public sector.
Why This Role Matters
Governance is at its most effective when it does more than assure compliance. It creates the conditions for confident leadership, sound decision-making and successful delivery.
We are looking for an exceptional leader who combines professional credibility with political awareness, strategic judgement and the confidence to provide clear advice and constructive challenge when required.
You will be someone who can build trust, navigate political and organisational complexity and influence at the highest level. A leader who can support elected Members and senior leaders to make informed, transparent and effective decisions while helping to shape a governance culture that enables the Council to deliver its ambitions with confidence.
For an accomplished legal and governance leader, this is an opportunity to shape the future of governance in Trafford, strengthen public trust and support democratic leadership at the highest level. Through sound judgement, strategic leadership and the ability to build confidence across the organisation, you will play a defining role in enabling effective decision-making, supporting democratic leadership and delivering the Council’s ambitions for residents, businesses and communities.
- Best Companies One Star recognition.
- Real Living Wage accreditation.
- Membership of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter.
- Age Friendly Employer pledge.
These achievements reflect our commitment to being a fair, inclusive and supportive employer, where people are valued and enabled to do their best work.
If you are ready to bring professional authority, strategic judgement and collaborative leadership to a borough with real ambition and opportunity, we would welcome a confidential conversation.
We particularly welcome applications from people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives and are committed to building an inclusive leadership team that reflects the communities we serve.