Luton Council - Corporate Director, Corporate Services (S151 Officer)

Corporate Director, Corporate Services and Section 151 Officer, Luton Council

Salary and car allowance package up to £160,170 per annum.

Luton is a super-diverse, resilient and ambitious town with a clear vision: by 2040, no one in Luton should have to live in poverty.

Luton is a diverse and resilient town, with a proud history, a powerful sense of community and enormous potential. We have delivered significant progress over the past two years and now stand on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

Our growing airport, the development of a new football stadium and £1.7 billion of imminent investment in the town centre will create new jobs, homes and opportunities.

Our challenge is to ensure that this growth improves lives in every part of Luton and takes us closer to our 2040 vision: a healthy, fair and sustainable town where everyone can thrive and no one has to live in poverty.

To make the most of this opportunity, we are building a new kind of council: a proactive, high-performing organisation defined by action, delivery and change.

We are becoming even more focused on residents, more led by data, evidence and insight, and clearer about the outcomes we intend to achieve. We want to intervene earlier, deliver more effectively within our neighbourhoods and work better with partners across the town. Above all, we are becoming proactive, accountable and relentlessly focused on delivery.

We are now seeking an ambitious and talented Corporate Director, Corporate Services and Section 151 Officer to help lead that change.

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive and working as a key member of the Council’s senior leadership team, you will lead a broad and strategically important portfolio encompassing:

• Strategy, communications and HR/OD
• Finance investment and strategy
• Finance business partnering and services
• IT, business intelligence and transformation

This portfolio brings together many of the capabilities on which our future success depends. You will ensure that our finances, people, technology, data and organisational capacity are aligned behind a clear set of priorities and translate ambition into measurable delivery.

Our new approach replaces hundreds of broad objectives with 12 clear Key Results addressing the issues that matter most to residents: jobs, safety and homes. Each has defined measures, clear accountability and a delivery plan, creating a stronger connection between operational performance, corporate priorities and tangible outcomes for the town.

You will play a central role in embedding this approach. You will help create a single, trusted source of organisational insight; strengthen financial and performance accountability; modernise our technology; and ensure that investment and resources follow evidence and priorities. You will also help develop the structures, culture and workforce capability required to move from responding to problems towards preventing them.

As our statutory Section 151 Officer, you will provide trusted professional advice to the Chief Executive and elected members and maintain strong financial stewardship. Equally, this is a broad corporate leadership role. We need someone who can look beyond the finance function, work across organisational boundaries and help the whole Council make better decisions and deliver more effectively for residents.

What we are looking for

You will be a CCAB-qualified finance professional with the credibility and judgement to fulfil the responsibilities of a Section 151 Officer, together with a strong record of leadership within or alongside a complex and politically accountable organisation.

You may already be operating as a Corporate Director or Section 151 Officer. Alternatively, you may be an accomplished deputy, finance director or senior leader who is ready to take on wider corporate and statutory responsibility.

What matters is the difference you can make, your ability to provide strategic direction, bring together different professional disciplines, build strong leadership around you and create the conditions in which people can succeed.

You will bring:

• Strong financial leadership and a clear understanding of effective stewardship, strategic planning and investment
• The potential and ambition to contribute across the full breadth of the Council’s corporate agenda
• Experience of leading meaningful change and turning plans into measurable delivery
• An ability to use data, evidence and insight to improve decisions, performance and accountability
• An appreciation of how technology, people and organisational development can enable better services
• The judgement and political awareness to advise elected members and senior colleagues with credibility and confidence
• A collaborative and empowering leadership style that creates clarity, ownership and high performance

You will join a council that is proud of what it has achieved but candid about the scale of the challenge ahead. Luton remains a town of contrasts, where growth and opportunity sit alongside deep-rooted poverty and inequality. We are looking for a leader who can help us bridge that gap and ensure that the opportunities now emerging create a generational difference for Lutonians.

The role offers flexible hybrid working, with attendance shaped around scheduled member meetings and established Council commitments.

If Luton’s ambition speaks to you and you believe you have the professional credibility, corporate leadership and ambition to help build a new kind of council and bring Luton 2040 to life, we would be delighted to hear from you and encourage you to have a conversation with us and to contact our retained consultants at Penna:

• Andrew Tromans – 07805 226301 or andrew.tromans@penna.com
• Julie Towers – 07764 791736 or julie.towers@penna.com

For more information on the role please click here to download a candidate briefing pack.

Recruitment Timeline:

• Closing Date – 9th November 2026
• Preliminary Interviews – W/C 23rd November 2026
• Assessment/ Final Interview Panels - 8th December 2026

How to Apply

1. Upload your CV under “Please select one of the options below.”
2. Complete the short mandatory fields on the next page.
3. Use ‘Add Attachments’ to upload your Supporting Statement and any other documents.
4. Please ensure that the file name of your CV and supporting statement includes your full name.
5. Ensure both CV and Supporting Statement are uploaded before submitting your application.
6. If you have a long-term health condition or disability and would like your application to be considered in accordance with a Disability Confident Scheme, please email: execapplications@penna.com to inform the Penna team.