Head of Legal Services & Monitoring Officer with
Dartford Borough Council

Welcome

Dear Applicant

Thank you for your interest in joining Dartford as we continue to transform our Borough.

This council has a record of real achievement and a profile within national and regional government that creates a place where talented people want to work and stay. We recruit for the long-term and have been rewarded over the years with low executive turnover, political stability and a genuinely collaborative working atmosphere.

Dartford Borough Council may be a small authority, but it punches well above its weight in terms of the ambitions we realise, the importance to the region's growth agenda and the nationally significant assets we are host to: everything from the Dartford River Crossing, Bluewater, an international high speed rail station, Ebbsfleet Garden City, the proposed London Resort theme park and one of the UK’s largest trading and logistical hubs. 

Today, we are in the midst of one of the largest town centre regeneration programmes in the region.  We have a £12m council housing programme, delivering both new homes as well as the maintenance of our decent homes standard.  We are also forging ahead with an exciting development programme at Stone Lodge, a 15 acre site creating recreational, leisure and educational opportunities within the Stone community.

We are in a good financial position that leaves us not facing a period of austerity or withdrawal of services but one of opportunities and properly managed recovery to continue to serve our residents and businesses well.

High profile projects are nice, but you will be expected to be equally passionate about the work we do to deliver improved facilities and opportunities to residents. In recent years we have delivered an award winning eco-football stadium, a town cricket pavilion, the regeneration of our Edwardian Park, a new Rugby Club and the transformation of leisure centres and heritage buildings.

Here in Dartford, we certainly hear the calling of our obligations as a high growth area and unique location for business, but the voices of our residents (new and existing) are louder still. Everything we do must generate a benefit and an opportunity for Dartford people, businesses and families.

This role has arisen following the announcement of the retirement of our longstanding and highly respected Head of Legal Services Monitoring Officer. We are looking for a candidate who can continue her work, providing expert legal advice to Members and Chief Officers that advances our regeneration, housing and communities work. It really is a great opportunity for you to use your knowledge of planning and regeneration law to help shape the future of Dartford.

If you are smart enough for this role, you will be smart enough to know that a Council Leader will always paint an encouraging picture of the prospects, opportunities and sheer sense of possibilities presented by working for a friendly, stable and interesting Council. This time it's true. Dartford really IS at the heart of so many things and our council IS collaborative, focused and successful. That's why it matters so much who joins us.

I hope this introduction to Dartford has fired your enthusiasm and you choose to apply to be our new Head of Legal Services & Monitoring Officer. Please register your interest with our consultants at Hays and I hope we get the opportunity to meet as the recruitment process unfolds.

Yours faithfully

Jeremy Kite MBE

Leader of Dartford Borough Council

About us

Our Borough

Dartford is a busy and high-profile town 18 miles east of central London. The Borough of Dartford comprises the main town settlement and several rural and semi-rural communities set in beautiful Kent countryside. Our strategic location close to London, the M25 and with world-class high speed international rail and community infrastructure has seen the Borough become a huge focus for growth.   We benefit from excellent primary, secondary and further education provision and high levels of employment and earnings. 

Leisure and culture is increasingly well provided for in a number of parks, open spaces and live performance facilities including The Orchard Theatre, the Mick Jagger Centre and the Council’s own outdoor theatre. The town’s 26 acre Central Park (one of two main parks close to the centre) has undergone a £multi-million Edwardian restoration and now offers a new bandstand, cafe and extensive gardens.  Recent investment has boosted sports and leisure provision to include Fairfield leisure, an award winning eco-football stadium and new facilities for cricket, rugby and athletics.  Before Covid, our town boasted a full calendar of events and activities for local people including an annual Festival, Children’s Book Festival, outdoor theatre season, free cinema in the Park, Christmas events and parades to celebrate St George’s Day and the Festival of Light. 

Dartford has a proud industrial history; the country’s first paper mill was built in the town in 1588 and iron making was for centuries a critical part of the local economy. While our economy has changed beyond recognition, our unemployment rate is much lower than the national average, and our largest employer is the Bluewater Shopping Centre, employing nearly 7000 people. There are also many exciting regeneration projects helping to shape the borough’s future, and our proximity and transport links to London mean we are an attractive commuter option.

Whatever assets, landscape and facilities we may boast, there is nothing more important than Dartford’s people.  We are looking for people at every level who understand and appreciate the ambitions and demands of a real community.

Core Behaviours

Values are a key component of a healthy workplace culture because they clarify how the Council and its staff should behave and help to ensure that everybody is working towards the same goals. They provide the framework within which employees can test decisions, accomplish tasks, and interact with others.

The Council’s core behaviours reflect the special qualities that attract, engage and retain the talent that we want; and will be used to shape our culture by influencing the work we do, and how we do it. These behaviours focus the way we expect employees to approach daily business practices, conduct communications and interact with one another.

The Council has five core behaviours that guide the way we think and act as an organisation, and each member of staff is responsible for incorporating them into their day to day roles.

Find out more about these behaviours

The Opportunity

In recent years, Dartford has been a leader in the transformation of the Thames Gateway growth area.  As a local authority we have been working to drive new investment, secure new homes, and advance the regeneration of our town centre through partnership, sound financial management, and strategic planning.

The Council has a vision to make Dartford a place of quality and choice, by focusing on community, sustainability, and a prosperous economy. While we have delivered a great deal, becoming not only a great place to live, but to invest, there is so much more that we want to do for our Borough and our people. 

As Head of Legal Services and Monitoring Officer working alongside Members and Directors, you will have a significant part to play in the success of our Borough.

As the Council’s principal legal advisor, you will be critical to the success of our major regeneration schemes and housing ambitions.  This is your opportunity to use your passion for constitutional/administrative law, planning law and data protection legislation to help shape these schemes to ensure the best outcomes for Dartford residents.  We’ll not constrain your passion for doing things differently as there’s an appetite in the Council for both innovation and collaboration.  We are a small team, and you will make a direct contribution with your own case load, as well as leading both the legal and democratic services.

You will also act as the Council’s Monitoring Officer. You will promote and maintain high standards of conduct, dealing with allegations of misconduct by Borough and Parish Councillors and maintaining an overview of the operation of the Constitution.

We will look to you to embody and champion our values and provide the legal expertise and corporate contribution that helps us deliver our vision for our communities.

If you are excited by how you can help us achieve our vision for Dartford, then its time to start a conversation.  Find out more about how you will fit in and the contribution you can make by contacting Mark Bearn of Hays at 07872 672290 mark.bearn@hays.com or James Laing at 07939 482659 james.laing@hays.com

The closing date for applications is Monday 30^th January.  The interview and assessment process will be conducted in the subsequent weeks.

How to apply