Director of Environment and Regulatory Services
Salary £98,989 to £109,529 per annum plus relocation support and pay award pending from 1st April, 2025.

Welcome and thank you for your interest in learning more about City of York Council and our pivotal Director of Environment and Regulatory Services role.

As a member of the corporate management team this role is high profile with an interesting portfolio which directly leads, shapes and influences the future of York at a pivotal moment in time. We are focused on being “one council” and the ability to work with all other Directors in a collaborative way is essential.

I am seeking an inspirational and visible leader to lead key services across environment, waste, planning, development management, building control, land charges, public protection, emergency planning and highways whilst fostering a culture that supports the Council’s priorities and values.

The role is key to enhancing our city spaces whilst retaining our renowned culture and heritage, mixing the best of tradition and the modern.  The role will be rewarding for a strong leader who will quickly establish credibility with a wide range of stakeholders, the senior leadership team and external partners.  There is an expectation that this role will be influential in growing and developing the City through strong strategic partnership working to collaboratively continue to enhance our success stories.

This role will represent the Council regionally and nationally and work closely with York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to deliver ambitions for the City of York. One of the core areas of focus is our devolution deal, unlocking funding and you will support myself and other Directors to achieve this, delivering infrastructure and service improvement.

The role will also deliver elements of the new Local Plan (opens in a new tab) and be heavily involved with a number of cutting edge projects such as The York Central scheme (opens in a new tab) and our city Movement and Place Plan to mention just a few major development projects currently in track as  part of York’s gateway to growth. The role will also involve creating a more community facing public realm service and establishing our neighbourhood caretakers scheme.

We are ambitious in York. We are a progressive, inclusive and a sustainable place, giving the highest priority to the wellbeing of our residents, whilst protecting the culture of this world-famous historic city with UNESCO status. We are also committed to delivering a bold local climate action. In 2019 the city declared a climate emergency and set a target to be a net zero city by 2030. This role will be key in improving the sustainability of the city and working constructively to reach the 2023 net zero target. York has many accolades. The Council has been recently awarded the most productive council in England by IMPOWER and we continue to ensure we are effective and efficient to build a strong future in everything we do. We aim to become a top 25% of UK economies; a place where productive businesses are good employers and where our residents thrive. This role will be part of this journey.

These accolades and ambitions are underpinned by our commitment to delivering the highest quality environmental services which will enable the residents, businesses and communities of York to thrive, maintains and enhances our wealth of special green spaces, while also supporting our tourism sector which boasts 9 million visitors a year. For these reasons I am looking for an outstanding leader who will be just as ambitious for York as they are for themselves.

This broad role will allow you to have real impact, high profile recognition and be a fantastic platform to further your career, in our great city. Equally you will find that the role will provide professional challenge and complexity. Our size means that we are large enough to provide the rich mix of complexities facing local government, but at the same time we are small enough to enable you to get things done.

We work in a modern, hybrid way, recognising the importance of office attendance for key in-person meetings, and to collaborate with other senior leaders/elected members, but with the flexibility needed to fulfil the role.

If you are interested in joining our team and are inspired to help lead the next phase of our journey, we look forward to your application. In the meantime, following an initial conversation with our recruitment partners at The Resourcing Solution, I would be delighted to discuss this opportunity with those who might wish to learn a little more.

Ian Floyd, Chief Operating Officer - City of York

Ian Floyd
Chief Operating Officer

About City of York Council

Now is an exciting time to join the City of York Council. Our One City, for all, the City of York Council’s Council Plan (2023-2027), sets a strong ambition to increase opportunities for everyone living in York to live healthy and fulfilling lives, and supports our 10 year plan.

We have started the journey of our 10-year plan which sets a clear vision for the city. By 2032 we will be a city that is vibrant, prosperous, welcoming and sustainable, where everyone can share and take pride in its success.  Our 10 year strategies underpin the plan and include the Climate Change Strategy, the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, the Local Transport Strategy and the York Economic Strategy.

We are also focused on four core principles at the centre of everything we do: Equalities, Affordability, Climate and Health and Wellbeing.

We are made up of passionate and determined problem solvers working together for the benefit of York. We invest in our staff. We promote professional development, hybrid working, employer supported volunteering and healthy working environments. We also offer a generous benefits package which includes 30 days annual leave increasing to 35 days upon completion of 5 years local government service, access to the Local Government Pension Scheme together with high street discounts and salary sacrifice schemes.

About York

York boasts a strong economy, with high employment, good wages, productivity among the highest in the North, with a great education system. Being at the centre of globally significant clusters in both rail and bio-technology, we are leading the way in the green economy. York was the first Good Business Charter city, encouraging all businesses to join.

We are a vibrant city at the heart of Yorkshire -with excellent connectivity by road and rail.  The northern power houses of Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle are all within easy reach.  By rail, London and Edinburgh are less than 2.5 hours away. National Parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty are on our doorstep, with their quaint villages and market towns, whilst the Yorkshire coast provides a retreat ideal for sunny days.

We are known for our considerable assets – we have our internationally important heritage, with strong creative industries and a significant cultural offering. We have strengths as a science city, and our digital infrastructure recognises us as the UK’s first Gigabit City. We have a highly skilled workforce, and lay claim to world-leading universities and some of the highest performing schools and colleges in the country.

We are ambitious and have set a vision for the Council that we will establish the conditions that would make the city of York a healthier, fairer, more affordable, more sustainable and more accessible place, where everyone feels valued, creating more regional opportunities to help today’s residents and benefit future generations. Our vision includes local businesses thriving and residents having good quality jobs, housing, opportunities and access to quality public services.

As a city of Sanctuary and Human Rights, our community is truly multicultural and diverse. We are the first city in the North of England to set the aspiration to make York anti-racist and inclusive. We are committed to tackling discrimination and improving customer experience in all aspects of services that the Council delivers, to have positive impact and for our residents.

Our thriving retail and visitor economy welcomes millions of visitors every year. In 2024, York was recognised by Restless.co.uk voting York as the most friendly UK City and by You.Gov as most liked City.  PWC voted York as the 7th most liveable city in the UK and Purple Flag has recognised York having a safe, entertaining and thriving night time economy. We are friendly, community-spirited, festive and summer-friendly – what’s not to like?

If you are relocating to the area to take up the post, subject to the business case being reviewed, we will provide relocation support, see further details below.

Key Documents

Contact us and apply now

For an informal confidential discussion about this opportunity, please contact Penny Keatings by emailing Penny.Keatings@northyorks.gov.uk  or Katherine Brioude by emailing Katherine.Brioude@northyorks.gov.uk

After an initial conversation, we can arrange a further conversation with Ian Floyd Chief Operating Officer

Key Dates

Closing: 3 April 2025

Shortlisting: 9 April 2025

Assessment Event: 23 April 2025 in person York Council Offices

Final Interview: 24 April 2025 in person York Council Offices

Apply

To apply please send your CV including a supporting statement in one Microsoft Word document along with a completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form to Executive.ResourcingSolutions@northyorks.gov.uk

Please do not send PDFs.

It is important that your CV includes: your full contact details (telephone, email, address), full employment history (name of employer, job titles, dates of employment and salary), full education history (qualification, grade, dates and place of study), explanation of any gaps in employment and the contact details of at least two referees including your current / most recent employer indicating whether you consent to us contacting each referee prior to interview. Please also provide details of your current salary and notice period.

Your supporting statement should outline your motivation for applying and how you meet the criteria for the role.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

To be eligible to apply under any of our guaranteed interview schemes you must meet the minimum criteria for the job.

By this we mean that you must provide us with evidence in your application form which demonstrates that you generally meet the level of competence required for each element within the skills and knowledge section within the job description.

Disabled People

As a Disability Confident employer, we will guarantee an interview for all applicants with a disability who meet the criteria above.

The Equality Act 2010 states that someone is disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on their ability to do normal daily activities. Please see How to apply guidance for further information.

Children and Young People in Care

As part of York's pledge to Children and Young People in Care, we will guarantee an interview for all looked after children or those care leavers who have been in care with City of York Council and are aged 25yrs or under and meet the criteria above.

Armed Forces Community

As part of our commitment to the Armed Forces Community Covenant we will guarantee an interview for any veterans and their spouses who meet the criteria above.

(A veteran is anyone who has served, at any time and for any period, in Her Majesty's Armed Forces).

Within your supporting statement, please state whether you believe you are eligible to apply for any of the above schemes.

We believe in the importance of inclusion, which is why we are always working towards being a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive employer. We welcome applications from individuals from Black, Asian and Racially Minoritised Community groups - to join and strengthen our senior management team. Learn more about our equality, diversity and inclusion work here.

We will not accept applications from agencies.

This a politically restricted post.

Your privacy: City of York Council is committed to protecting your privacy when you use our services. Please refer to our Privacy Statement which explains how we use information about you and how we protect your privacy.