Deputy Director - Local Government Finance Policy and Sustainability

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Vacancy title

Deputy Director
- Local Government Finance Policy and Sustainability

20/11/2026, 16:00

Advertising basis Permanent

The role is at Deputy Director level (SCS1) and the starting salary is circa £86,000 although some flexibility may be available for an exceptional candidate up to £105,000.

Payband SCS1

Work pattern Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)

Group Local Government, Housing, Rural Resilience & Sustainability Group

Directorate Local Government and Planning Directorate

Location (s) Pan Wales

‘Pan Wales’ means the post holder can be based in any Welsh Government office, subject to business needs. Roles based outside Wales, including London, are not available unless explicitly stated in the advert.

A list of the Welsh Government’s offices can be found on (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). . Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location.

The post holder’s travel from their home to their assigned Welsh Government office is considered their ‘ordinary commute’ and must be done in their own time and at their own cost.

Local government is a principal partner to the Welsh Government. It delivers over 700 public services and accounts for more than 25 per cent of the who annual revenue budget. As such the sector is central to the provision of services to people, business and communities; and is engaged in the implementation and delivery of almost all Welsh Government programmes. Successfully delivering the Programme for Government is also dependant on the participation of local government.

It follows that the mechanism for funding local authorities is a critical part of Welsh Government business. Managing and developing the underpinning formula and the range of consultative mechanisms and ensuring that those work – and are considered by all to be – fairly and impartially – is important. This role sits at the centre of that work.

The postholder manages a Division including statisticians, accountants and more generalist skills. It is a busy role with significant financial responsibilities, including holding budgets worth a total of £5bn. In addition to a number of distinct policy responsibilities, the postholder plays a vital role in relationship management externally with local authorities and internally with colleagues across the Welsh Government reflecting the importance to local government to the delivery of a wide range of policy and delivery agenda.

The annual financial cycle drives a significant element of the work which involves advising ministers on annual decisions on the funding of local authorities and delivering over £6.6bn in revenue and capital settlements. Within the local government finance aspects of the role, there is also an ongoing policy role overseeing the financial framework for local government and the reform of the funding formula which distributes the annual revenue settlement.

Beyond this the post leads and oversees work on the local government contribution to mitigating and adapting to climate change.

The post has responsibility for delivery, through the team and with partners within and beyond Welsh Government, of

• advising Ministers on the assessment of funding need and risk including engagement with other policy areas and ministers as appropriate on the pressures in specific…