The Roles
Location: 5 Pancras Square/Hybrid
Salary: £160,000 - £200,000
At Camden, we don’t just deliver services - we work alongside communities to challenge injustice and drive real social change. Our shared vision - We Make Camden aims to create a fairer, more inclusive borough where everyone has a voice and where power is shared.
Corporate Services is central in enabling Camden to fulfil its purpose, driving forward our ambitious vision for the borough. The directorate brings together Customer, Technology and Data Services, Finance, Law and Governance, Participation, Partnerships and Communications, People and Inclusion, Strategy, Design and Insight. It provides the organisational foundations that support Camden to operate confidently, plan for the future and deliver services rooted in fairness and community insight. The directorate has some of the broadest reach into our communities working directly with residents and businesses, voluntary and community sector partners and anchor institutions to create a place that works for everyone.
As our new Executive Director Corporate Services, you will lead this diverse, high performing directorate and ensure Camden remains purpose led and mission driven as we deliver sustained change at scale. You will ensure Camden has the systems, culture and forward‑looking capability in a complex and evolving landscape. This will include supporting the organisation to innovate effectively, and ensure we have the governance, digital capability and financial planning needed for the future. You will work closely with elected members with confidence and clarity, providing thoughtful advice in an increasingly complex political landscape.
You will champion inclusive, distributed leadership, supporting a culture where colleagues feel empowered and valued, bringing compassion and cohesion. The ability to build collaborative relationships across the organisation, the borough and nationally will be critical. You will possess a deep appreciation of the scale and diversity of Camden’s communities, sharing power to help people make things happen.
The breadth of the role will give you the ability to shape the organisational conditions that enable Camden to operate with confidence, plan for the long term and deliver services grounded in fairness, insight and strong public value. Under your leadership, these services will continue to strengthen Camden’s relationship with its communities and ensure the organisation remains responsive, compassionate and future focused.
We’re looking for an outstanding strategic leader with a strong record of shaping organisational culture, delivering transformation and influencing across systems. Politically astute, resilient and deeply committed to equity and shared responsibility, you will bring the confidence to challenge assumptions, the humility to listen and learn, and the strategic foresight required to navigate the long term challenges facing local government.
If you are motivated by public purpose and want to help shape the future of a bold, mission driven organisation, we’d be delighted to hear from you.
For a confidential conversation about the role, please contact:
• Kelly Ridley on 07709 512415or kelly.ridley@penna.com
• James Miller on 07701 233159 or james.miller@penna.com
• Dawar Hashmi on 07513 706265 or dawar.hashmi@penna.com
Closing Date for Applications: Sunday 22nd February 2026 (11:59pm)
Apply for Executive Director Corporate ServicesExecutive Director Corporate Services Job Profile
Location: 5 Pancras Square/Hybrid
Salary: £110,000 - £150,000
Camden is a borough with a proud history of challenging inequality and creating real social change. Through We Make Camden, we are working alongside our residents, businesses and partners to build a more inclusive, sustainable and equitable future - one where everyone shares in the opportunities the borough creates. Our approach is rooted in collaboration, community power and a belief that place‑based regeneration must be shaped by the people who live and work here.
Our Investment, Place and Opportunity directorate leads this work, bringing together planning, regeneration, inclusive economy, arts and culture, and major capital programmes. We are now seeking an exceptional leader to guide this diverse and high‑impact portfolio, helping shape Camden’s long‑term economic and spatial future.
As Director of Economy, Regeneration and Investment, you will provide strategic leadership across our planning services, regeneration programmes, infrastructure and investment strategies, and our inclusive economy work. You will oversee a strong, stable and highly capable senior team, including experienced leaders in planning, inclusive economy, and arts and culture and bring them together around a clear vision for place, prosperity and fairness.
You will drive forward our Inclusive Growth Strategy, creating pathways into good work, supporting local enterprise, and ensuring Camden’s communities benefit directly from growth. You will champion community wealth building, strengthen the borough’s innovation district, and nurture the creative and cultural sectors that make Camden unique. You’ll also lead our planning function - one of the largest in the organisation, ensuring that development and place‑shaping deliver long‑term value for residents.
This role is ideal for a leader with deep experience of complex urban environments. While London knowledge is advantageous, we welcome applicants from other major metropolitan areas who understand how to work with developers, businesses, institutions and communities to deliver impact. You’ll need the credibility to influence partners, the confidence to navigate a changing fiscal context and have the creativity to unlock external funding and alliances.
You will be politically astute, relational in your leadership and confident operating in an environment of multiple interests and ambitions. You’ll bring a strong commitment to equality, an understanding of public space and community life, and the resilience and clarity required to manage large‑scale, cross‑cutting portfolios. Above all, you will share Camden’s values - believing in equity, shared responsibility and the power of inclusive growth to transform outcomes.
Message from David Burns
"This is an opportunity to help shape the future of regeneration, economic growth and investment in one of London’s most diverse and dynamic boroughs and to influence the sector more widely. We are looking for a leader who is collaborative, inclusive and bold; someone who thrives on complexity and who can inspire others to think differently and act with purpose. If you're driven by Social justice and making a genuine difference to the lives of the people and communities we serve, Camden is the place for you".
David Burns
Executive Director, Investment Place & Opportunity
If you are driven by purpose, committed to place, and ready to help shape one of London’s most dynamic boroughs, we would love to hear from you.
For a confidential conversation about the role, please contact:
• Ali Tasker on 07514 728114 or ali.tasker@penna.com
• James Miller on 07701 233159 or james.miller@penna.com
• Dawar Hashmi on 07513 706265 or dawar.hashmi@penna.com
Closing Date for Applications: Sunday 22nd February 2026 (11:59pm)
Apply for Director of Economy, Regeneration and InvestmentDirector of Economy, Regeneration and Investment Job Profile
