Overview
Our Benefits
You can also see our full list of employee benefits on our careers site here: Why you should work for us | West Northamptonshire Council
About the role
The Locality and Community Development Manager is essential in delivering our commitment to place based working, ensuring the effective governance and operation of Local Area Partnerships (LAPs) and embedding our asset-based community development approach. This role involves collaborating with colleagues within West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) and external partners to optimise service delivery and redesign services to address broader health determinants at a local level to effect change.
By leveraging data and insights, the role informs action planning and aligns efforts with strategic leads across West Northants. The role coordinates Multi-Agency Teams to achieve Live Your Best Life (LYBL) ambitions, ensuring plans, actions, and outcomes are captured through a robust Monitoring Framework. Additionally, the role involves guiding partners, escalating issues to relevant boards, and managing the development and performance of LAPs. The postholder will also be responsible for the direct line management of between 3-4 Community Development and Inclusion Workers.
This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore subject to an enhanced DBS certificate. It is also a regulated activity and will be subject to a Children and Adults Barred List check. West Northamptonshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
What will you be doing?
Ensure the governance of all Local Area Partnerships is in place, providing leadership to the Locality, clarity of objectives, purpose and direction, that meets community needs and aligns with the health and wellbeing strategy and our live your best life ambitions. (see Job Description).
About you
The Locality and Community Development Manager is vital to our place-based work. The ideal candidate will have a strong ability to think strategically and have advanced skills in strategic planning, aligning operational activities with broader organisational goals.
Proficiency in data analysis and monitoring is essential to inform decision-making, track progress, and evaluate outcomes. Experience in funding and grants management, including navigating funding mechanisms, overseeing financial compliance, and ensuring the effective use of resources in community projects, is also required.
A strong advocate for multi-agency working, the candidate will understand the principles of coordination, collaboration, and joint working to foster productive relationships across sectors. Knowledge of community development theories and practices, including an asset based community development approach is highly desirable.
Interviews will take place on 26th / 27th August 2025
If you would like to discuss further or have any questions, please email debs.burns@westnorthants.gov.uk
About us
We’re a new council, following one of the largest shake-ups in local government reform in recent history. As a new authority, we’re embarking on an exciting journey to deliver exceptional services for our residents, customers and communities.
Our vision at West Northamptonshire Council is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.
At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.
When potential is unlocked, talent thrives.
Choose a career that offers you a true sense of achievement, fills you with pride and challenges you in a positive way, every day.
West Northants Council, where careers thrive.
IMPORTANT: Before applying for this role, please make sure you have the right to work in the country where the role is based. Unless it clearly stipulates within in the job advert above that the hiring company is looking to or able to sponsor applicants it is deemed that the hiring employer will only consider applications from those able to comply with and work in the country where the role is based.
