Welcome to our city on the rise

Recruitment Webinar

You can now watch a recording of our recent recruitment webinar to learn more about these exciting, career-defining opportunities with Bradford Council.

Hear directly from Lorraine O’Donnell (Chief Executive), Claire Gierth (Interim Director of Human Resources), and Iain Macbeath (Strategic Director, Adult Social Care & Health) as they discuss the roles, the Council’s vision, and answer key questions about the opportunities.

To watch the webinar recording, please click here.

Dear Candidate,

What a time it is to come to Bradford. We are at the start of something exciting and extraordinary. Together, we are transforming our local authority into a modern, high-performing organisation: a place leader and growth enabler with a highly motivated and empowered workforce delivering great customer service. We have bold ambitions for our Council and district - and much of the groundwork is already underway.

As Chief Executive, I am working closely with Members, colleagues and partners to tackle three critical priorities: financial sustainability, inclusive growth, and improved outcomes for children and young people. Bradford is one of the biggest, youngest, most diverse, enterprising and disadvantaged places in the country. Nowhere needs a great Council as much as Bradford, and nowhere will benefit more from the change we create together.

The transformation of our Council is fundamental to delivering on our ambitions. We are in the early stages of building a modern, responsive and efficient organisation that delivers high-quality services, fosters strong community engagement, and operates sustainably - providing better outcomes for residents at significantly lower cost. This is a big agenda, and I’m proud to be working alongside talented colleagues, Members and partners to bring it to life.

We are currently recruiting to two important leadership campaigns that will be pivotal in shaping Bradford’s future:

Our campaign for three corporate leadership roles - Director of Human Resources, Director of Public Health, and Director of Legal and Governance (Monitoring Officer) - will build the foundations for an organisation that is inclusive, accountable, outward-looking and driven by strong public service values. Whether you are leading the charge on workforce and cultural transformation, tackling health inequalities and championing prevention, or providing the legal clarity and governance rigour to drive our growth, each role offers a once-in-a-career opportunity to influence lives across the district.

We are also recruiting two Assistant Director roles within Finance. These are rare opportunities for talented finance professionals to step into a more strategic and corporate space, helping to lead the organisation through complex transformation and embedding strong financial planning and business partnering across the Council. These roles go far beyond the numbers - they are about securing our long-term sustainability and enabling the bold choices our city needs.

When I look back on our time together as a leadership team, I want us to be able to say that we built a Council that got things done for Bradford. That we made a real, tangible difference in people’s lives. And that our workforce look back on their time here with pride, knowing they were part of something genuinely meaningful.

My commitment to you is that we will do all of this together. We enjoy excellent relationships with our Members and our partners - grounded in honesty, straight-talking and shared ambition. If you’re excited by the scale of opportunity here and the chance to be part of our leadership story, then I would love to hear from you.

This is the most exciting time to come to Bradford - our global city on the rise.

Kind regards,

Dr Lorraine O’Donnell

Chief Executive

Dr Lorraine O’Donnell

Chief Executive