A Fairer, Better, Greener Swindon

I am delighted you are interested in coming to Swindon.  As Corporate Director of Prevention & Communities I lead a broad range of services for our residents, including public health, housing, education and our integrated communities agenda.  These two roles in my leadership team will, together with colleagues, communities and partners, contribute to build a Fairer, Better, and Greener Swindon. These three priorities will underpin our work, driving everything we do, and you can find out more about them on these pages.

At Swindon, we have the ambition not only to be one of the best local authorities but also to be one of the most modern and forward-thinking. Swindon is a thriving town, consistently ranked highly compared to cities across the country and we want to make it the best place we can for our residents. We have taken huge strides towards our goals, with our Chief Executive being shortlisted for the MJ’s ‘Chief Executive of the Year’, and the Council being shortlisted for the LGC’s ‘Most Improved Council’.  We are forging ahead with our Swindon 2028 programme to transform how we deliver services, better resident outcomes and value for money between now and 2028.  At the heart of this programme is our preventative model, which you will hear much more about as this process unfolds.

Our housing service is powering ahead with a comprehensive improvement programme.  Following an independent review, we self-referred to the Housing Regulator in September 2024 and the resulting inspection of May of this year led to a C3 consumer standards rating.  In March this year, the Council’s Cabinet approved a five-year, £250m programme of maintenance and major refurbishment work on council homes.  We are also making major investments in technology and alarm upgrades.  If you joined us as Service Director, Housing, you would lead our housing service to high performance, working closely with the Housing Improvement Board and Housing Regulator to help us secure a C1 rating and embed the role of housing in our wider prevention strategy.  This is a great role for an ambitious candidate with a track record of driving improvements in landlord services, delivering capital programmes and building high performing teams.  It will also give you the opportunity to play a leading role in the development and delivery of our new prevention focused operating model, given the centrality of housing to any preventative model.

Our public health service is at an exciting juncture of change and transformation following the NHS 10-year plan. We are more determined than ever to include our residents in developing our services and we handed this year’s Director of Public Health annual report to a group of young changemakers, in order to help shape the conversation around their health and wellbeing. Their findings confirmed that health services in Swindon should be fairer and highlighted a number of key areas of focus, including mental health and opportunities for physical activity. Indeed, we are facing a number of key challenges, including homelessness and demand pressures, and are looking for a visionary new Director of Public Health to drive prevention and early intervention through the lens of the wider determinants of health. You will help strengthen communities and transform lives. 

Swindon Borough Council has always had a good reputation as an employer.  We care about our workforce, and we want to do everything we can to help them succeed and achieve their ambitions.  We are determined that our Council should reflect our town’s increasing diversity, particularly in leadership roles so that we are even better placed to ensure that no one is left behind. 

We are working together to build a Council that helps every young person reach their potential.  We want to enable Swindon to punch above its weight as a UK town, as a place to live, for investment, and as a great place to work.  We have also reaffirmed our ambitions for net zero, becoming a beacon for green industries and powering up our economy. 

Our Chief Executive is committed to building an organisation culture that is supportive, challenging, outward-looking, progressive and creative.  Our political leadership is ambitious for our Borough, passionate about our towns and communities and supportive of our workforce’s endeavours, talents and expertise.  This is the most exciting time to come to Swindon, you will never have a better opportunity to help build a Fairer, Better, Greener Swindon.

 Kind regards,

Kirston Nelson

Corporate Director of Prevention & Communities