Woking Borough Council employs officers to give advice, implement decisions and manage the day to day delivery of its services, under the leadership and direction of the council.
The chief officers are organised under the title of Corporate Leadership Team (CLT). With the Chief Executive, three strategic directors and two directors form the Corporate Leadership Team (CLT) which is responsible for managing council employees and for advising elected members on the potential implications of political decisions.
Chief Executive Commissioner, Richard Carr
The Chief Executive is responsible for the strategic leadership of the council, acting as an ambassador for the borough and the organisation. This role also oversees the successful and effective delivery of all council services, ensuring that the council’s resources are deployed and managed effectively.
The Chief Executive also works closely with the Leader of the Council and other elected members – particularly the Executive – to provide leadership, strategic direction and operational management.
Email: richard.carr@woking.gov.uk
Strategic Director: Corporate Resources, Kevin Foster
Our Strategic Director for Corporate Resources brings together our corporate functions and work across the council to develop the necessary commercial and financial skills we need to deliver on our corporate priorities and objectives.
Services include:
- Strategic and service planning
- Finance
- Customer services
- Revenues and benefits
- Marketing and communications
- Procurement
- Information governance and security
- Legal and democratic services
- Organisational and service transformation
- Digital and IT services
- Human resources and organisational development.
Email: kevin.foster@woking.gov.uk
Interim Strategic Director: Place, Beverley Kuchar
Our Strategic Director for Place works with external partners and across the council to secure sustainable economic growth across the borough, ensuring we protect and enhance the environment, meeting our carbon neutral commitment by 2030 and provide key environmental services to residents.
Place services will plan for the future in terms of housing, employment space and associated infrastructure and ensure that development is high quality, meeting the needs of our communities now and in the future. Place services also support the borough's communities to live healthy and active lives by working in partnership to promote sustainable and active travel.
Services include:
- Property services and asset management
- Planning services, including building control
- Environmental health
- Regeneration, economic growth and business liaison
- Climate change and green infrastructure
- Parking services
- Neighbourhood services
- Technical services, including engineers, drainage and flood risk, town centre management
- Waste and grounds maintenance.
Email: beverley.kuchar@woking.gov.uk
Strategic Director: Communities, Louise Strongitharm
Our Strategic Director for Communities works in partnership to deliver on our key housing, wellbeing and community objectives as set out in our Housing Strategy and Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
The provision of leisure, culture and arts services, along with our partnership work around community safety, supports the borough’s residents to live safe, healthy and active lives.
Services include:
- Housing register and homelessness
- Management and maintenance of council homes
- Affordable housing delivery
- Private sector housing standards
- Sheerwater regeneration project
- Health and wellbeing services, such as Careline and community meals
- Family services
- Community services, including community centres
- Community safety
- Leisure and cultural services.
Email: louise.strongitharm@woking.gov.uk
Statutory officers
Each council has to nominate statutory officers for specific roles. In addition to the Chief Executive as the head of paid service, the Director of Legal and Democratic Services and the Director of Finance are the council’s Monitoring Officer and Section 151 Officer respectively.
Interim Director of Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer, Gareth John
Our Monitoring Officer has the specific duty to ensure that the council, its officers, and its elected councillors, maintain the highest standards of conduct.
The main duties of the Monitoring Officer are set out below. The Monitoring Officer's legal basis is found in Section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (as amended).
The role includes:
- Ensuring lawfulness and fairness in decision making.
- Dealing with allegations that a member has failed to comply with the Members’ Code of Conduct.
- Promotion and maintenance of high standards of conduct through provision of support to the Standards and Audit Committee.
- Advising on the scope of powers and authority to make decisions; maladministration; financial impropriety; probity and budget; and policy framework.
- Maintaining the Constitution.
Read more about the role of our Monitoring Officer
Email: gareth.john@woking.gov.uk
Director of Finance (Section 151 Officer), Stephen Fitzgerald
The Section 151 Officer has a statutory duty under Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972, to ensure that there are proper arrangements in place to administer our financial affairs.
The role includes:
- Ensuring lawfulness and financial prudence of decision-making.
- Responsibility for the administration of the financial affairs of the council.
- Advising on the scope of powers and authority to make decisions; maladministration; financial impropriety; probity and budget; and policy framework.
Email: stephen.fitzgerald@woking.gov.uk