Senior Business Relationship Manager

Senior Business Relationship Manager

Permanent, Full Time

£76,600 to £90,117 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Anywhere worker*

Interviews will be held in person at County Hall, Chelmsford on 24^th October 2025.

*Experience the best of both worlds with our flexible hybrid working arrangements. Enjoy the freedom to work from home while still benefiting from in-person collaboration at our Chelmsford office, typically around 2 to 3 days per month dependent on business need. 

Join a Council Shaping the Future of Public Services

Essex County Council (ECC) is on a bold journey to become one of the most effective, forward-thinking, and financially sustainable councils in the UK by 2030. At the heart of this transformation is a bold commitment to digital innovation and world-class customer service.

In this strategic and influential role, you’ll act as a trusted partner to one of Essex County Council’s core business functions- People, Place, or Corporate. Driving forward digital transformation that delivers real impact for residents and services. As Senior Business Relationship Manager, you’ll bring thought leadership, deep business insight, and digital expertise to shape and deliver initiatives that align with ECC’s strategic priorities.

With a strong focus on collaboration and innovation, you’ll build and maintain trusted relationships with senior leaders, using your exceptional communication and influencing skills to embed digital thinking into business planning. You’ll lead the development of digital roadmaps, investment plans, and transformation programmes that respond to the evolving needs of Essex communities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Act as a strategic advisor to senior stakeholders, aligning digital initiatives with business goals and resident outcomes.
• Lead the development of digital strategies, roadmaps, and investment plans, ensuring they are informed by business insight and community needs.
• Promote a service-oriented approach to digital leadership, bringing together cross-functional teams to deliver transformation.
• Disseminate business intelligence and insights to support data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement.
• Take ownership of a strategic focus area - digital strategy, investment planning, or workforce development, ensuring robust governance and delivery.
• Establish and lead a Business Relationship Community of Practice, fostering collaboration and best practice across the council.
• Champion Essex Digital Service offerings and support change adoption to maximise the impact of technology across services.
• Provide strategic leadership on the ethical and responsible use of emerging technologies, including AI, ensuring they deliver tangible benefits for Essex.
• Represent ECC in external partnerships and negotiations, advocating for digital strategies that support long-term goals.

The Experience You Will Bring:

• Proven experience in strategic relationship management within complex organisations, ideally in the public sector.
• Certified Business Relationship Manager (CBRM) and qualified in Business Analysis (ISEB or equivalent), with a commitment to ongoing professional development.
• Strong understanding of digital transformation, service design, and the application of modern technologies to meet evolving user expectations.
• Skilled in influencing senior stakeholders and navigating political and organisational dynamics to drive change.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and collaboration skills, with a track record of cross-functional working and stakeholder engagement.
• Experience leading change initiatives and delivering digital outcomes at scale.
• Desirable: experience in local government and membership of a recognised professional body such as BCS.

What’s in it for you?

• Generous Time Off: Starting with 27 days of holiday, which increases with your length of service, plus 8 bank holidays and up to 4 paid volunteer days each year to give back to your community.
• Secure Your Future: Benefit from enrolment in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), ensuring your financial security for the future.
• Health and Wellbeing: We know that your wellbeing is essential. We are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive working environment for all employees. You will have access to our wellbeing portal, employee networks and more.
• Professional Growth: We cover the payment of professional fees for approved professions, supporting your career development.
• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy the flexibility of hybrid working arrangements, allowing you to balance work with your personal life.

To read more please visit our Pay & Reward page on our careers site.

Why Join ECC?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost.

Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working, excellent development opportunities, and the chance to work with a supportive team that’s passionate about what they do, Essex is the ideal place for you.

Ready to help shape the future of public services in Essex?
Apply now and become a key player in ECC’s digital transformation journey.

What else do you need to know?

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR) on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service.  The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate.  This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained.  For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email Abbie.Mollison@essex.gov.uk.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Further details can be found on our careers page.