About The Role
Role: Head of Communications & Visitor Economy
Location: Chorley and South Rubble
Contract: Full time (36.25 hours per week) / Permanent
Salary: £72,441
Closing Date: 26 May 2026
This is a key leadership role responsible for how Chorley Council and South Ribble Council communicate, engage and promote their places.
As Head of Communications and Visitor Economy, you’ll lead the councils’ internal and external communications, oversee our cultural and heritage assets, and drive the development of our visitor economy offer. You’ll play a vital role in protecting our reputation and delivering high‑quality events across both boroughs.
What you’ll be getting up to
- Leading external communications across all media and council channels
- Developing and delivering a strong internal communications approach that keeps staff informed and engaged
- Managing and developing our cultural and heritage assets, including Astley Hall, South Ribble Museum and Worden Hall
- Leading the councils’ events programme to deliver high‑quality, safe and engaging events
- Protecting and promoting the councils’ brands and reputation
- Leading, developing and motivating high‑performing teams
Who we’re looking for
You’ll be a confident and experienced leader who can operate effectively in a political and high‑profile environment.
You’ll have:
- Significant experience of leading communications, cultural or related services
- Strong knowledge of reputation management and building a strong brand
- The ability to think strategically while delivering practical outcomes
- Proven leadership and management experience
- Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills
Other requirements
- This role requires some travel around our boroughs. You should have a valid driving licence or the equivalent mobility.
Our Benefits
- 36 days annual leave plus bank holidays (and Christmas shutdown)
- Hybrid/agile working from day one
- Local Government pension
- Healthcare Cash Plan for cash back on health treatments
- Cashback website access for savings on brands you love
- Volunteering days
- Free parking
Many of our colleagues work flexibly for us. We’re always open to conversations around different working arrangements. If you’re interested in part-time, compressed hours or any other working arrangement, please get in touch with us through the “Contact Us” form on our careers website.
About You
About Us
At South Ribble Council, our mission is to provide a first-class service and improve the quality of life for our communities. Our staff are our greatest resource in helping us achieve this. They’re at the heart of everything we do and are crucial to the delivery of excellent services.
Working Together
We share a number of our services with Chorley Council. This allows for improved resilience across both councils and provides numerous benefits to our operations. Whilst some staff and back-end processes are shared between the Councils, both Councils still retain sovereignty and have separate strategies and corporate plans.
Additional information
Applicants are advised to apply early. We reserve the right to close a vacancy prior to the closing date.
Equal Opportunities
We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. We are committed to the elimination of unfair and unlawful discrimination and prejudice in all our policies, procedures, and practices.
We’re committed to making our recruitment practices barrier-free and accessible to everyone. This includes making adjustments for disabled people, neurodiverse people or people with long-term health conditions. If you would like us to do anything differently during the recruitment process, please contact us via the "Contact Us" page on our website.
If you are disabled or your last employer was the armed forces, and you meet all the essential criteria of a post, you will be guaranteed an interview.