Carmarthenshire County Council is seeking an ambitious, forward-thinking leader to drive our vision for a sustainable, prosperous, and resilient county. As Head of Place and Sustainability, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction of regeneration, planning, environment, and sustainable development across Carmarthenshire.
This is a rare and exciting opportunity to make a meaningful and lasting impact across a wide-ranging portfolio that shapes the future of Carmarthenshire’s economy, environment, and communities.
We offer:
Salary: £103,132 to £109,864
Location: Carmarthen, with hybrid working
Carmarthenshire County Council is embarking on an exciting period of change, growth, and regeneration - and we are looking for an exceptional leader to join us as Head of Place and Sustainability. This senior role sits at the heart of our ambition to deliver sustainable, resilient, and thriving communities across one of Wales' most distinctive and forward‑thinking counties.
As the Head of Place and Sustainability, you will:
This is a highly influential post that plays a central role in shaping the long‑term economic, environmental and community well‑being of Carmarthenshire.
We are looking for an inspirational, strategic leader with:
Welcome to Carmarthenshire – a county rich in heritage, ambition and opportunity.
From our sweeping coastline and historic market towns to our diverse communities and dynamic urban centres, Carmarthenshire is a place of outstanding natural beauty and bold strategic intent. We are committed to shaping a sustainable, prosperous and resilient future for our residents, businesses, and visitors.
Carmarthenshire is leading the way in Wales in delivering regeneration, sustainable development, and environmental innovation. Our communities continue to benefit from major investment in infrastructure, town centre revitalisation, economic growth, and climate conscious planning. This includes our work to support greener transport, enhance biodiversity, drive carbon reduction, and create places where people can live well, work locally, and thrive.
Our commitment to environmental sustainability and long-term well-being underpins everything we do. With the Well-being of Future Generations Act at the heart of our strategy, we are embracing the responsibility to protect our environment while supporting inclusive economic development. From major regeneration schemes to housing-led growth, planning reform, energy management and community-focused sustainability programmes, we are shaping a Carmarthenshire that is fit for the future.
This is an exciting and influential leadership opportunity for the right person. As Head of Place and Sustainability, you will play a pivotal role in delivering our ambitions and ensuring that sustainability, carbon reduction and high-quality planning services are embedded across the Council.
For a fantastic place to live, work and deliver meaningful impact—look no further than Carmarthenshire.
Yours faithfully,
Cllr. Carys Jones & Cllr. Aled Vaughan Owen
Carmarthenshire County Council is one of Wales’s largest and most forward-thinking authorities, proud of its ambition and its commitment to sustainable change. We continue to lead on areas that matter most to our residents: a prosperous local economy, a protected natural environment, vibrant communities, and responsible long term stewardship of our county’s assets.
The world is changing rapidly—economically, environmentally, and socially. At Carmarthenshire, our response has been to strengthen our resilience, innovate, and work collaboratively across services and with our partners. Our people remain our greatest strength. We are a high performing Council with a dedicated workforce who share a deep pride in our communities and a clear vision for our future.
As Head of Place and Sustainability, you will be a key member of the senior leadership team within the Place, Infrastructure and Economic Development directorate. You will have strategic responsibility for planning services, environmental sustainability, energy management, flood risk management, carbon reduction and the development of sustainable communities. You will be instrumental in shaping and implementing policies and frameworks that support our transition to a low carbon Carmarthenshire and ensure that environmental considerations remain at the heart of all council activity.
You will lead a diverse, high-performing service of approximately 120 staff, driving forward regeneration priorities, championing the sustainable development principles of the Well being of Future Generations Act, and ensuring that our planning and environmental functions support both economic recovery and long-term prosperity.
This role calls for an exceptional leader—someone who is strategic, politically astute, solution-focused and committed to continuous improvement. You will need to inspire teams, build strong partnerships, and foster a culture of innovation, collaboration and constructive challenge.
If you are passionate about shaping the future of place-making, environmental sustainability and community well-being, and if you want to make a real difference at scale, we would be delighted to welcome you.
Yours faithfully,
Ainsley Williams
Director of Place, Infrastructure and Economic Development
Our well-being objectives are focused on: Enabling our children and young people to have the best possible start in life (Start Well); Enabling our residents to live and age well (Live & Age Well), Enabling our communities and environment to be healthy, safe and prosperous (Prosperous Communities), to further modernise and develop as a resilient and efficient Council (Our Council). Read more in the Council’s Corporate Strategy.
Work is currently underway in terms of regenerating the County, which will include the creation of new jobs via six major transformational projects, providing an economy within Carmarthenshire which is at 90% of the UK average GVA level. We are one of four Local Authorities in the £1.3b Swansea Bay City Region, and the City Deal will create 9,000 jobs over a 15-year period with Carmarthenshire seeing huge economic benefits in terms of digital infrastructure, smart manufacturing, energy, and wellbeing. Moreover, our rural communities are also integral to our local growth and exciting new interventions, such as the Ten Towns initiative will revitalise these areas.
Working differently over the past five years has taught us much at Carmarthenshire. By investing in our digital infrastructure and leveraging the talents of our committed workforce, we have proven that we can deliver exceptional public services with agility, including remote working. Our Hybrid Working Guidance embraces this evolution and we welcome applications from individuals who wish to enjoy the unique experiences Carmarthenshire has to offer while working in a flexible, hybrid manner. In this senior role, the successful candidate will need to expertly balance the advantages of hybrid working with the necessity to maintain a strong, visible presence within the workplace. As a key strategic and operational leader, your ability to be present and actively engaged in the daily activities while also effectively managing remote working will be crucial to our collective success.
We have 75 County Councillors representing 51 community wards. The current political administration of the council is made up as follows:
GRŴP PLAID CYMRU / PARTY OF WALES GROUP – 37
GRŴP LLAFUR / LABOUR GROUP – 18
GRŴP ANNIBYNNOL / INDEPENDENT GROUP – 11
ANNIBYNNOL HEB GYSYLLTIAD / INDEPENDENT UNAFFILIATED – 9
Carmarthen
Llandeilo
Pendine
We take pride in our extensive coastline, which extends from the Burry Inlet with views of the Gower Peninsula, across miles of golden sands and blue flag beaches, reaching as far as Pendine in the west, renowned for its flat terrain used for speed racing. Additionally, our rolling countryside stretches to our borders with Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, Powys, Neath Port Talbot, and Swansea, skirting the western edge of the picturesque Brecon Beacons.
As one of the largest local authorities in Wales, we have spearheaded an ambitious programme of investment and development, which has facilitated first-class services for our residents, businesses, and visitors. These initiatives include state-of-the-art sporting stadiums, such as the Parc Y Scarlets Stadium; excellent golf courses; and the National Closed Road Cycling Circuit in Pembrey. Our visitor attractions encompass theatres and leisure complexes, including the National Botanic Garden of Wales, Dylan Thomas Boathouse, Burry Port Marina, Millennium Coastal Park, the Tourism Attractor Facility at Pendine Seafront. Ongoing developments include Canolfan Pentre Awel, which already provides state of the art leisure facilities, will provide world-class medical research and health care delivery, the unique Atriwm that will deliver a range of public healthcare, and the Tywi Valley Path, an exciting project providing a 16.7 miles traffic free path through one of the most scenic areas of Wales.
Carmarthenshire is a truly bilingual county, with the second highest number of people able to speak Welsh of all Counties in Wales (around 40 per cent of our 187,900 residents, according to the 2021 Census). The language is an important aspect of our history and culture, and that is why we are firmly committed to helping people live, work and access services in their language of choice, using our Language Skills Strategy to support the delivery of Welsh Language Standards. We offer a range of supportive and flexible options to allow our staff to learn Welsh or improve their existing skills. If required, we will work hard to motivate and inspire you along your Welsh language journey and support you to reach the required language level for this post. You can read more here.
We want you to enjoy working for Carmarthenshire and for it to be a rewarding experience. Our employees are at the very heart of the services we provide to the community and help us achieve our ambitions. We offer a range of benefits and working arrangements to support employees in their working and personal life.
Tywi Valley path
Pentre Awel, Llanelli
Atriwm, Carmarthen
If you are passionate about sustainability, committed to public service and ready to lead with vision, innovation and integrity, we would welcome your application.
Apply now and help us shape a greener, fairer, more prosperous Carmarthenshire.
For further information or an informal discussion please contact:
Ainsley Williams, Director of Place Infrastructure and Economic Development.
Email: pieddirector@carmarthenshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 01267 224647
Closing Date: 7 June 2026
Welsh Language Assessment: 11 June 2026
Shortlisting Panel: 18 June 2026
Assessment Centre: 6 July 2026
Appointments Panel: 20 July 2026
