Head of Service – Adult Safeguarding & Protection

Grade N scp 50 £64,504 to scp 53 £67,830, essential car user allowance up to £963pa
Contract: permanent
Hours: 37 per week
Essential requirement: full driving licence, DBS
Essential qualification: A degree or equivalent in Social Work, Registration with Social Work England
Interview date: 21 October 2026
For further information about this role, contact: Karen.kenyon@bolton.gov.uk

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Please read the detailed information at the bottom of this advert before you make an application as it may be rejected if we detect AI use.

Ask us about flexible working options to fit with your work/life balance - #HappytoTalkFlexible

The Role

It is an exciting time to join Bolton’s Adult Social Care leadership team as Head of Service for Safeguarding and Protection. This is a central senior leadership role, providing strategic and operational oversight of adult safeguarding, Mental Capacity Act practice, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, complex risk and statutory decision-making.

You will lead and develop teams delivering high-quality social work services, working closely with other Heads of Service. This will help ensure residents are supported and empowered to live independently, safely and well for as long as possible.

You will be influential in developing a workforce for the future, championing high-quality, lawful and person-centred social work practice across the council, locally and with partners. You will ensure that safeguarding practice is timely, proportionate and aligned to Making Safeguarding Personal, while providing senior assurance to the Assistant Director/DASS, statutory partners and governance forums.

You will be responsible for the continuous improvement, learning and delivery of the Directorates innovation and service plans to meet our priorities to:

Support people to live well at home
Make best use of our resources
Work together in partnership.

Working with colleagues across commissioning, finance, housing and legal services, you will provide visible senior leadership to support good, safe and effective services. You will build strong partnerships across the Bolton system, including the Bolton Safeguarding Adults Board. Provide professional challenge, support escalation and ensure learning from reviews, complaints, coroners’ findings and quality assurance activity leads to measurable outcomes.

The role involves working flexibly across the Directorate and within the service as required, and at any council sites across the Borough to meet the needs of the service.

About You

You will need to have:

A degree or equivalent in Social Work, Registration with Social Work England
We are looking for someone who is confident and experienced in operational management and leading in a complex adult social care environment. You will be passionate about good social work practice, person-centred support and making a real difference for adults and families in Bolton. You will bring strong safeguarding knowledge, sound professional judgement and challenge, the ability to work well with partners, using learning and evidence to improve practice, strengthen services and support positive outcomes.

About Us

This is your opportunity to join us at an exciting time as we have strong ambitions for the borough.

Bolton is a great place to work. We are a welcoming organisation that wants to contribute to a place where people feel active, connected and prosperous. We are passionate about improving the outcomes and experience of Bolton people. We want Bolton to be a vibrant place built on strong cohesive communities, successful businesses and healthy, engaged residents.

As an employer we want to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment, by giving them the opportunity to access a range of exclusive rewards and benefits, including discounts and exclusive gym membership prices and salary sacrifice schemes. In addition, we offer a generous annual leave allowance, flexible work opportunities, access to a Pension Scheme, as well as a range of employee wellbeing and support services.

Our Values are really important to us, read all about them below, along with all our great staff benefits, the job description/person specification for the role and the important legal bits, and our Top Tips too.

Ready to apply? Then please click Apply and upload your anonymised CV and supporting statement discussing your relevant skills and experience and explain how you believe they make you a strong fit for this role.

Within Greater Manchester, local authorities have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers, carers, and ex-military personnel. Please see greater.jobs for further information before you apply.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable adults and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) clearance - this post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (amended in 2013). Employment offers are conditional subject to satisfactory clearances. For roles where a criminal records check from the DBS is required, this includes satisfactory clearance of this check. The possession of a criminal record will not necessarily bar an individual from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of an individual’s offence/s. Information provided by you or the DBS will be dealt with in a confidential manner and in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice which can be viewed here. Bolton Council’s policy on the Employment of Ex-Offenders is available here.

This post is a designated customer facing role under the fluency duty and requires a specified level of spoken English as per the person specification.

This organisation has signed up to the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment. That means we will recognise your continuous or ‘unbroken’ service in any Greater Manchester local authority or NHS organisation that has signed the commitment, Transport for Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service or Greater Manchester Combined Authority, giving you access to our service-related benefits. Please see the home page of greater.jobs for more information.

For more information about working for Bolton Council, please see greater.jobs; for advice and support with your application, contact recruitment@bolton.gov.uk