Lead vital adult social care financial services that protect vulnerable residents and uphold fairness across our communities

As our Adult Social Care Client Financial Services Lead, you’ll oversee the essential financial services that safeguard our most vulnerable residents. It’s a role with genuine, community-wide impact – a chance to lead dedicated specialist teams, champion fair practice and make sure vital support is delivered with compassion and integrity right across the borough.

What you’ll be doing

Your focus will be providing clear, professional and operational leadership across our client financial functions, ensuring our work is fair, accurate and fully compliant with statutory standards. Managing a team of specialist service managers and satff, you’ll oversee financial assessments, direct payments, client affairs, care and protection, supplier payments and public health funerals, making sure these vital services run smoothly and consistently every day.

A key part of your role will involve acting as our trusted subject-matter expert and primary liaison between Adult Social Care, Finance, Legal and external partners such as the Court of Protection, the Office of the Public Guardian and the Department for Work and Pensions. You’ll interpret complex legislation and statutory guidance, turning intricate policies into clear, practical guidance and robust operational standards for your teams. When sensitive, high-risk or contentious cases arise, you’ll step in with sound professional judgement and delegated authority to resolve escalations carrying significant financial, safeguarding or legal implications.

Beyond day-to-day operations, you’ll champion continuous service improvement and strong financial governance. You’ll lead on implementing audit recommendations, embedding quality assurance frameworks across our work and supporting corporate transformation programmes locally. Working across organisational boundaries, you’ll manage operational budgets, build service resilience and collaborate closely with senior colleagues across two councils to achieve positive, resident-focused outcomes.

For further details, please review the Job Description and Person Specification

What you’ll bring

You’ll bring substantial subject-matter expertise across Adult Social Care client financial services, gained within a local authority, social care setting or similar public-sector environment. You possess an in-depth understanding of care charging, financial assessments, deputyship, appointeeship, direct payments, supplier payments and public health funerals, alongside the statutory and technical knowledge needed to lead these services confidently from day one.

You’re an experienced, supportive leader who knows how to guide, motivate and develop specialist teams through operational managers. Your analytical skills enable you to exercise sound, objective judgement when resolving contentious casework involving complex legal, safeguarding or financial risks. You’re also an exceptional communicator – someone who can translate complex statutory requirements into transparent procedures and build constructive, collaborative relationships across multidisciplinary teams and partner organisations.

Most importantly, you’re someone who puts communities first. You approach every situation with empathy, respect and integrity, bringing the resilience needed to balance competing operational priorities while keeping the dignity and financial wellbeing of residents at the centre of every decision.

Why join us

At RBKC, we’re all in – investing in our people, our communities and our future.

This role offers exceptional breadth, influence and professional autonomy. You’ll lead specialist services that support Adult Social Care teams recognised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as Outstanding in Kensington and Chelsea and Good in Westminster. Following the retirement of a long-standing colleague, you’ll step into an experienced, dedicated team with the real opportunity to shape the future direction of the service, working alongside the Head of Service to review our management structure so it continues to provide strong leadership and clear accountability.

We will invest in your professional development, offering continuous learning, leadership programmes and tailored opportunities to help you progress as a strategic senior leader. Alongside a competitive salary and membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme, you’ll enjoy generous annual leave, flexible hybrid working, comprehensive wellbeing initiatives and active staff networks where every colleague is valued.

About us

Kensington and Chelsea is home to diverse communities, thriving businesses and unique local places. Everything we do is focused on supporting our residents, strengthening our approach and creating a fairer borough.

As a competent and caring Council, we take pride in our work every day, ensuring our services are delivered with care and competence. We listen to our residents, act with integrity and work together to build a borough that is greener, safer and fairer for all.

In this role, being all in means rolling up your sleeves to navigate intricate financial legislation, resolve sensitive casework and uphold financial safeguards for residents who need them most. Working across the office, home and cross-borough partner settings, you’ll tackle complex challenges where the right answer demands patience, rigorous analysis and determination. It won’t always be plain sailing, but your efforts will directly protect vulnerable individuals, ensure public funds are handled fairly and help build stronger, more resilient services for our whole community.

Working Style

You’ll be based in the Borough for three days a week, playing an important role in serving the local community. Whether you’re collaborating directly with colleagues and partners or supporting teams behind the scenes, you’ll be part of a dedicated team making a real difference to residents’ lives.

Position and Interview Details

Interviews will be taking place on the 18th and 19th November 2026.

This role requires the successful applicant to undertake a Standard DBS check.

Ready to join us? We’re all in – are you? If you share our values and have the skills to contribute, we’d love to hear from you.

Please apply online explaining how you meet the requirements set out in the person specification and job description.

We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning subject to the volume of suitable applicants.

We are committed to promoting equality and respecting diversity and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We are a Disability Confident Employer – committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible.

We are commited to fair, transparent and consistent pay practices. New hires start at the minimum of the advertised salary range.

Employees receive annual salary increases until they reach the top of the pay scale. In addition, employees will receive any agreed cost of living pay rises.