INTERNAL ONLY VACANCY. This post is open to existing Leeds City Council employees only. Applications will not be considered from external candidates.

Job title: Head of Service, Social Care Reforms

Salary: Dir 60% £79,939 - £87,722

Hours: 37 hrs (full time)

Contract: Temporary – 3 years

Location: Leeds

As our new Head of Service Social Care Reforms, you’ll be ambitious for all children and their families in Leeds, ensuring they get the right support at the right time and that the council’s statutory and moral responsibilities are met.

You will be passionate about working to bring everyone together to create a Child Friendly Leeds and be aligned with the Best City Ambition. In this strategic role you will model skills in relationship building, developing positive working partnerships and driving through service change. You will look to ensuring best practice and being innovative in your approach.

We are committed to the ambition of Child Friendly Leeds. We want Leeds to be a city where all children are safe, happy and healthy, do well at school, fulfil their potential and grow up to be active citizens with voice and influence. Our children’s services have been rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and we are committed to maintaining this high standard.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About you

Educated to degree level or higher.
Excellent collaboration and communication skills with the ability to influence, negotiate and establish credibility with stakeholders locally, regionally and nationally.
Innovation, drive and a clear passion for improving the lives of the children in the city.
Experience of successful leadership and management of complex projects.
Have excellent interpersonal skills and be a critical thinker.
Have experience of analysing data and key performance indicators to support continual service improvement and development.
Have a positive can-do attitude to challenges and change and ability to enthuse and motivate others.
Be child centred and restorative in your approach and committed to working collaboratively to achieve shared goals.

About the role

As Head of Service Social Care reforms, you will provide leadership for the directorate’s implementation of the Families First programme by collaborating with other reform leads, directorate and council colleagues, and partners citywide and regionally. You will ensure the council leverages the opportunities presented by the Families First programme while upholding the council’s core values and commitment to supporting families.

You will have the unique opportunity to shape and guide the services as they change and respond to better meet the needs of our children.

You’ll be closely supported in your role by our Chief Officer Social Work and Family Help and a dynamic wider team that shares your commitment to improving the lives and experience of young people in Leeds.

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements.
a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities.
a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further.

For more information or to arrange a discussion about the role, please contact Ben Finley, Chief Officer Corporate Parenting at ben.finley@leeds.gov.uk.

Closing date: Sunday 29th June

Interviews: Thursday 2nd July

How to apply

Please complete the online application form.

Read our guidance for further advice. Please check your information carefully and ensure you complete all sections before submitting your application.

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children’s barred list will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.
This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visaroute before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job purpose

Deliver programmes of strategic significance to the Council in order to deliver services in line with Council & Directorate priorities. Lead the directorates implementation of the Families First programme, working closely with other reform leads, colleagues in the directorate and council as well as partners across the city and region, responsible for ensuring the council takes advantage of the opportunities afforded by the Families First programme and that the Councils underlying values and focus on supporting families remains in place.

Responsibilities

Responsible for the quality and delivery of leadership and management to across the directorate and with partners.
Contribute to and be jointly responsible for the development and delivery of an agenda of service improvement, and the ongoing development with partners of locality based, fully integrated provider services across the city.
Identify improvement needs, lead and support transformation programmes in Children and Families and specifically to secure high quality, robust, effective, and efficiently delivered services.
Drive a programme that delivers the Council’s ambitions and requirements for Families First.
Provide effective management of resources in accordance with statute, the rules and regulations of the Council and the Directorate.
Maintain a robust management framework to ensure the ongoing effective management of the service and resources employed.
In designated areas have lead responsibility for ensuring high quality service delivery meeting full compliance with statutory, regulatory and Leeds City Council standards.
Manage the effective and efficient delivery and development of high-quality social work.
Implement ways of raising and extending the quality of services to customers.
Lead day to day service delivery and the continuous development and improvement of provider services in accordance with agreed targets and objectives included in council and service plans.
In designated areas have led responsibility to ensure full compliance with safeguarding policies and procedures relating to service delivery and employment practices.
Ensure that all aspects of service delivery, community engagement and staffing, focus on equality of outcomes and secure equal and fair treatment and access for all.
Achieve a full understanding of service responsibilities and organisation, ensuring that all service costs are clearly documented and that asset management is effectively addressed.
Develop and implement robust performance management processes to ensure that the service and staff deliver to agreed standards.
Actively and directly manage performance of both staff and the service through appropriate appraisal and supervision, ensuring early intervention where performance falls below, or threatens to fall below, required standards.
Implement regular, formal quality assurance and performance monitoring and reporting and ensure that management information systems are developed, utilised and maintained in support of this.
Ensure that client information is comprehensive, regularly updated and that data protection standards and information sharing protocols are in place and are fully complied with.
Ensure that all staff understands commissioned outcomes and that service delivery is flexible and responsive, to enable it to meet changing priorities and needs.
Ensure that workforce development and skills mix are a key component in any service delivery redesign.
Actively and directly manage and establish controls for a large and complex budget.
Significant leadership experience in a social care service delivery or operational area.
Management of complex projects and of the delivery of required outcomes.
Bring together and provide leadership to the wider internal disciplines essential to the success of the service, including (but not limited to) support from finance, legal, and procurement.
Ensure effective service delivery through effective governance, project, budget, and risk management.
Build confidence with senior officers, elected members, and partners, ensuring that they are appropriately briefed and involved in relation to any service issues and that information is available and accessible to senior internal stakeholders.
Take lead and build strong and dynamic relationships and networks and build trust with individuals and partner agencies and external organisations to deliver better outcomes.
In line with the Budget Management Accountability Framework to be responsible and accountable for developing appropriate, proportionate, and effective financial solutions to be implemented across the service.
Management of a number of substantial budgets within assigned service area through effective delegation and shared decision-making demonstrating sound financial scenario planning and a cost-conscious approach to the development of business cases to support service transformation. You have a thorough understanding of the issues facing the Council within its economic, business, cultural and political environment. Plans are in place to ensure that there is an efficient and sustainable use of resources, employees are effectively employed and budgets are maximised
Manage, promote, and deliver positive solutions to achieving diversity and inclusion in all aspects of service delivery, community engagement, and human resource areas, focussing on equality of outcome.
The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate to the grade.

Qualifications Degree and post graduate qualification, a diploma in Social Work or equivalent, membership of relevant professional bodies and evidence of ongoing professional development.

Working Context Post holders will work flexibly both at home and at various locations across the City and region. All colleagues should work in line with our hybrid working principles and spend regular time in the workplace to support service delivery, meeting the needs of the team and the requirements of their individual role. The hours are worked mainly Monday to Friday. However, the post holder will be expected to work outside normal working hours, including attendance at evening/weekend meetings or events if required to meet the needs of the service.

Essential requirements It is essential that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria. Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that they meet all the essential requirements.

Able to provide visible and supportive leadership, which empowers, enables and develops staff to achieve results.
Able to manage and monitor performance effectively and set clear objectives for the review of individual and service level performance.
Able to produce comprehensive high-quality reports, business cases and deliver presentations to an audience.
Able to deliver Projects, using formal methodologies which support business change.
Able to make an effective contribution to internal and external meetings including complex and sensitive negotiations.
Able to take forward initiatives and policies from development to implementation.
Able to resolve conflict.
Able to manage competing priorities whilst delivering on a range of projects and adapting to changing circumstances and priorities.
Able to initiate and lead change programmes, improve service quality and support a culture that drives up standards and performance.
Detailed knowledge and understanding of economic strategy and policy, of local government political systems and experience of working on politically sensitive issues which commands respect trust and confidence.
Demonstrate knowledge of legislation, regulations, policies, inspections, and performance information applicable to the relevant strategic functions.
Comprehensive understanding of the inspection and regulatory framework as relevant to the role relating to children’s social care, fostering, children’s residential services and Youth Justice Services.
Understanding of and commitment to a culture of quality outcomes.
Understanding of and commitment to sustainability in service delivery.
Comprehensive understanding of the social care, children’s services, and youth justice agenda.
Demonstrate a detailed knowledge and understanding of Children’s Services within local government.
Experience of managing risk in relation to an area of work.
Experience of managing children’s regulated services.
Substantial experience in building credible and effective collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
Evidence of developing and driving a culture which puts customers first and where everyone can realise their potential and ‘feels they count.’
Experience of working with senior management to shape and influence the delivery of the council’s strategic priorities ensuring people issues are kept at the forefront.

Behavioural & other Characteristics required.

Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct.
Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Leeds Ambitions of health and wellbeing, inclusive growth, thriving strong communities and a resilient sustainable city
Be aware of promote and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures e.g., health, safety and security, confidentiality, and data protection.
Be aware of and support difference ensuring equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, and promoting the behaviours, values, and standards of Leeds City Council.
Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, ensuring compliance with relevant policies and procedures.
Understand and observe Leeds City Council approach to equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health and Safety Policies.

#INT #LI-DNI