Hybrid - 3 days per week required in the office minimum
Full time role, 37 hours per week
Must currently be working at Director level or have worked at Director level previously - this is not a step-up role.
Active Staff is seeking a Director of Safeguarding and Support – Interims on a 3 month contract based in Swindon. The successful candidate will be professional responsibility for leadership, strategic direction, performance management delivery, and effectiveness of our clients Children’s Services Deliver.
Duties
* Ensure the effective management and leadership of operational teams including performance management and quality assurance, at supervision and appraisals; offering appropriate training and development and ensure that senior managers are held accountable and successfully deliver in their roles.
* To manage the budget and governance for resources allocated to your service and proactively seek to deliver efficiencies, where possible, without compromising the quality of service to children and young people.
* To work closely with the Lead Member for Children’s Services and inform them of appropriate issues relevant to the operation of the service.
* To be responsible for leading, managing and delivering the next stage of development of the journey in Children’s Services in Swindon.
* To provide clear and visible leadership, which leads to high levels of commitment amongst managers and staff, creates a culture of openness & transparency, and promotes equality of opportunity, underpinned by a positive working relationship with Trade Unions Develop and maintain effective working relationships with central and local government departments and statutory partners, including Ofsted, schools, health agencies, criminal justice, public health, other Local Authorities and the third sector and private providers.
* Ensure that the service area has an effective, efficient, and transparent way of recording and sharing performance management information and service data within the service and the communities it serves and ensure that children’s services use this information and intelligence to drive service improvement and practice.
* To ensure that performance measures are realistic and deliverable with performance constantly scrutinised and monitored, so to provide the best possible outcomes for children and young people within the resources available.
* Accountable to the DCS for statutory safeguarding and child protection functions and to advise the DCS on all relevant issues relating to the quality, performance, and improvement of the service, whilst promoting a culture of continuous improvement through managerial ownership and leadership of performance in your area of responsibility.
* To provide Director cover for Director Corporate Parenting and deputise for the DCS as and when required.
Knowledge and Experience:
* A social work qualification with current Social Work England registration
* Degree level management qualification or equivalent level of proven experience is essential
* Comprehensive knowledge of relevant legislation, regulation, and statutory guidance relevant to Children’s Services Social Care services and Early Help.
* Significant proven recent experience of having worked at a senior level in a political environment.
* Significant proven strategic experience of leading, managing and designing quality assurance and statutory services for children’s social care.
* Proven experience of successfully leading, managing, and driving the performance of diverse services with cross-cutting agendas in a Local Authority and Partnership context.
* Experience of successfully designing and leading change and improvement programmes and transforming services to meet the needs of children and young people within a pressured financial climate.
* Extensive experience of effectively managing large complex budgets to improve services and maximise efficiency.
* Proven experience of working in a multi-agency and multi-stakeholder environment to establish new networks and contacts to maximise the Council’s resources and outcomes for children.
* Experience of leading performance management, quality assurance, and data intelligence frameworks to plan strategically and successfully manage operational services.
This role is a post which will be engaged in regulated activity and therefore is subject to the Vetting and Barring scheme