Do you have strong organisational and problem solving skills and want to support change across Children’s Services? This could be the job for you! WHAT IS INVOLVED? This is a brilliant opportunity to join our small but growing Service Improvement team which supports Children’s Services. You will have a varied and role, where you will really make a difference. You will support a wide range of activity including the children’s services reforms programme, children’s services sufficiency work, preparations and planning for inspections, quality improvement functions such as audits, business process reviews and self assessments, and the handling and investigations of complaints. WHAT WILL I NEED To apply for this role you will need: To be able to work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders, including senior managers To be able to work on your own initiative, problem solving and planning to meet deadlines Experience of supporting projects, audits and change management Knowledge or understanding of Children’s Services would be very useful. Please see the attached person specification for the full person specification for the post. READY TO APPLY? We encourage you to contact Sally Fothergill (Service Improvement Support Officer) for an informal conversation about the post before you apply. You can e-mail Sally at sally.fothergill@durham.gov.uk INTERVIEWS Interviews will be held on 18th March 2026 We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran. OUR OFFER TO YOU We offer a competitive rewards package that includes attractive salaries, a generous annual leave entitlement of 27 days (rising to 32 after five years’ continuous local government service), membership of the excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working (home and office) where applicable. Explore the full range of rewards and benefits on our website Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions. EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION We are a proud equal opportunities employer and believe a diverse workforce brings fresh ideas and drives service improvement. We welcome applications from everyone and make employment decisions based on skills and ability. As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively encourage applications from disabled and neurodivergent people and offer support throughout the recruitment process. HOW TO APPLY Please note, we do not accept CVs. All applications must be submitted online via the Northeast Jobs portal. Use the ‘Person Specification’ section of the form to clearly demonstrate how you meet the essential (and where possible, desirable) criteria. Applications that do not evidence the essential requirements will not be shortlisted. Please visit our website to understand our position on using AI to support to your application and for guidance on completing your application. If you require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27, or via email RecruitmentCYPS@durham.gov.uk All correspondence relating to your application will be sent from donotreply@northeastjobs.org.uk. Kindly check your spam/junk folder regularly to ensure you don’t miss any updates. CONNECT WITH US Follow us on Instagram Like us on Facebook Visit our website VPRS/161