Job Introduction
Staffordshire is a great county to live, work and invest and is a place where most people enjoy a good quality of life. It is a county with a proud heritage and bright hopes for the future – well positioned at the heart of the thriving West Midlands with a growing and prosperous economy, where children, young people and families can flourish.
Under the leadership of our new Director of Children and Families, we are implementing a new structure designed to create a culture of practice excellence, delivering the best possible outcomes for our children and young people. Following our recent Ofsted judgment, our political and corporate leaders are committed to a sustainable journey of improvement, and the recruitment to these new posts will be vital to our success on that journey, and how quickly we get there.
We are looking to foster a culture of visible leadership, where all Children’s services staff and the wider system are empowered and inspired to collaborate to deliver the best outcomes for our children and young people.
We want leaders who are excited by the prospect of delivering meaningful change locally in response to broader changes that are taking place at a national level. You will have the opportunity to innovate and to remodel services to ensure they are fit for the future. If you know what good Children’s Services look like, and have the experience of helping to get there, we want to hear from you.
Main Responsibility
This is a critical role, supporting the Director to lead the team through an exciting programme of change and improvement with children and families at its heart.
The Ideal Candidate
You will:
- have an extensive track record of driving performance improvement and best practice within Children’s Services and a robust detailed understanding of the link between social work practice, performance and good outcomes for children.
- understand what the highest quality practice looks like and are tenacious in ensuring that is what we deliver.
- have a relational approach to leadership and be a collaborator with a strong value base.
We are open to applications from candidates currently operating at this level, or those who are looking to step up into this type of role for the first time.
How can I apply for this role?
For further information and to complete your application please see https://staffordshire-leaders.com/ or contact our executive search partners Gatenby Sanderson: Alex Hayes (0113 2056109) or Seb Lowe (07464 543442).
Closing Date: 21 March 2025
About Staffordshire County Council
We are no ordinary county council:
Our Values:
The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.
Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:
We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.
We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.
Our benefits:
We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.
In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire
Our recruitment process:
As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities
As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post.
As you’ll know safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people/vulnerable adults is important to us and that’s why this position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If applicable you should disclose details of unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions in your application form.
