Welcome

Dear Applicant,

RE: CH73109 – Head of Services

Thank you for the interest you have shown in the Heads of Service posts for Children’s Services in Walsall. I hope that you will want to turn your interest into a formal application.

These are strategic leadership posts and report to myself as Assistant Director for Universal Services, within Walsall Children’s Services. I have been in Walsall for over 2 years and I am continually impressed by the commitment from all partners to ensuring that every child does matter in Walsall. The strength and maturity of the Children’s Trust arrangements in Walsall is acknowledged by the JAR grading of 3 – Good and demonstrated in the new 3 year Children and Young People’s Plan recently produced. Please take time to read through the plan, which highlights our key priorities and from which you will identify your future work pattern within each responsibility outlined in the separate job descriptions.

Walsall Children’s Services have delivered significant improvements in recent years. However, there is no sense of complacency. People at all levels in the service demonstrate a willingness to find ways of improving the way we do things, currently we are reconfiguring our service provision to meet more effectively the needs of our young people and their families within localities to create an Integrated Young People’s Support Service. It should not be a surprise to you that delivering children’s services is amongst the most challenging in a local authority as well as the most rewarding, we are only too aware of the need to focus on preventative services which reduce the level of acute intervention for our most vulnerable groups and prioritise the support for those children looked after by the authority. The responsibility to secure the best possible life chances for every child is significant.

We are looking to appoint persons with the potential to make a real difference in Walsall, with a proven track record of effective delivery and with professional qualities which will complement and add to our multi agency strategic leadership team. Our values as an organisation reflect our belief in distributed leadership, which endorses professional integrity and shared responsibility. We have a one team approach which fosters partnership working with the full range of delivery partners and a clear message to work as one team and not just in a team. We are looking for innovation and actively promote solution focused activities which help to address the challenges.

We expect from you experience, skills, commitment, a belief in public service and a relentless desire to improve services for the children, young people and their families in Walsall. In return we will support you in these dynamic and challenging roles and we will help you to develop professionally and personally.

After considering the information we have set out if you wish to discuss either of the two posts further then please contact me.

Louise Hughes
Assistant Director, Universal services
Children’s Services
Walsall Council 
Tel: 01922 652 895 
Email: hugheslouise@walsall.gov.uk