As Director of Children’s Services, I am passionate and care about the rights and needs of all children and young people. Enabling and supporting children and young people to aspire, achieve and believe in themselves, regardless of the adversity they may have faced is the ultimate ambition and outcome I want for them. To achieve this outcome, I am equally passionate on improving services for Dudley Children and Young people. It is clear there is a real commitment from politicians, partners and staff to making a real difference to ensure that children are at the heart of everything we do. Dudley Council is committed to protecting vulnerable children and families in need of support and protection.

Catherine Driscoll, Director of Children’s Service

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council are seeking to recruit an inspirational, vibrant and forward-thinking leader into the role of Head of Children and Families, within Children’s Social Care.  This position sits within the wider Childrens Services Directorate and works in synergy with a wide range of teams including SEND, Education Outcomes and Inclusion and Early Help. 

Under the direction of the Service Director – Social Care, this role will be responsible for delivering and driving good quality services to children in need of support and protection. Hours: 37 per week

Salary: Grade 16

Location: 3-5 St James Road, Dudley DY1 1HZ or Corbyn Road, Dudley, DY1 2JZ

The Head of Children and Families is a highly visible role and the post holder will make a critical contribution to the delivery of the Council’s ambitions, developing strong partnerships across the Council and Partner agencies. 

The role calls for strong professional leadership, excellent people and programme management skills, and the ability to communicate, negotiate, problem solve and advocate with resilience and integrity. As we are continually looking at improving our services in Dudley, we are seeking applicants that have the ability to work within a national arena and identify good practice examples that would support our own development.

Under the direction of the Service Director – Social Care, this role will be responsible for delivering and driving good quality services to children in need of support and protection. 

This is your chance to bring your significant expertise into Children Social Care to make real service change and improvement through our strong focus on outcomes, voice and influence of children, young people and families and through our Restorative Approach. You will lead a strong social care team with a remit of the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub, Duty and Assessment Service, Care Management/Court Service, Exploitation Hub and EDT.

As a qualified social worker with significant experience in children and young people’s social care, you will have led and managed service change and improvement through evidenced based practice. You will work closely with our Service Director and other Heads of Service and so the ability to adapt and work corporately across systems and complex partnership networks is crucial. You will be a team player able to build teams and strategic partnerships to deliver effective improvements and credibly manage service risk. You will be politically savvy and your ability to support and guide Members is also vital.

This is an exciting time to be working within the Local Authority as we are working hard to bring about key changes within Children’s Services.  The post holder will be integral to continuing to shape our Children and Families Service.

If you are interested in this position, then please be assured that this represents an excellent opportunity for you to develop and gain experience in a critical delivery area for the Local Authority.

For further information please contact Andrea Stone, Service Director – Social Care on 01384 814309 or via email at andrea.stone@dudley.gov.uk

Shortlisting for this role will take place on week commencing the 15^th March 2021 with interviews taking place on week commencing the 22^nd March 2021 . Please be aware that as part of the interview process shortlisted candidates will be asked to prepare a 10 minute presentation.  This will be sent out to shortlisted candidates in advance. The interviews will take place in a COVID19 secure building, with safe distancing being practiced and any lap tops being sanitized between interviews.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children; therefore the post is subject to medical clearance and an enhanced DBS check.

NB:  We reserve the right to close vacancies prior to the advertised date if a large number of applications are received.

Online application forms will only be accepted for this vacancy, online facilities for jobs are available at public libraries within the Dudley Borough.

If you have a disability and require assistance in making an application please contact the HR Resourcing Team via HR.Resourcing@dudley.gov.uk

If you are experiencing a problem whilst applying for a position, please follow the link below to the WM Jobs Help Page in the first instance;  WM Jobs If the WM Jobs Help Page does not resolve your issue then please contact the HR Resourcing Team via HR.Resourcing@dudley.gov.uk

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