Head of Service: Permanency and Specialist Services

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Job description
Full-Time, Permanent

Transforming our service to put the needs of families and children at its heart

The challenge

Diverse, vibrant, and growing, Bristol is the largest city in the South West and home to some 82,200 children and young people. Our Children and Families team is determined to make Bristol a city where every child belongs and every child gets the best start in life, whatever circumstances they are born into. We are committed to improving the life chances of children in care and care experienced young adults and support young people into permanency and independence. We are especially proud of our strengths-based work in systemic practice and the positive culture in our team.

As our Head of Service for Permanency and Specialist Services, you will work alongside other senior members of the directorate to deliver on our vision for our children and families. It's a busy and interesting role, with real opportunities to make a difference to children and young people's lives.

Your role

Joining a stable, committed, and innovative senior leadership team, your focus will be on our children in care, care experienced young adults, disabled children, fostering, our children's homes and regulated services and our Hope Virtual School. You will take a lead for Bristol in ensuring our regionalised adoption arrangements deliver a high-quality service.

The service puts children and young people at its heart, delivering focussed interventions to safeguard children and support them into permanency and independence.

About you

We're looking for someone with the vision and capability to develop services that improve outcomes for children and young people. You will have well-developed leadership skills, including the ability to manage, motivate and inspire people. A registered and qualified social worker, with strong frontline experience in children's services, you'll know what good practice looks like and how to achieve it with and through others. You'll also be used to partnership working, analytical problem-solving and budgetary management. Highly developed advocacy, negotiation and presentation skills are important.

The benefits

Bristol is celebrated as one of the country's most desirable cities in which to live and work. Join us and you'll have access to a range of valuable benefits including membership of the Local Government Pension scheme and generous annual leave entitlement. We place high value on creating an inclusive, healthy workplace and offer a range of flexible working options and family friendly policies.

How do I apply?

To apply, please submit your CV along with a supporting statement that details how you meet the criteria within the Person Specification.

To be shortlisted for interview you'll need to demonstrate how you meet each of the essential criteria in the Person Specification. On occasion we will receive high numbers of applications, we may then shortlist against the desirable criteria along with the essential criteria, so if you can, please demonstrate how you meet this in your covering letter.

Closing date: Midnight, 24 th November 2024

Interviews to be held on Tuesday 10 th December 2024

For further information, please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification or for informal enquiries please contact [email protected]

At Bristol City Council, we value having a workforce as diverse as the city we serve. We therefore welcome, develop and promote people from all sections of the community. We particularly welcome applications from Women, Black and racially minoritised candidates, and Disabled candidates who are currently under-represented within senior leadership roles of Bristol City Council. Appointments will be made on merit.