Area Director (Children and Families)

Hampshire County Council; England; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive rewards package

Generous annual leave

Occupational sick pay

Local Government Pension Scheme

Wellbeing and developmentOpportunities

Job summary

Hampshire County Council is seeking an Area Director to provide strategic leadership across Children's Services and to drive improvement, innovation and transformation for children, young people and families across Hampshire.

You will lead a senior management team, shape strategic direction, oversee county-wide services, manage substantial budgets and build strong partnerships with education, health, police and the voluntary sector to safeguard and enable thriving futures.

Qualifications

• Degree-level qualification, ideally with a postgraduate management qualification.
• Senior leadership experience in complex public sector or children's services.
• Proven ability to lead large-scale service transformation and change programmes.
• Experience managing substantial budgets and resources.
• Strong partnership working and cross-boundary influence.
• Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation and stakeholder management.
• Balance strategic leadership with operational delivery.
• Understanding of legislative and policy context affecting children's services and safeguarding.
• Commitment to delivering positive outcomes for children, young people and families.
• Collaborative, resilient leader who builds high-performing teams through change.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership across Children's Services and be a key member of the management team.
• Oversee operational delivery across the county, ensuring safety, effectiveness and responsiveness.
• Drive performance management and quality assurance using data and practice insight.
• Lead partnerships with agencies and communities to improve outcomes.
• Drive service transformation, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Inspire senior managers and multidisciplinary teams to sustain high performance.
• Oversee significant budgets and resources, ensuring value for money.
• Champion early intervention and integrated service delivery.
• Ensure safeguarding remains central and statutory responsibilities are met.
• Prepare the service for Ofsted inspection with robust internal scrutiny.

Skills

Senior leadership

Budget management

Stakeholder management

Strategic leadership

Change leadership

Partnership working

Communication skills

Policy understanding

Public sector experience

People leadership

Education

Degree-level qualification

Postgraduate management qualification

Job description

As Area Director, you'll provide strategic leadership across a significant portfolio of children's services, driving improvement, innovation and transformation to deliver outstanding outcomes for children, young people and families across Hampshire.

Working as part of the senior leadership team, you'll lead services at scale, shape strategic direction and build strong partnerships across education, health, police and the voluntary sector. You'll champion excellence, oversee continuous improvement and ensure children remain safe, supported and able to thrive.

What you’ll do:

• Provide strategic leadership across Children's Services and contribute as a key member of the Children and Families Management Team.
• Provide strong oversight of operational delivery of services across the county (covering Hart & Rushmoor, East Hampshire and the County Fostering Service), ensuring services are safe, effective and responsive, with emerging risks and pressures identified and addressed promptly.
• Lead a robust approach to performance management and quality assurance, using data, audit and practice insight to maintain a clear grip on performance, drive continuous improvement and secure consistently high-quality practice.
• Lead partnerships across agencies and communities to improve outcomes for children, young people and families.
• Drive service transformation, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Lead and inspire senior managers and multidisciplinary teams, creating a high-performing culture focused on excellence.
• Oversee significant budgets and resources, ensuring value for money whilst maintaining high-quality services.
• Champion early intervention and integrated service delivery.
• Ensure statutory responsibilities are fulfilled and safeguarding remains at the heart of all decision-making.
• Ensure the service remains ready for inspection (Ofsted) through proactive and robust internal scrutiny processes.

What we’re looking for:

• A degree-level qualification, ideally supported by a postgraduate professional or management qualification.
• Significant senior leadership experience within complex public sector or children's services environments.
• A proven ability to lead large-scale service transformation, organisational change and improvement programmes.
• Experience of managing substantial budgets and resources.
• A strong understanding of partnership working and the ability to influence across organisational boundaries.
• Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• The ability to balance strategic leadership with operational delivery.
• A thorough understanding of the legislative and policy context affecting children's services and safeguarding.
• A commitment to delivering positive outcomes for children, young people and families.
• A collaborative and resilient leader who can build high-performing teams, manage complexity, navigate challenge and inspire others through periods of change.

Why Hampshire?

Join one of the country's largest and most ambitious local authorities, where Children's Services are rated Outstanding by Ofsted and making a real difference for children, young people and families across Hampshire.

As Area Director, you'll shape strategic direction, lead transformational change and influence services at scale as part of a high-performing leadership team.

In return, you'll benefit from a competitive rewards package, including generous annual leave, occupational sick pay, access to the Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of wellbeing and development opportunities.

If you are an inspiring leader with the ambition to influence beyond organisational boundaries, Hampshire offers the platform to do just that.

Applicants can expect to hear from us within two weeks of the advertised closing date.

Please note: We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role and therefore it is essential that you already have the right to work in the UK before applying.