Area Director, Children's Services & Transformation

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

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.