Head Of Service

i-Jobs; Lancashire; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in children's social care is seeking a Head Of Service to oversee the Lancashire Family Safeguarding Model and manage safeguarding partnerships. The role demands a strategic leader with a proven track record in high-quality service delivery and effective stakeholder engagement. Candidates need an Honours Degree and significant management experience, combined with the ability to lead diverse teams and engage effectively with senior leaders.

Qualifications

• Significant professional/management experience of a strategic operation/service.
• Proven record of delivering high-quality services against challenging objectives.
• Experience working across services to achieve corporate objectives.

Responsibilities

• Support the delivery of the Lancashire Family Safeguarding Model.
• Coordinate Quality Assurance across children's services.
• Manage independent reviewing officers and oversee safeguarding arrangements.

Skills

Leadership

Project Management

Strategic Planning

Stakeholder Engagement

Financial Management

Education

Honours Degree or equivalent experience

Relevant professional qualification or equivalent

Job description

Head Of Service

Location: County Hall, PR1 8RE
Start Date: ASAP
Contract Duration: 3+ Months
Working Hours: Mon Fri, 09 00, 37 Hours per week
Pay Rate: £ 48.50 per hour
Job Ref: (phone number removed)

Responsibilities

• Support the ongoing delivery of the Lancashire Family Safeguarding Model (LFSM) and sustain its approach.
• Coordinate Quality Assurance across ECS children's services including audit and reporting on audits.
• Oversee and support the management of multi-agency area safeguarding arrangements and children's partnerships.
• Lead preparation for inspections, peer reviews, and contribute with other Directors and Heads of Service in the directorate self-assessment.
• Provide a business lead for social care data, supporting future data management coordination for the directorate.
• Manage independent reviewing officers and oversee services such as Emergency Duty Team, Family Group Conferencing, and School Safeguarding.
• Coordinate strategic planning and service delivery of business support across the directorate.
• Use significant judgement to lead the design and delivery of business plans to resolve service issues or achieve improvements.
• Lead the delivery of service objectives to meet internal/external customer needs and inform management decision-making.
• Provide effective leadership and management of a diverse workforce to support excellence in service delivery.
• Develop and implement strategic business plans in line with Children's Social Care objectives.
• Lead and mitigate significant risk within children's services.
• Ensure robust systems for maintaining accurate and timely data for statutory compliance and performance evaluation.
• Engage with partners and stakeholders to achieve positive outcomes for children and families.
• Advise the Executive Leadership Team and Elected Members on strategies and policies to deliver the job purpose.
• Manage financial resources successfully, prioritizing within decreasing resources.

Person Specification

• Honours Degree level qualification or equivalent experience.
• Relevant professional qualification or equivalent.
• Significant professional and/or management experience of a strategic operation/service.
• Proven record of delivering high-quality services against challenging objectives and resources.
• Operational management experience of a major service spanning a major arm of the organization.
• Experience in engaging, guiding, and influencing senior managers.
• Experience in leading, inspiring, and motivating teams to achieve high-quality delivery within reducing resources.
• Experience working across services outside of the area of responsibility to ensure delivery of corporate objectives.
• Highly developed knowledge of the principles, theory, and practice of the specialist area of responsibility.
• Comprehensive understanding of the activities and objectives of the Council, both current and future.
• Ability to influence key decision-makers at senior levels, both internal and external to the Council.
• Effective leadership and management at a senior level of a diverse workforce.
• Good understanding of the political context at regional and local level and working with Elected Members constructively.
• Successful financial management including prioritization within decreasing resources.
• Ability to lead, develop, manage, and motivate services/teams in a challenging environment.
• Ability to quickly build credibility with senior managers and stakeholders.
• Ability to embed services compliant with the wider organizational strategy.
• Ability to utilize significant judgment to lead the design and delivery of operational business plans.
• Commitment to equality and diversity.
• Commitment to health and safety.
• Display the LCC values and behaviors at all times and actively promote them in others.
• This is an essential car user post, requiring a car for business use.

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