Head of Service - Specialist Services

Bath & North East Somerset Council; Keynsham; Sur place; GBP 75 000 - 110 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Bath & North East Somerset Council is seeking a senior leader to oversee a cluster of specialist children’s social care services, including ACE, Best Start in Life, Family Support Plus and the Youth Justice Team. The role sits on the Senior Management Team, shaping Directorate objectives and policy, and driving improved outcomes for vulnerable children.

The successful candidate will bring exceptional communication, strategic planning and people-management skills, with a focus on relational

Qualifications

• Experience managing teams and leading across multiple social care services.
• Strong communication and people skills; relational approaches.
• Data analysis and use of data to drive decisions.
• Child/young person at the centre of work and decisions.

Responsabilités

• Lead ACE team, Best Start in Life Children’s Centres, Family Support Plus, Youth Justice Team.
• Contribute to formulation of Directorate objectives and policies; participate in senior management decisions.

Description du poste

At Bath & North East Somerset Council we have one overriding purpose – to improve people’s lives.

Ofsted rate us as Good, but we want even better for the children in our authority. For us to achieve consistently outstanding services, we need the best and most committed social care leaders to join our leadership team.

About the role:

This newly created role provides a unique opportunity to lead and develop a number of specialist services within children’s social care. You will be responsible for the following teams:

• Adolescent and Child Exploitation (ACE) team
• Best Start in Life Children’s Centres
• Family Support Plus (including our Family Group Conferencing and Life Long Links offer)
• Youth Justice Team

This is a wide ranging and challenging brief, but one which provides huge opportunities to develop and exercise key leadership skills across wide ranging teams. Despite the disparate nature of the work, the golden thread which connects the teams is the focus on ensuring the best possible outcomes for some of our most vulnerable children.

With the Assistant Director, and as part of the Senior Management Team, the post holder will participate in the formulation of detailed Directorate objectives and policies and work as an active member of the senior management team to make Directorate-wide decisions linked to key local policies and procedures and national policy.

About you:

We are looking for someone with exceptional communication and people skills, who has a friendly, patient and confident approach with colleagues, professionals and members of the public. We value relational approaches with all stakeholders and promote this via our systemic practice model. We expect you to provide high levels of support to staff, alongside constructive challenge, to develop confident autonomous managers and practitioners.

You will need strong organisational skills to manage and prioritise your work. The successful candidate will have experience of managing teams, be proficient at using and analysing key data, and, crucially, must have the child/young person/family at the centre of their work and decisions.

To enable our employees to practice at the highest level we offer:

• A friendly and caring team
• Excellent administrative support
• First-rate supervision and support
• Extensive training programme
• A corporate commitment to improving outcomes for our children and young people

Interview date: Monday 9th November 2026.

No Agencies Please.

*Please note, BANES Council operates a policy of prior consideration for roles for any individual on the Council’s at-risk register (redeployee). This means should a redeployee express an interest in this role, providing they meet the essential criteria for the role they will be considered ahead of external applicants.

About Bath and North East Somerset Council.

Working at Bath and North East Somerset provides an opportunity to contribute to your community and make a positive impact on the lives of residents. Our values shape how we work to deliver public services, and how we communicate with the residents we serve. We care about the best outcomes for local people, through our public services.

Why Bath and North East Somerset Council?

We offer a wide range of benefits, to ensure that you are paid fairly for your work, have the flexibility to enjoy a great work/life balance, and have the support you need. Go to https://jobsandcareers.bathnes.gov.uk/why-work-us/our-benefits

At Bath and North East Somerset Council we have one overriding purpose – to improve peoples lives. Find out more about our values at https://jobsandcareers.bathnes.gov.uk/why-work-us/our-values

Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join us. Find out more on our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/equality-and-diversity

We are a Disability Confident Employer – find out more at https://shorturl.at/ajrsW

The Council is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce. Applications for job-share, part-time and flexible working arrangements are welcomed and will be considered in line with business needs.

Please note that this role is subject to an Enhanced DBS Check.

Safeguarding Statement: The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable groups and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. As part of this commitment anyone working in a post with children or vulnerable groups will be expected to undertake an Enhanced DBS check with/without barred list checks.