Local Evidence Lead, Children's Services

WOKINGHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL; Wokingham; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in Wokingham is seeking a professional to advise senior leaders on embedding evidence-based practices within Children's Services. The role involves designing and delivering localized research and evidence products to improve services for children and families in the community. Ideal candidates will have experience in leveraging local insights and fostering best practices across multi-agency partnerships. This position offers benefits such as flexible hours and comprehensive training opportunities.

Benefits

Excellent pension benefits

Flexible working hours

Annual leave starting at 26 days

Free gym access

Relocation package up to £8,000

Qualifications

• Evidence use and embedding evidence-based practice tailored to diverse socio-economic profiles.
• Designing localized research and translating insights into actions.
• Championing evidence-led practices among leaders and teams.

Responsibilities

• Advise on embedding evidence-based practice.
• Design and deliver research products.
• Integrate local insights into commissioning.

Job description

Responsibilities

• Advise senior leaders & partners on increasing evidence use and embedding evidence-based practice-tailored to Wokingham's diverse socio-economic and demographic profile, changing population, and areas of specific need.
• Design and deliver localised research & evidence products to address gaps across the Children's Services system, translating insights into delivery plans and service improvements.
• Provide system leadership to embed evidence-use across Children's Services and multi‑agency partnerships, building capability and setting standards.
• Champion evidence‑led practice, empowering leaders and teams to critically engage with research and make informed decisions.
• Work in partnership with Foundations (the Government‑appointed What Works Centre for Children & Families) to implement locally relevant recommendations from Practice Guides and the Foundations Guidebook.
• Collaborate across Insight & Intelligence, Strategy, Transformation & Commissioning, and Public Health to apply evidence in the design and delivery of effective services.
• Build communities of practice and use events, webinars, and networks to promote best practice, share learning across neighbouring authorities, and contribute to regional/national knowledge exchange.
• Integrate local insights and data, including Wokingham's JSNA, feedback from children and families, and demand/trend analysis, into commissioning and the selection of evidence-based interventions.
  Whilst this is a fixed‑term contract appointment, for anyone already employed by Wokingham Borough Council this would be classed as a secondment if successful. Therefore, the usual permission requests for secondments apply and you must speak to your line manager in the first instance before applying.

Application Requirements

If your application is shortlisted for an interview, you will be required to provide proof of your right to work in the UK at that stage. Successful candidates must present proof upon receiving a job offer. All offers are conditional and subject to the satisfactory completion of pre‑employment checks. We will be reviewing the applications we receive on a daily basis, and we reserve the right to close the advert early if suitable candidates are identified. Wokingham Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff, other workers and volunteers to share this commitment. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks along with other relevant employment checks. Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we regret that we are unable to respond to every applicant individually.

Children's Services

When Children’s Services get involved in the life of a child, our priority is to make sure our social workers have the support, time, and resources they need to provide an excellent quality of service – the kind of service we ourselves would wish to receive. We’re committed to social workers having case loads that give them time to focus on relationship‑based practice and we’re growing our workforce to reflect this. We want to maintain an environment where practice can flourish and we offer:

• Good quality supervision
• A wide range of training and development opportunities
• A visible and responsive leadership team

Adult Social Care

https://wokinghamjobs.jgp.co.uk/ Careers in adult social care Adult Social Care makes a positive impact on so many lives. Working in social care is a fulfilling job that transforms lives for the better. With your help, people will have the ongoing support they need to live their lives to the full and help continue to deliver our outstanding services. Roles are varied and every day is different. Working in adult social care will give you a huge sense of pride and satisfaction at the end of every working day. You won’t find a more rewarding job.

Benefits

• Excellent pension benefits
• Flexible working hours
• Annual leave – starting at 26 days (plus bank holidays dependent on grade and working hours)
• Training and support
• Free eye tests
• Free gym access
• Free advice and counselling through our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
• Relocation package worth up to £8,000 (subject to eligibility)
• Employment referral scheme of £1,000 for successful candidates (subject to eligibility)
• We pay professional registration fees for Social Workers and Occupational Therapists

Apprenticeships: Sign up for an apprenticeship, where we will support you, to launch your career in Adult Social Care.