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Director of Children's Services

Employer
Wandsworth London Borough Council
Location
London (Greater)
Salary
£148,584 - £190,800
Closing date
6 May 2019

It’s no secret Directors of Children’s Services have one of the toughest, most demanding jobs in local government but amongst the most rewarding.

Due to the retirement of the current post holder, we seek a new Director of Children’s Services to take up this unique opportunity later this year.

Wandsworth is determined to give our children and young people the best possible future – so you will need to be an inspirational leader who will help us to deliver our commitments to children, young people and their families.

Wandsworth is looking for an individual with presence and influence both within and outside of the organisation. You will be a trusted and respected leader with an ambitious and aspirational vision to deliver outstanding services, especially to those children and young people most in need of our services. 

You will lead a partnership approach to deliver on being outstanding in all that we do.

Wandsworth is a borough of aspiration, growth, and opportunity. You will also find all the challenges of inner London here in Wandsworth. We have our share of the deprivation and inequalities that so often drive family breakdown, domestic violence, drug and alcohol problems, mental health problems, gang, and knife crime. 

Demand on our children’s services has grown dramatically in recent years, and at times we have struggled to maintain the consistency of high standards that we always seek. Nonetheless, we are steadily improving, and you will take forward that crucial next step, leading our skilled and committed workforce to ensure all children and young people are safe and have every opportunity to achieve. 

You’ll be financially astute, tenacious and politically sensitive, you’ll have the credibility and communication skills to provide motivational leadership to our large workforce and partners, to ensure that all the borough’s children and young people benefit from living in this amazing location. You will operate in a context that values teamwork and learning from others to strengthen our teams who are committed to delivering good social work practice.  

If you have a track record of achievement and innovation working at the highest levels of children’s services in local government, we want to hear from you.

We are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Council and can improve the way we deliver services.

We aim to recruit the best person for the job and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds – men and women, people of all ages, sexual orientations, nationalities, religions, and beliefs.

We are particularly keen to encourage applications from women, disabled and black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) candidates, as these groups are underrepresented throughout Leadership roles in Children’s Services nationally. Additionally, we are a Disability Confident employer and are committed to employing disabled people.

If you would like an informal and confidential conversation with the Council Chief Executive, Paul Martin, please email your name and contact details with a suitable time to call to: paul.martin@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk

Application information:

  • Please complete your application online. 
  • For further information and key recruitment dates please refer to the candidate pack attached.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils

 Candidate Information Pack

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