Head of Service - Cared For & Care Leavers

Job description

Together at Cheshire East we're building something special, a children's service that is ambitious, humane and built to last. With strong investment, renewed energy and a clear sense of purpose across our services, we are reimagining how to support children and young people and families, "Together for Families"

We have an exciting opportunity for a Head of Service - Cared For & Care Leavers, based at Delamere House, Crewe. For the Children in our care, we are the corporate parents. That responsibility and that privilege is at the heart of this role. It demands leaders who take it personally.

This post holds strategic and operational accountability for all children in care and young people leaving care up to the age of 25. You'll lead services committed to reducing drift and delay, achieving timely permanence, and ensuring every child has a stable, safe and nurturing plan. In a Families First world, this means embedding locality working, strengthening family networks earlier, and asking - consistently - whether children can remain within their own networks before care is considered.

For those young people who are in care, and those making the transition to independence, you will ensure that care plans are of the highest quality, that pathway planning is ambitious, and that the corporate parenting relationship feels real - not bureaucratic. The care leaver agenda is growing in national importance, and Cheshire East is committed to being a council that truly walks alongside its young people into adulthood.

About the Role

You'll be a visible, principled leader who holds elected members, partners and practitioners to account on corporate parenting, and who speaks powerfully for this group of young people in every conversation.

You'll embed restorative and relational practice across the service, build a stable and motivated workforce, and use data and audit to drive continuous and measurable improvement.

This is just a snapshot of some of the exciting things you'll be doing in the role, to find out more about the other key responsibilities of the role please view the attached job description.

The successful candidate will lead on:

Corporate Parenting - Making the council's promise to its looked-after children real, visible, personal and ambitious for every young person.

Permanence and Stability - Driving timely permanence, reducing drift and delay, and ensuring care planning is consistently excellent.

Families First Reform - Embedding locality approaches, strengthening family networks, and avoiding care where possible through relational, early intervention.

Care Leavers to 25 - Ambitious pathway planning - health, housing, employment, belonging. Ensuring young people feel accompanied, not abandoned.

What you'll bring

• Qualified social worker registered with Social Work England
• Extensive senior leadership experience in cared-for and care leaver services
• Strong knowledge of ILACS, care planning regulations and leaving care legislation
• Track record in driving permanence and reducing placement instability
• Commitment to restorative, strengths-based, trauma-informed practice
• Financial management experience and corporate parenting credibility

To find out more about the essential and desirable criteria for the role please view the attached job description specification document.

What we offer in return:

• A competitive salary - Between £78,788 per annum - £91,556 per annum with guaranteed yearly pay increases!
• Enhanced annual leave - Start with an impressive 34 days of annual leave (including bank holidays) from day one, and watch it grow to 39 days after just five years of service
• Purchase of annual leave - Want more time off? You can purchase up to 10 extra days of annual leave each year, giving you the flexibility to balance work and life just the way you want (Pro-rata for part-time staff)
• Flexible working pattern - Enjoy a 37-hour standard full-time work week with the added perks of flexitimeand hybrid/remote working arrangements where possible. Your work-life balance just got a whole lot better!
• Salary sacrifice green car scheme - Drive green and save green! Lease a brand-new electric or hybrid car through our salary sacrifice scheme. There're no credit checks, no deposits, just significant savings and exclusive offers on a three-year lease
• White goods salary sacrifice scheme - Upgrade your home with ease. Purchase home and electronic items through our salary sacrifice scheme, spreading the cost of big-ticket purchases like appliances, computers, and tech gadgets directly from your salary
• Enhanced public pension - Secure your future with our career average pension, where contributions are built at a rate of 1/49th of your yearly pensionable pay
• Cycle to work scheme - Save up to 25-39% on the retail price of bikes and safety equipment through Income Tax and National Insurance savings. Get fit and save money!
• Employee assistance programme - Access a completely free and confidential assistance service to help manage, reduce, and overcome life's challenges, both at work and in your personal life
• Discounted gym membership - Stay active and healthy with corporate membership prices for Everybody Leisure, including:
• Gym, Swim and Group Fitness at all 16 facilities
• Off-Peak Racket Sports
• Athletics Tracks
• Sauna/Steam/Spa

How to apply

We're delighted that you're considering applying for this role!

As an equal opportunities' employer, we warmly welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We believe that a diverse workforce helps us better reflect and serve our local communities, and together, we can build something truly special.

To join our team, simply click 'Apply for this job' at the bottom of the page. If you'd prefer an informal chat first or have any questions about the role, feel free to reach out to (Teo Bot) at: ( [email protected] ), they will be happy to hear from you! Please remember to include the job reference so we know which role you are interested in.

Once you've applied for the position, please keep an eye on your email inbox (including your junk and spam folders), as we'll send any correspondence there to stay in touch with updates about your application.

If you haven't heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, it likely means we weren't able to move forward with your application at this time but please don't let this discourage you as your interest means a lot to us, and we'd truly love to hear from you again in the future!

We wish you all the best in your application and if you run into any technical issues, our friendly team are here to help at: [email protected] .