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An experienced and committed Head of Service is required to lead a Family Safeguarding Team within a children’s social care service. This is a senior leadership opportunity for a qualified social worker who can provide clear direction, promote excellent practice and ensure children, young people and families receive timely, effective and compassionate support.

You will be responsible for the operational management and continuous improvement of the service, overseeing social work practice across family safeguarding arrangements. Your duties will include providing professional leadership to service managers and practitioners, monitoring performance, managing resources and ensuring that statutory responsibilities are met. You will champion strengths-based, relationship-focused practice and promote effective partnership working with education, health, police and other agencies.

The successful candidate will ensure that children’s voices remain central to assessment, planning and decision-making. You will contribute to strategic development, quality assurance and service planning, using performance information, audits and learning from reviews to drive improvement. You will also support a positive culture of supervision, professional development, reflective practice and accountability, while ensuring safeguarding risks are identified and managed appropriately.

Applicants must hold a recognised social work qualification and current professional registration, with substantial post-qualification experience in children’s social care. You will have proven experience of leading and managing teams, including responsibility for complex safeguarding work, performance improvement and service delivery. A strong understanding of relevant legislation, statutory guidance and contemporary social work practice is essential.

You will be an inspirational and resilient leader with excellent communication, organisational and decision-making skills. The ability to build trusted relationships, influence partners and manage change effectively is vital. In return, this role offers the opportunity to shape high-quality services, support talented professionals and make a lasting difference to children and families.