People and Place
Ref: 000528
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £80,630 - £90,057 per annum (AD2)
Hours: 36.66 per week
Based: Metropolitan Place, Hobson Street, Oldham OL1 1 TT
Closing Date: Monday 17th February 2025 12pm noon
Shortlisting: Tuesday 18th February 2025
Interview: TBC
Informal Enquiries: Anthony Decrop, Director Children’s Social Care and Early Help
Email: anthony.decrop@oldham.gov.uk
About the Role:
Are you a dynamic and visionary leader ready to make a real difference in the lives of children and families? We are seeking an exceptional Assistant Director for Children's Social Services to lead and oversee key areas, including MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub), EDT (Emergency Duty Team), Assessment and Intervention, and Safeguarding and Care Planning.
In this pivotal role, you will:
* Provide strategic leadership and oversight to drive excellence in service delivery.
* Take a leading role in shaping the transformational redesign of services with partners as we embark on implementing Children’s Social Care Reforms.
* Lead on operational management, ensuring seamless coordination and resource allocation.
* Inspire and develop a motivated, skilled workforce through team development and workforce management.
* Foster strong relationships with partners and stakeholders, promoting collaboration and innovation.
This is an exciting opportunity to join Oldham Children’s Services and be part of a strong senior management team which having successfully been graded as Good in all areas by Ofsted is now embarking on a significant transformation program to deliver on the Social Care Reforms as laid out in ‘Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive’. If you’re ready to take on this rewarding challenge, we’d love to hear from you!
As the Assistant Director you will manage several key services, contributing to the strategic direction, impact and overall performance of Children Services whilst providing support and advice within statutory frameworks ensuring the service and its partners are focused on improving outcomes for children and young people and ensuring they are kept safe from harm.
Why should you work in Oldham?
Officially rated as a ‘Good’ by Ofsted, we are proud of our relentless approach in seeking the very best outcomes for our children and families, and there’s never been a better time to join the team and be part of our success story.
Oldham is a wonderful place of diversity, where people of all cultures come together. This is one our greatest strengths and our social workers enjoy using a breadth of skills and gaining a variety of experiences whilst supporting children and families from diverse backgrounds.
You will be rewarded with great benefits:
Hybrid working giving flexibility for you to manage your diary and offer a better work/life balance.
Other generous benefits including:
* 25 days annual leave which increases after 5- and 10-years’ service and the option to purchase additional days, and
* Attractive defined benefit pension scheme with a market leading AVC option for additional retirement savings
* Discounted gym membership
* Staff discount scheme for shopping, entertainment, eating-out, eating-in, travel, motoring and more.
* Salary sacrifice scheme, including Cycle to Work
* Wellbeing support, including an Employment Assistance Programme that provides 24 hours access to advice and support.
Our employees say
“One of the reasons I’ve worked here for so long is because it’s like a family and a listening organisation, where people are encouraged to participate and get involved”.
“Our Social Worker teams are friendly, approachable and professional”.
“We all want to make a difference to the families and children that we work with”.
“Oldham values the person, the families, and the inclusive culture”.
Hear more from our employees and explore our Social Work Academy offer here
Ofsted says
“Children are well supported by social workers, who ensure that their health, education and emotional needs are met”.
“Staff are tenacious”.
“Children and families in Oldham benefit from a comprehensive range of early help services”.
“There is strong partnership working”.
“Senior leaders promote the participation of cared for children and actively seek their voice in developing and shaping service delivery”.
“Relentless focus on improvement by a strong and stable leadership team, with progress made across many areas of practice,”
Read the full Ofsted report here
What we need from you:
All applicants must meet the relevant criteria, including the right to work in the UK. We do not accept applications from candidates who require sponsorship.
Oldham Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. All roles require strong commitment to securing good outcomes for children, operating in a supportive environment focused on effective delivery, including identifying and responding appropriately to any safeguarding concerns, ensuring the immediate decision making reflects an analysis of risk and protective factors.
Oldham Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure from the DBS (and a Certificate of Good Conduct where you have lived abroad for 12 months or more in the last 10 years).
If you would like support with this application, an interview or interested in looking at any courses that could help with this position please get in touch with Get Oldham Working - Get Oldham Working registration form - Oldham Council
NB. - Any candidate that meets the criteria of our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme and meets the essential criteria of the role, will be guaranteed the first stage of assessment (whether that is an interview or another assessment, as appropriate).
Our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme supports candidates with disabilities, carers, those who are aged 24 or under and have previously been in or currently in care, and those whose last long term substantive employer was the Armed Forces.
Diversity and Inclusion:
At Oldham Council, we are committed to creating a fair and inclusive workplace that is as diverse as the communities we serve. We aim to develop a culture of respect, where differences are recognised regardless of background. We aim to be an employer of choice by engaging in fair and open recruitment processes and Applications are encouraged from all communities across the borough to create a workforce that represents the diversity of our population.
About Us:
Oldham is committed to developing a Co-operative future; one where citizens, partners and staff work together to improve the borough. Anyone joining the council is coming into an ambitious organisation with big plans. We are working hard to build a brighter future for our borough and we need people from a wide range of backgrounds to continue delivering the best for our communities.
The Council has a clear set of Behaviours, which outline how we do business and we share these borough wide with our residents, partners and businesses. Internally we have translated these into five cooperative behaviours which outline the priority areas of focus for all staff at all levels. You can view these Behaviours, along with staff benefits on our Greater.Jobs pages Working for Oldham
For details of how we use your data please see our Privacy Notice
Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for an at risk employee, it can be pulled back at any point up to the post being formally offered to an external candidate or an internal candidate that is not at risk of redundancy.
Right to Work in the UK
Right To Work
Job Description & Person Specification
Calculate your take home pay. Use this service to estimate how much Income Tax and National Insurance you should pay for the current tax year.
Employment could affect your benefits, find out more here. Turn2us Benefits Calculator.
Plan your public transport journey. Navigate Greater Manchester and beyond with Transport for Greater Manchester’s journey planner and additional travel resources. Plan a journey | Bee Network | Powered by TfGM