Social Work England are the specialist regulator for social work in England, focused on enabling positive change in social work. Every day, social workers support millions of people to improve their chances in life. We are taking a new approach to regulating social workers in their vital roles. We believe in the power of collaboration and share a common goal with those we regulate – to protect the public, enable positive change and ultimately improve people’s lives. As the Head of Business Planning and Improvement, you'll lead the development and progression of Social Work England's annual business plan, ensuring alignment with statutory objectives and corporate strategy. You'll oversee the project management function, driving organisation-wide initiatives using best practices in change management. Additionally, you'll lead the continuing development of robust data architecture, performance reporting and analysis, to enable evidence-based decision-making and generate insight and learning to continually improve our regulatory approach. What you will do Coordinate delivery of Social Work England’s data and insight strategy, directly leading work to achieve the priorities this identifies for data governance, data literacy, performance reporting and analysis. Oversee the work of the data and insight team, to ensure the organisation’s governance of data and reporting processes are fit for purpose, resilient and continually developing. Play an active role in the development of Social Work England’s corporate strategy, and ensure a clearly structured planning framework that aligns to the annual business planning cycle. Oversee the development and monitoring of the organisation’s business plan on an annual basis, ensuring the plan is aligned to corporate strategy and is focused on Social Work England’s key statutory obligations and wider organisational objectives, and that it clearly articulates success measures, timescales and resources. Oversee delivery of business plan activities, preparing regular reports for the executive leadership team and Board on performance and delivery and proactively suggesting mitigation plans for initiatives that are at risk of deviating from successful delivery. Manage and develop the project management office and our organisational approach to change management, operating in accordance with best practice project methodologies and delivering strategically valuable project benefits. Promote continuous improvement and cross-functional collaboration to help project managers to achieve business goals. Continue to develop our approach to benefits realisation, to provide executive leaders, our Board and external stakeholders with regular assurance that the intended outcomes and benefits of change projects are being realised. Work collaboratively with finance and operational departments to develop and maintain a suite of robust forecasting models and metrics, which enable us to understand and project future organisational performance and identify resourcing requirements. Work collaboratively with finance, people and development and operational departments to explore value for money and identify opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Develop a suite of metrics that will enable us to understand our cost base at functional level and monitor changes over time. Manage the business planning and improvement section’s budget and resources effectively, and in line with corporate policies and procedures. Lead and develop the team, continuing to build capability and resilience, ensuring that team members have clear objectives, are well-supported and that any specialist development or training requirements are identified and met. Implement and continually develop the organisation’s risk-management strategy. Support directorates and teams to identify, document and mitigate operational risks, and manage the risk register. Coordinate and implement Social Work England’s business continuity plans. Coordinate the production, publication and ongoing review and reissue of internal policies and procedures, ensuring these remain up-to-date and fit for purpose. Your skills, knowledge and experience Significant senior leadership and management experience. Significant experience in continuous improvement, risk and project management including accreditation in either Lean Six Sigma, Agile or Prince2. Demonstrable experience in data governance and quality assurance and the development of organisational data architecture. Significant experience of performance reporting and statistical analysis at a senior level in a complex organisation. Strong experience of project management with the ability to design and work with senior managers on complex corporate projects. Experience of successfully managing a multi-functional focused team. Experience of leading and delivering significant change and business improvement initiatives, including people and cultural change. Ability to inspire teams and individuals to attain goals and pursue excellence. Ability to develop effective relationships and influence people at all levels including senior management and Board members. Excellent communication, interpersonal and influencing skills, with the ability to articulate with credibility and conviction both orally and in writing. Demonstrable experience in programme management including relevant accreditation. Demonstrable track record in the management of a project management office. Demonstrable experience in overseeing an annual business planning process from the identification of potential initiatives through to the successful sign-off of the final business plan. A demonstrable commitment to inclusion and diversity. Details Job type: 12 months fixed term. Working pattern: Full-time. We offer flexible working subject to business need. Salary: £61,556 per year, rising to £63,880 per year after successful completion of a 6-month probationary period. Location: Sheffield/hybrid remote. Benefits: flexible working, contributory pension, life insurance and benefits portal. Interview date: 17/18 December 2024. Application During the application process, you'll be asked to provide answers to three questions from the job description. These answers will be what your application is scored on, please answer in as much detail as possible using examples where necessary. Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term contract Contract length: 12 months Pay: £61,556.00-£63,880.00 per year Benefits: Company pension Cycle to work scheme Free flu jabs Health & wellbeing programme Life insurance On-site gym Work from home Schedule: Flexitime Monday to Friday No weekends Work Location: Hybrid remote in Sheffield S1 2AB