OR24740- Director of Safeguarding and Support - Interims
27 days ago
Swindon
Director of Safeguarding and Support – Interims Location: Local Authority Contract: 3-month rolling contract Hours: Full-time, 37 hours per week Office Requirement: Minimum 3 days per week onsite Level: Must currently be working at Director level, or have previously worked at Director level — this is not a step-up role Overview Aatom Recruitment is currently supporting a local authority in the appointment of an interim Director of Safeguarding and Support. This is a senior leadership role responsible for providing strategic direction, operational excellence, and high-quality safeguarding services for vulnerable children and families across Swindon. The successful candidate will ensure the effective delivery of Children’s Services, driving continuous improvement, workforce development, and cross-agency collaboration to deliver positive outcomes for children and young people. Key ResponsibilitiesLeadership & Strategic Management • Provide professional leadership, strategic direction, and performance oversight for Children’s Services., • Ensure the delivery of high-quality family support, safeguarding, and protection services for vulnerable children, including those on child protection plans or identified as children in need., • Lead, motivate, and support senior managers, ensuring strong accountability, effective supervision, and robust performance management.Operational Delivery, • Ensure effective operational execution through partnership working with internal departments and external partners, including Education, Health, Schools, Police, and other statutory agencies., • Promote excellence in workforce planning, staff development, and quality assurance.Governance, Reporting & Financial Management, • Attend and report to Council, Scrutiny Committee, Cabinet Meetings, Joint Commissioning Groups, and the Health & Wellbeing Board as required., • Manage service budgets, ensuring financial governance and identifying efficiencies without compromising service quality., • Work closely with the Lead Member for Children’s Services, providing professional advice on relevant issues.Service Improvement & System Leadership, • Lead the next stage of service development within Swindon Children’s Services, ensuring continuous improvement and high-performance culture., • Foster a culture of transparency, equality, and positive trade union engagement., • Develop effective working relationships across central and local government, Ofsted, schools, health services, criminal justice, third sector partners, and private providers.Performance, Data & Quality Assurance, • Ensure the service maintains effective systems for recording and sharing performance data., • Use intelligence-led insights to drive improvement and deliver high-quality outcomes for children and families., • Lead multi-agency collaboration to ensure coherent and effective service delivery across the Borough.Statutory Responsibilities, • Accountable to the Director of Children’s Services (DCS) for statutory safeguarding and child protection functions., • Advise the DCS on service quality, performance, and improvement needs., • Deputise for the DCS or Director of Corporate Parenting as required.Essential Qualifications, • Social Work qualification with current Social Work England registration., • Degree-level management qualification, or equivalent significant senior management experience.Knowledge & Experience, • Comprehensive understanding of legislation, regulations, and statutory guidance relating to Children’s Social Care and Early Help., • Significant experience operating at a senior level within a political or local authority environment., • Proven success in leading and improving statutory children’s services, quality assurance frameworks, and operational delivery., • Experience designing and implementing service transformation and improvement programmes within financial constraints., • Strong background in managing large, complex budgets., • Proven ability to work across multi-agency partnerships and establish strong networks., • Experience leading performance management, quality assurance, and data-driven service improvement., • Excellent interpersonal, negotiation, and influencing skills., • This role is classified as regulated activity and is subject to full vetting and barring checks. Please contact Anisha Patel to apply!
