Head of Service (Care Leavers and Separated Children)
Can you help to lead a service which was rated Outstanding by Ofsted in 2024, where high aspirations, strong relationships and a relentless focus on outcomes come together?
Would you like to be part of a system with a strong practice framewoork, a stable workforce, and an anti-discriminatory approach?
Do you have the leadership skis to secure the very best outcomes for care leavers and separated children at a time of change and transformation?
About the Role
This is a pivotal senior leadership role with responsibility for shaping and delivering our Care Leaver and Separated Children services. You will lead services that are vital to supporting the best possible outcomes for care experienced and asylum seeking young people.
You will supervise a group of managers who have oversight of our pods, small teams of social workers and personal advisers, that provide support to care experienced young people and children and young people who are outside their country of origin and separated from their parents or guardians. You will provide strategic leadership in these ares and also conttibute to the work of the Senior Leadership Team, including providing cover for all over areas of the Family Help & Protection service.
Working for us you will have the opportunity to be part of an unique whole-system approach to relationship-based practice, which does not rely on agency workers. You will be part of a system that prioritises trauma-informed relationships wihtin teams and with families. Support will be provided to develop you skills as a relationship-based leader.
We are looking for someone who can build on existing strengths while leading confidently through a period of significant transformation. This includes Families First reforms, the development of regional fostering recruitment arrangements and the wider changes facing local government. You will need to balance strategic leadership with grip on operational delivery, sustaining strong performance while driving innovation, improvement and service development.
The successful candidate will bring credibility, clarity and energy to the role. They will be able to lead across complex systems, work effectively with partners, support and develop staff, and keep children and carers at the heart of decision-making. This is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious and values-led leader who wants to make a lasting impact in a well-regarded service.
About you
As Head of Service, you will provide strategic, operational and professional leadership across services for care leavers and separated children, delivering high-quality, innovative and financially sustainable services. We are looking for a leader who combines strong social work values with sound judgement, political awareness and the ability to translate strategy into excellent day-to-day practice.
You will be someone who can inspire confidence in staff, partners and senior leaders, while maintaining a sharp focus on quality, performance and outcomes. You will bring experience of leading within Children’s Social Care, strong financial and service planning skills, and the ability to lead teams through change with clarity and compassion.
To be successful in this role, you must hold a recognised social work qualification and be registered with Social Work England. You will also need substantial management experience in children’s social work, including experience of working strategically, leading improvement and managing complex services. We are particularly keen to hear from candidates who can demonstrate a strong track record in service development, partnership working, workforce leadership and delivering high standards in practice for children and care leavers.
If you are a compassionate, strategic and ambitious leader who is committed to achieving the best for children and care leavers, we would love to hear from you.
Interview Date 23 June 2026
What we offer
We offer a strong package of benefits to support your wellbeing, financial security and work-life balance, including:
-
Competitive salary
- Career average pension scheme
- Rental deposit loan scheme
- 27 days annual leave
- Flexible working arrangements
- Childcare voucher scheme
Useful links: ‘Empathy, tenacity and compassion’: an evaluation of relationship based practice in Brighton and Hove
Evaluation of Reflective Practice Groups in Brighton & Hove
Ofsted Report
If you would like to discuss this opportunity informally, please contact Director of Family Help & Protection, Kirsty Hanna -
[email protected]
Encouraging a diverse workforce
Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.
Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).
Why work for us?
As a council, we want to:
- be connected
- be confident
- be innovative and creative
- be diverse and inclusive
- be healthy and psychologically safe
For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us which gives details of our wellbeing support, our benefits including leave and pensions as well as details of our training and development.
How to apply
Please read our Apply for a job at the council pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.
As part of your application, you will need to provide your education and career history and answer some application/shortlisting questions. Your answers to the application/shortlisting questions are the most important part of your application as they will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our Shortlisting questions guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.
AI advice for candidates
We are interested in hearing about your experience and skills in your own words. While we value people who know how to use AI, we ask that you minimise using it in your application.
We are keen to hear how your experience and skills align to our values and the skills and experience needed to perform well in our roles with clear real examples from you. To support you in this, we have guidance on using the STAR model which can help you ensure you are telling us your whole story. We also provide clarity on the skills we are looking for in our adverts and in the job description/person specification attached to each job advert.
All the applications we receive are read by at least two hiring managers and we do not use AI in this process. Our experience of reading applications is that those that have heavily used AI contain generic paragraphs that are strikingly similar to other applicants’ responses. This makes it extremely difficult to differentiate between applications, and doesn't give us enough evidence of your individual skills. There is a risk that we will therefore not be able to shortlist you. Instead, we recommend you ensure your application stands out by presenting clear examples of your actual skills and experiences in your own words.
Additional information
Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.
Please note that this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and is subject to a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Check.
We are a workplace that supports flexibility and employee wellbeing in the way we work whilst providing the best service for our customers. Team and service working arrangements are designed to support both employee work life balance and team collaboration. These would be part of your individual working arrangements alongside any personal preference agreed with your manager in advance of joining. Your contractual location will be the designated council office for your team and travel to and from your contractual location would be at your own expense.
