Our benefits
We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage…
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A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family
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Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme
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Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances
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Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings
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Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth
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Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day
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Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network
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Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards
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An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes
Take a look at our Employment Benefits Brochure attached to this advert to find out more.
About the role
We are seeking a Strategic Business Support Manager (SBSM) to work alongside the existing SBSM to strengthen capacity and resilience across the Children, Education and Families (CEF) Directorate.
This is a part‑time strategic role focused on enabling services to operate effectively by providing strong leadership, oversight and coordination of Business Support activity across Social Care and Education. The postholder will work collaboratively with senior leaders, service managers and Business Support colleagues to ensure that high‑quality, consistent and responsive support is embedded across the Directorate.
This role is ideal for someone who thrives on working across complex systems, enjoys problem‑solving and service improvement, and is passionate about enabling others to deliver the best outcomes for children, young people and families.
What you’ll be doing
Working in close partnership with the existing Strategic Business Support Manager, you will:
Strategic leadership and capacity building
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Provide strategic oversight and leadership to Business Support activity across CEF, helping to balance demand, priorities and capacity across the Directorate
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Act as a strategic partner to Service Directors and Heads of Service, offering constructive challenge and practical solutions
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Contribute to directorate‑wide planning, transformation activity and service redesign
Business Support development and consistency
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Support the alignment of Business Support across Social Care and Education, promoting a consistent, joined‑up approach
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Lead and support the development of clear remits, processes, guidance and standardised ways of working
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Champion best practice, continuous improvement and the effective use of systems and technology
Workforce and operational support
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Provide senior oversight and support to Senior Business Officers, Business Development Coordinators and wider Business Support colleagues
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Contribute to workforce planning, service reviews, restructures and consultations where required
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Support complex or high‑risk pieces of work, including business continuity planning, risk management and operational problem‑solving
Collaboration and relationships
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Build strong, trusted relationships across the Directorate and with corporate services
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Represent Business Support at senior meetings, working groups and directorate forums
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Promote a culture of collaboration, accountability, respect and excellence in line with our CARE values
What we’re looking for
We’re looking for someone who brings:
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Significant experience in Business Support leadership, ideally within a large, complex organisation
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Strong understanding of Children’s Services, Education or public‑sector environments
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Proven ability to work strategically while remaining grounded in operational realities
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Experience of leading or supporting service improvement, change and transformation
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Excellent communication skills, with the confidence to influence and challenge constructively
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A collaborative, values‑driven approach and commitment to developing others
Why join us?
At Cambridgeshire County Council, Business Support plays a critical enabling role in supporting frontline services and improving outcomes for children and families. In this role, you’ll have the opportunity to:
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Work at a strategic level across a diverse and evolving directorate
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Shape how Business Support operates and adds value across CEF
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Be part of a supportive, collaborative leadership approach
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Work flexibly in a way that supports work‑life balance
Our values
Everything we do is underpinned by our CARE values:
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Collaborative
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Accountable
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Respectful
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Excellence
We’re looking for someone who lives these values and brings them to life through their leadership.
For more information or to chat about this opportunity please contact [email protected]
What will you be doing?
Overall purpose of the job
This role provides leadership and coordination for the business support functions across all of Children’s Social Care and Education. The postholder will ensure the smooth running of systems and processes, deliver high quality support to colleagues and suppliers, and maintain strong governance and compliance standards. They will oversee financial administration, customer service and project work, supporting managers to meet service objectives‑ and improve efficiency.
The postholder will act as a strategic partner to Service Directors and Heads of Service, providing constructive challenge and practical solutions. They will contribute to directorate wide planning, transformation activity and service redesign, and will support the alignment and modernisation of Business Support across Social Care and Education. This includes leading the development of standardised remits, processes, guidance and frameworks, and championing best practice and the effective use of systems, data‑ and technology.
The role will also involve supporting complex and high-risk work such as business continuity planning, risk management and operational problem‑ solving. The postholder will represent Business Support at senior meetings, working groups and directorate forums, promoting a culture of collaboration, accountability, respect and excellence in line with our CARE values. In addition, they will lead and motivate a team of business support staff, ensuring they are well managed‑, developed and equipped to deliver a responsive and professional service.
Management of Business Support
Take responsibility for the leadership, management, and performance of a team of business support colleagues, embedding a culture of continuous improvement focused on quality, governance, and strategic alignment across Children’s Social Care.
Manage supervision, appraisal, recruitment, and development of staff, ensuring flexibility and capability to meet evolving service needs. Provide strategic advice and support to the Children's Social Care and Education Management Team on change management and transformation initiatives. Ensure effective working arrangements in relation to Accommodation, Health & Safety, Business Continuity Planning, ICT, and other corporate initiatives.
Customer Experience
Lead the development and management of systems and processes (including education and social care asset management and helpdesk) to ensure seamless access to services and professional support when issues arise.
Drive improvements in customer service, complaints resolution, and stakeholder engagement. Oversee quality assurance, communications, and promotion of Children's Social Care and Education activities. Monitor service performance against KPIs and Service Plan objectives, reporting exceptions and recommending corrective actions. Ensure compliance with GDPR, FOI, and Health & Safety requirements, and maintain robust risk assessments and business continuity plans.
Management of funding streams and finances
Provide strategic oversight of financial processes and governance across Children's Social Care and Education, including external funding streams, grants, and invoiced income. Support budget holders with monitoring, forecasting, and reporting, ensuring compliance with financial controls. Lead end-of-year budget closedown and advise senior managers on financial strategy and efficiencies. Identify opportunities for cost savings and improved financial performance.
Project work
Lead and support service-wide improvement projects, including digital transformation, process redesign, and strategic initiatives directed by the Head of Children's Social Care and Education. Apply project management principles to deliver outcomes on time and within budget. Develop options and prepare reports with recommendations to influence senior decision-making.
About you
What we’re looking for
We’re looking for someone who brings:
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Significant experience in Business Support leadership, ideally within a large, complex organisation
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Strong understanding of Children’s Services, Education or public‑sector environments
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Proven ability to work strategically while remaining grounded in operational realities
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Experience of leading or supporting service improvement, change and transformation
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Excellent communication skills, with the confidence to influence and challenge constructively
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A collaborative, values‑driven approach and commitment to developing others
About us
Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.
Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.
We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities. If you don’t meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don’t be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Through a Guaranteed Interview Scheme, we will offer an interview to all applicants who disclose a disability and meet the essential criteria for a job vacancy. On your application form you can indicate you are disabled. Some examples of reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.
Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.
https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/jobs-and-careers
