Operational Director of Children's Services

Job Description

Flexible, Homeworking with travel to Wales offices and services as required Permanent, Full-Time over 35 hours per weekSalary: Circa £67,000 per year Benefits: Holiday allowance minimum 29 days (pro-rata) plus public/bank holidays, flexiblematernity, adoption and paternity packages, pension scheme where we contribute up to 7%, an employee discount portal and much, much more!About Us:Our vision is that every child and young person has a safe and happy childhood. To do this, we need ambition. We need strategic leadership and direction. But just as important The compassion, the warmth and the strength youll bring to help us continuechanging lives.Reporting to the National Director of Wales, youll lead, develop and manage a dedicated team of managers who deliver a range of childrens services in a geographical area. One of the key missions will be to make sure that were fit for the future, especiallyin a post-lockdown Wales. This really is an exciting opportunity for an inspirational leader who wants to make a difference to the lives of children and young people.So why not take a well-earned tea break, have a read and review the attached job descriptionAbout the Role:Working with the senior leadership team of the Wales nation, youll be responsible for a defined area and were open to finding the best person who can establish relationships with key stakeholders and commissioners. Youll strive for excellence and workwith commissioned services to achieve the best outcomes possible for children and young people. With your decisive and collaborative leadership, youll be able to analyse, monitor and support service performance and delivery. As the Operational Director ofChildrens Services, youll be accountable for the quality of our provision, ensuring the finances of the charity are sustainable. Youll be an advocate for the charity, youll speak on behalf of children whose voices are not yet heard. Youll do everythingyou can to make sure they CAN be heard, while maintaining our outstanding reputation.Youll direct our success by:

• Providing leadership and overall management for a range of Childrens services, while working collaboratively with peers and stakeholders to make most of our resources
• Having responsibility for direct reports wholl be a range of committed staff with varying levels of expertise and managing their performance
• Monitoring contract management operations and ensuring effective governance by creating performance reports and supplying the information to relevant committees
• Guiding our sustainability and growth plans to make sure we are meeting or exceeding targets
• Oversee local tenders and grants and subsequent implementation and delivery plans
• Applying the HIGHEST standards of safeguarding across your patch and reporting on developments
• Operating within the local political context, adhering to legislative and regulatory requirements and build collaborative working relationships with local and national bodies, local government and their officials
• Acting as key account manager to commissioners, partners and stakeholders to ensure our services are promoted

Ideally, youll have:

• A relevant professional qualification in Education, Health or Social Care
• A management qualification or working towards S/NVQ level 5 in management or DMS leading to MBA
• Ability to achieve Responsible Individual (RI) status to be our designated person at a senior level to hold accountability, for both service quality and compliance, in adherence to the RISCA (Wales) Act 2016
• Strong people leadership including (though not limited to) Culture, Health and Safety, Financial, Performance and Retention
• Experience of Safeguarding and delivering registered care services
• Detailed knowledge of the Social Services(Wales) Act 2014 and RISCA (Wales) Act 2016, including other relevant legislation and how this applies to us
• Commercial awareness and the ability to identify new sources of revenue and business opportunities
• The availability to travel to various locations in Wales when required, though we are flexible and this can be discussed further at interview

To apply, wed like you to complete our application form and a supporting statement, telling us how youll champion better lives for children and how your skills, experience and ambitions meet with our needs.Interview date is planned for Tuesday 12th October.Closing date is Sunday 3rd October.If you require support in applying or have any questions, then dont hesitate to contact Carla Smart on .For safe and happy childhoods At Action for Children, we protect and support children and young people, providing practical and emotional care and support, ensuring their voices are heard, and campaigning to bring lasting improvements to their lives. Last year, we helped more than 600,000children and families across the UK.We arecommittedto safer recruitment practices to protect our service users; therefore, all applicants are expected tohave anunderstandingofandcommitmenttosafeguardingbest-practice.Action for Children is passionate about promotingequality, valuingdiversityand workinginclusively. We welcomeapplicationsfrom all suitably qualified personsparticularlypeople withDisabilitiesand Black, Asian andMinorityEthnic applicants, as thesegroups are currentlyunder-representedin our workforce.________Cyfarwyddwr Gweithredol Gwasanaethau Plant (Cyfeirnod yr Ymgyrch: 5776)Hyblyg, Gweithio Gartref a theithio i swyddfeydd a gwasanaethau Cymru yn l yr angen Parhaol, Amser Llawn dros 35 awr yr wythnosCyflog: Tua £67,000 y flwyddyn Buddion: Lwfans gwyliau o 29 diwrnod (pro-rata) ynghydgwyliau cyhoeddus/gwyliaur banc, pecynnau mamolaeth, mabwysiadu a thadolaeth hyblyg, cynllun pensiwn lle rydym yn cyfrannu hyd at 7%, porth gostyngiadau i weithwyr a llawer mwy!Amdanom Ni: Ein gweledigaeth yw i bob plentyn a pherson ifanc gael plentyndod diogel a hapus. I wneud hyn, mae angen uchelgais arnom. Mae angen arweinyddiaeth a chyfeiriad strategol arnom. Ond yr un mor bwysig Eich tosturi, eich cy