Job Description
Who we are & what we stand for
At Gateshead, we believe that "the strength of Gateshead is the people of Gateshead." Everything we do is driven by our commitment to helping children, young people and families thrive.
Our Children's Services are rated 'Good' by Ofsted, and we are ambitious about striving for excellence as we continue to strengthen practice, culture and outcomes across the borough. Through our Thrive agenda, we are working with partners and communities to create the conditions in which children and families can achieve their full potential.
As part of our senior leadership team, you will join a service that values relational practice, continuous learning and innovation. We are committed to delivering high-quality support to children and families at the earliest opportunity while ensuring children are protected, supported and empowered to flourish.
This is a significant strategic leadership role within Children's Services and one of three Heads of Function reporting directly to the Service Director for Children's Social Care and Early Help.
As Head of Family Help and Safeguarding, you will provide vision, leadership and direction across a broad portfolio of services that support children, young people and families from early intervention through to family help; safeguarding, protection and care proceedings.
You will be responsible for leading a number of critical services and service developments, including:
- Best Start in Life Hubs
- Youth Justice and Early Help Services
- Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) and Emergency Duty Team (EDT)
- Family Help and Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams
- Children Missing from Home and Care Service
- Pre-birth services
- Children with Disabilities service
- Risk Outside the Home (ROTH) services
- Management of our Trusting Hand Service - supporting Adolescent Mental Health and prevention of hospital admission
- 16-17 homelessness prevention
- Legal proceedings and family court work
- Service transformation and innovation programmes
- Medium-Term Financial Strategy demand-reduction initiatives
Leading a large and complex portfolio, you will work closely with Practice Leads, partners and senior leaders across the system to ensure children and families receive the right support at the right time.
You will drive improvement, innovation and high-quality practice across services, ensuring robust safeguarding arrangements, effective quality assurance and strong performance. You will also play a key role in shaping future service delivery, responding to legislative reform and embedding evidence-informed practice that improves outcomes for children and young people.
You will be joining a service with an established and ambitious transformation programme to embed the Family Help model and wider social care reforms. This role will be instrumental in ensuring the effective implementation, embedding and ongoing review of services designed to provide the right support at the right time for children, young people and families. Working across the continuum of need, you will help shape and evaluate innovative approaches, using evidence, insight and learning to strengthen practice, improve outcomes and ensure services continue to meet the changing needs of our communities.
As a senior representative of the council, you will influence policy, lead partnership working and contribute to strategic forums including safeguarding partnerships and wider multi-agency arrangements.
We're looking for an experienced and inspirational leader with a strong track record of delivering positive outcomes for children and families.
What you will bring
- a recognised social work qualification and registration with Social Work England
- significant post-qualifying experience across children's social care services
- extensive senior leadership experience in services supporting vulnerable children, young people and families
- a detailed understanding of safeguarding legislation, statutory responsibilities and national policy
- strong knowledge of child protection systems, thresholds and social work practice frameworks
- experience of leading complex services through transformation, improvement and regulatory scrutiny
- a proven ability to manage performance, quality assurance and large service budgets
- significant experience of leading multi-agency partnerships and influencing at a senior strategic level
- the ability to analyse complex information and make sound decisions in challenging environments
- excellent communication skills, with experience presenting to senior boards, elected members and inspection bodies
- a collaborative and values-led leadership style, with a commitment to developing others and building high-performing teams
Above all, you will be passionate about improving outcomes for children and families, championing excellent social work practice and leading services that place children at the heart of everything we do.
This is an exciting opportunity to lead some of the most critical functions within Children's Services and play a key role in shaping future services across Gateshead.
What’s in it for you
In Gateshead, we value our leaders and invest in their wellbeing, development and future. In this role, you will benefit from:
- Competitive salary
A fair and transparent pay structure that reflects your skills, experience and leadership contribution. - Outstanding Local Government Pension Scheme
A highly regarded, secure pension with generous employer contributions. Find out more at: https://twpf.info - Generous annual leave
32 days of annual leave (including 2 fixed days), with the option to purchase up to 10 additional days. - Hybrid and flexible working
Senior leaders work on a hybrid basis, spending 60% of their time at Gateshead Civic Centre, supporting effective collaboration, visibility and leadership while maintaining flexibility and balance. - Learning and development
Extensive professional development opportunities, including leadership programmes, system‑wide learning and Social Work Academy support. - Health and wellbeing support
Access to mental health resources, occupational health, and discounted gym membership through our partner GLL. - Cycle to Work scheme
A tax‑efficient way to stay active while saving money. - Electric and hybrid car scheme
A cost‑effective and environmentally friendly salary sacrifice scheme (after 12 months' service), enabling access to brand‑new electric or hybrid vehicles. - Exclusive discounts and salary sacrifice options
Through our VIVUP employee benefits platform, enjoy discounts on retail, travel and everyday purchases, plus salary‑sacrifice options for white goods, electronics and more (after 6 months' service).
Ready to join us? Here's how
If this sounds like the right opportunity for you, we’d love to hear from you.
You can apply online by pressing the apply now button. Within the form, you’ll be asked for details about you, your career history, skills, experiences and qualifications.
We advise you to be as detailed and specific as possible, paying particular attention to any of the above which are relevant to the role to which you are applying.
If you have any questions about your application, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our recruitment team via recruitment@gateshead.gov.uk
Please note: As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role. However, in high-volume recruitment situations, it may not always be practicable to interview every eligible candidate. In such cases, we may need to prioritise those who best meet the essential criteria, based on the information provided in the application.
Additionally, the Council reserves the right to close this vacancy early or adjust the shortlisting criteria, including the pass mark for interview selection, to ensure a fair and manageable recruitment process. We encourage early applications.