Head of Service Corporate Parenting - REQ003514

Job title: Head of Service, Corporate Parenting

Salary: Dir 60% £79,939 - £87,722

Hours: 37hrs

Contract: Permanent

Location: Leeds

As our new Head of Service Corporate Parenting, you’ll be ambitious for our Children Looked After, ensuring they get the right support and that the council’s statutory and moral responsibilities are met.

We have an excellent range of our own residential homes and foster carers and this role is an exciting opportunity to help lead the service as it continues to expand, allowing us to bring more children in external residentials into our own provision.

We are committed to the ambition of Child Friendly Leeds. We want Leeds to be a city where all children are safe, happy and healthy, do well at school, fulfil their potential and grow up to be active citizens with voice and influence. Our children’s services have been rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and we are committed to maintaining this high standard.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About you

Educated to degree level or higher.
Diploma in Social Work or equivalent with membership of relevant professional bodies.
Excellent collaboration and communication skills with the ability to influence, negotiate and establish credibility with stakeholders locally, regionally and nationally.
Innovation, drive and a clear passion for improving the lives of the city’s most vulnerable young people.
Experience of successful leadership and management of complex projects.

About the role

The Heads of Service for Corporate Parenting are pivotal to our role as a Corporate Parent, leading on our corporate parenting duties, delivering on our strategy and ensuring the right support for our Children Looked After, meeting our statutory and moral responsibilities.

We are ambitious for our Children Looked After and Care Leavers and have an excellent range of our own residential homes, foster carers, supported accommodation and support services which we are expanding to allow us to bring more children in external residential and IFA care into our own provision.

We have now implemented the first phase of a multi-million pound investment plan to change our offer to young people and improve their experiences. You will have the unique opportunity to shape and guide the services as they change and respond to better meet the needs of our children.

You’ll be closely supported in your role by our Chief Officer Corporate Parenting and a dynamic wider team that shares your commitment to improving the lives and experience of young people in Leeds.

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements.
a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities.
a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further.

For more information or to arrange a discussion about the role, please contact Ben Finley, Chief Officer for Corporate Parenting, on 07715 044858 or at ben.finley@leeds.gov.uk

To request a candidate information pack, please contact recruitment@leeds.gov.uk.

Closing date: Friday 27th March 2026 at 11:59pm

Interviews: Friday 6th March 2026

How to apply

Apply for this job online. Please upload your CV and complete a personal statement of no more than 1000 words addressing the employee specification, evidencing how you meet the criteria.

Read our guidancefor further advice. Please check your information carefully and ensure you complete all sections before submitting your application.

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children’s or Adults’ barred list as applicable will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visaroute before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job purpose

Take overall responsibility for the operational effectiveness of the Councils Residential care offer for children and young adults. Deliver programmes of strategic significance to the Council to deliver services in line with Council & Directorate priorities.

Take lead and be responsible for implementing the service plan and drive continuous improvement initiatives through leading and contributing to cross Council projects, collaborative working with partners and supporting Directorate management teams.

A key element of this role is to ensure that the Council delivers high quality services that meet and exceed statutory and regulated standards. The role must demonstrate a comprehensive and effective approach to ensure that the safeguarding expectations of key stakeholders are met.

Responsibilities

Responsible for the quality and delivery of leadership and management to Residential Services, and act as the ‘Responsible Individual’ for the authority’s childrens homes.
Contribute to and be jointly responsible for the development and delivery of an agenda of service improvement, and the ongoing development with partners of locality based, fully integrated provider services across the city.
Identify improvement needs, lead and support transformation programmes in Children and Families and specifically to secure high quality, robust, effective and efficiently delivered services.
Drive a programme that delivers the Council’s ambitions and requirements for Corporate Parenting.
Provide effective management of resources in accordance with statute, the rules and regulations of the Council and the Directorate.
Maintain a robust management framework to ensure the ongoing effective management of the service and resources employed.
In designated areas have lead responsibility for ensuring high quality service delivery meeting full compliance with statutory, regulatory and Leeds City Council standards.
Manage the effective and efficient delivery and development of high-quality residential services for children and young adults.
Implement ways of raising and extending the quality of services to children.
Lead day to day service delivery and the continuous development and improvement of provider services in accordance with agreed targets and objectives included in council and service plans.
In designated areas have lead responsibility to ensure full compliance with safeguarding policies and procedures relating to service delivery and employment practices.
Ensure that all aspects of service delivery, community engagement and staffing, focus on equality of outcomes and secure equal and fair treatment and access for all.
Achieve a full understanding of service responsibilities and organisation, ensuring that all service costs are clearly documented and that asset management is effectively addressed.
Develop and implement robust performance management processes to ensure that the service and staff deliver to agreed standards.
Actively and directly manage performance of both staff and the service through appropriate appraisal and supervision, ensuring early intervention where performance falls below, or threatens to fall below, required standards.
Implement regular, formal quality assurance and performance monitoring and reporting and ensure that management information systems are developed, utilised and maintained in support of this.
Ensure that client information is comprehensive, regularly updated and that data protection standards and information sharing protocols are in place and are fully complied with.
Ensure that commissioned outcomes are understood by all staff and that service delivery is flexible and responsive, to enable it to meet changing priorities and needs.
Ensure that workforce development and skills mix are a key component in any service delivery redesign.
Actively and directly manage and establish controls for a large and complex budget.
Significant leadership experience in a social care service delivery or operational area.
Management of complex projects and of the delivery of required outcomes.
Bring together and provide leadership to the wider internal disciplines essential to the success of the service, including (but not limited to) support from finance, legal and procurement.
Ensure effective service delivery through effective governance, project, budget and risk management.
Build confidence with senior officers, elected members and partners, ensuring that they are appropriately briefed and involved in relation to any service issues and that information is available and accessible to senior internal stakeholders.
In line with the Budget Management Accountability Framework to be responsible and accountable for developing appropriate, proportionate and effective financial solutions to be implemented across the service.
Take lead and build strong and dynamic relationships and networks and build trust with individuals and partner agencies and external organisations to deliver better outcomes.
Manage, promote and deliver positive solutions to achieving diversity and inclusion in all aspects of service delivery, community engagement and human resource areas, focussing on equality of outcome.

The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate to the grade.

Qualifications

Level 5 qualification in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare or equivalent and substantial leadership experience in childrens homes and residential care services or qualifying qualification in Social Work, membership of Social Work England and substantial experience in leadership and management in residential care or childrens services or graduate level qualification in relevant subject to working childrens residential care and substantial leadership experience in children’s residential care.

Working Context

Post holders will work flexibly both at home and at various locations across the City and region. All colleagues should work in line with our hybrid working principles and spend regular time in the workplace to support service delivery, meeting the needs of the team and the requirements of their individual role. The hours are worked mainly Monday to Friday. However, the post holder will be expected to work outside normal working hours, including attendance at evening/weekend meetings or events if required to meet the needs of the service.

Essential requirements

It is essential that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria. Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that they meet all the essential requirements.

Able to provide visible and supportive leadership, which empowers, enables and develops staff to achieve results.
Able to manage and monitor performance effectively and set clear objectives for the review of individual and service level performance.
Able to produce comprehensive high-quality reports, business cases and deliver presentations to an audience.
Able to deliver Projects, using formal methodologies which support business change.
Able to make an effective contribution to internal and external meetings including complex and sensitive negotiations.
Able to take forward initiatives and policies from development to implementation.
Able to resolve conflict.
Able to manage competing priorities whilst delivering on a range of projects and adapting to changing circumstances and priorities.
Able to initiate and lead change programmes, improve service quality and support a culture that drives up standards and performance.
Detailed knowledge and understanding of economic strategy and policy, of local government political systems and experience of working on politically sensitive issues which commands respect trust and confidence.
Demonstrate knowledge of legislation, regulations, policies, inspections and performance information applicable to the relevant strategic functions.
Comprehensive understanding of the inspection and regulatory framework as relevant to the role relating to children’s social care, fostering, children’s residential services and Youth Justice Services.
Understanding of and commitment to a culture of quality outcomes.
An understanding of and commitment to sustainability in service delivery.
Comprehensive understanding of social care and corporate parenting, in particular the management and delivery of high quality residential care services.
Demonstrate a detailed knowledge and understanding of Children’s Services within local government.
Experience of managing risk in relation to an area of work.
Experience of managing children’s regulated services, in particular in the context of the Children’s Homes Regulations 2015.
Substantial experience in building credible and effective collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
Evidence of developing and driving a culture which puts customers first and where everyone can realise their potential and ‘feels they count’.
Experience of working with senior management to shape and influence the delivery of the council’s strategic priorities ensuring people issues are kept at the forefront.

Behavioural & other Characteristics required.

Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct.
Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon
Be aware of promote and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures e.g., health, safety and security, confidentiality, and data protection.
Be aware of and support difference ensuring equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, and promoting the behaviours, values and standards of Leeds City Council.
Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, ensuring compliance with relevant policies and procedures.
Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.

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