Director of Safeguarding & Support – AR

Job Details

Job Title: Director of Safeguarding & Support
Location: Swindon (minimum 3 days per week in the office)
Contract: Full-time – 37 hours per week
Reporting to: Director of Children’s Services

Job Overview

Swindon Borough Council is seeking an experienced Director of Safeguarding & Support to provide strategic leadership across Children’s Services, ensuring the delivery of high-quality safeguarding, family help and child protection services for vulnerable children and young people.

This role is responsible for leading the operational delivery, performance management and continuous improvement of children’s social care services, with a strong focus on safeguarding outcomes for children subject to child protection plans and those identified as children in need.

The Director will work closely with internal and external partners, including education, health, criminal justice and voluntary sector organisations, to ensure coordinated and effective support for children and families across the borough.

This role requires candidates who are currently operating at Director level, or who have previously held a Director-level position.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

  • Provide strategic leadership and direction for safeguarding, family help and children’s social care services across the Council.
  • Lead the next stage of development and improvement within Children’s Services in Swindon.
  • Promote a culture of openness, accountability, equality and high professional standards across the service.

Service Delivery and Performance

  • Ensure the effective delivery of safeguarding and protection services for vulnerable children and young people.
  • Oversee operational teams responsible for children subject to child protection plans and children in need.
  • Lead performance management, quality assurance and service improvement activity across Children’s Services.
  • Use performance data and intelligence to drive continuous improvement and ensure strong outcomes for children.

Leadership and Workforce Development

  • Provide visible and effective leadership to senior managers and operational teams.
  • Ensure robust supervision, performance management and appraisal processes are in place.
  • Champion workforce development and continuous professional learning across the service.
  • Hold senior managers accountable for the delivery and performance of their services.

Partnership Working

  • Work collaboratively with statutory partners including schools, health agencies, criminal justice services, public health and voluntary organisations.
  • Build and maintain strong working relationships with local and national partners including Ofsted and other local authorities.
  • Lead multi-agency approaches to safeguarding and improving outcomes for children and families.

Governance and Political Engagement

  • Attend and report to Council meetings, Scrutiny Committees, Cabinet meetings, Joint Commissioning Groups and the Health and Wellbeing Board as required.
  • Work closely with the Lead Member for Children’s Services, keeping them informed on service developments and key issues.
  • Ensure transparent reporting of service performance and outcomes.

Financial and Resource Management

  • Manage the budget and resources allocated to the service area.
  • Deliver efficiencies where possible while maintaining high-quality services.
  • Ensure effective governance and accountability for financial management.

Corporate Leadership

  • Contribute as a member of the Children’s Services Leadership Team to the wider vision and objectives of the Council.
  • Provide Director-level cover for Corporate Parenting services when required.
  • Deputise for the Director of Children’s Services where appropriate.

Essential Requirements

Qualifications

  • Qualified Social Worker with current registration with Social Work England
  • Degree-level management qualification or equivalent experience.

Knowledge and Experience

  • Comprehensive knowledge of legislation, statutory guidance and regulations relating to Children’s Services, safeguarding and early help.
  • Significant senior leadership experience within Children’s Social Care in a local authority setting.
  • Proven experience of operating successfully within a political and governance environment.
  • Demonstrated experience leading large-scale safeguarding and children’s social care services.
  • Experience of designing and delivering service transformation and improvement programmes.
  • Extensive experience managing complex budgets and delivering efficiencies.
  • Proven experience working in multi-agency partnerships to improve outcomes for children and families.
  • Experience developing and implementing performance management, quality assurance and data intelligence frameworks.

Skills

  • Excellent leadership and strategic thinking abilities.
  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to influence and negotiate at senior levels.
  • Ability to build effective partnerships across multiple organisations and stakeholders.
  • Strong decision-making and problem-solving capabilities.

Additional Information

This role involves working with vulnerable children and young people and is therefore subject to enhanced vetting and barring checks in line with safeguarding requirements.

The successful candidate will play a key role in shaping the future of Children’s Services in Swindon and ensuring the highest standards of safeguarding and support for children and families across the borough.