Title

WORKFORCE

Deputy Director Children's Social Care

Up to £98k

You'll be building on strong foundations to deliver excellent services here in Oxfordshire as care services for children have been judged good or outstanding.

We've still got a lot of work to do to deliver consistently high quality services and the best possible outcomes for children, young people and families. New national agendas, greater community diversity and reducing resources are generating major challenges. We are tackling these in a range of ways and believe that we have the capability and capacity to maintain our trajectory of improvement, notwithstanding service and fi nancial pressures.

We are looking for a social care professional with stature, to be responsible for the successful operation of our Children's Social Care Service, including the delivery of an effective child protection system. You will lead, develop and continually improve professional practice with specifi c focus on children's social work and social care professionals.

With accountability for a wide range of Children‘s Social Care services, you will relish the challenge of making sure that services are consistently child centred, of achieving continuous improvements, and of delivering good value for money. Most of all you will be driven by a passion for improving children and young people's lives.

This is a high profile, politically sensitive role and it is imperative that you have the ability to work collaboratively and creatively both within the directorate, corporately and with our partners across the county. Exceptional leadership skills will be key to your success.

For a confidential discussion about the role, please contact our consultants at GatenbySanderson Jon Houlihan on 0121 644 5710 or Phillip Emms on 0113 205 6078. For more information and how to apply please see the GatenbySanderson website

Closing date: 28th June 2013

WORKFORCE

Counting the cost of rectifying exceptional financial support to councils

By David Blackman | 19 March 2026

The scale of the problems exceptional financial support is intended to tackle highlights the need for structural funding reform, say sector experts. David Bl...

WORKFORCE

River deep, feelings high

By Cllr Elissa Swinglehurst | 19 March 2026

The complex challenge of pollution in the River Wye and its tributaries called for a partnership approach and a new charter will become a touchstone for deci...

WORKFORCE

Places: a call for more coterminosity

By Dr Catherine Howe | 18 March 2026

Catherine Howe asks: What if, instead of tussles over public sector reform between places and Whitehall, 'we work iteratively and together across place and t...

WORKFORCE

Ensuring people take pride of place

By Andrew Laird | 17 March 2026

To successfully deliver the Pride in Place programme communities need to be prioritised in both governance and delivery, say Professor Donna Hall and Andrew ...