Bcft ​Director Of Strategy And Governance

BCFT ​Director of Strategy and Governance (DSG0401)

Bradford Children and Families Trust 

BCFT Director of Strategy and Governance 

Salary: AD2 – £94,000 - £106,000 

Hours: 37

Contract: Permanent 

Base: Sir Henry Mitchell House, this is a hybrid role.

Holidays: Annual Leave starts at 31 days and rises to max of 34 days with service. (plus, public holidays).

Excellent Pension: Defined benefit scheme with 16.8% employer contribution 

Career Progression: Tailored training and development opportunities

Professional Support: Regular supervision and annual appraisals, payment of professional fees

Closing Date: Thursday, 18 January 2024  

About Us 

Bradford Children and Families Trust is commissioned by Bradford Council to deliver a wide range of services for children, families and young people on their behalf. The Trust is accountable for determining how outcomes of these services are achieved and for the day-to-day running of commissioned children's services.

The Trust combines the mindset, dynamism, and energy of a start-up together with the national expertise and determination of the Trust's Board, senior leadership and colleagues' practical experiences of providing children's social care services in Bradford.

Our vision is for all children and young people in the Bradford District to be safe and realise their full potential.

Working for the Bradford Children and Families Trust offers the opportunity to work with great people who are passionate about delivering change in a city whose culture offers as much diversity as it’s geography.

About the role

The Director of Strategy and Governance will play a highly influential role in the Trust. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, you will lead the development, implementation and monitoring of a strategy framework. This will include driving forward the business plan, leading on the business planning process and monitoring organisational performance.

Working closely with the Chief Executive, members of the Board and senior leadership colleagues, you will act as the professional lead and Governance adviser to support effective decision making in line with statutory and legislative guidance.

You will build and progress strong collaborative working relationships across organisational boundaries, and lead a multi-disciplined team including strategy, policy, governance, compliance, business planning, programme and change management, communication and marketing, the office of the Chief Executive and Board support.

Qualifications

• Degree and / or equivalent management or professional qualification (specific and relevant to the area of the post).
• Evidence of continued professional, leadership and personal development.

Experience

• Experience of a senior management role within a public sector environment.
• Significant experience of creating, developing and implementing strategies, plans and options appraisals, including stakeholder engagement, decision processes and translation into operational plans.
• Significant experience and a proven record of success in communicating and engaging with a wide range of internal and external bodies, building partnerships, influencing at a senior level and productive working relationships and positively promoting organisational reputation and interests.
• Significant experience of leading, motivating and managing multi-disciplinary teams, including the establishment of a positive performance culture that has delivered effective positive outcomes and continuous service improvement.
• Significant experience of developing or reviewing corporate governance arrangements and establishing efficient and effective working practices, meeting regulatory compliance, in a complex organisation.
• Experience of initiating, leading and successfully delivering projects in a complex and challenging environment involving multiple partners.
• Experience of leading and delivering on business change and improving systems through new ways of working, engaging staff through a period of change to embed more effective performance and facilitating a culture of continuous improvement.

Skills and knowledge

• Analytical skills to assess complex problems from a range of sources to inform strategic plans, evaluating risks against a dynamic background.
• Excellent communication, presentation and interpersonal skills; with the ability to present complex information effectively to a variety of different audiences / clients at a senior level and to lead negotiations / influence stakeholders to deliver behavioural change and achieve desired results / outcomes.
• Ability to work collaboratively across organisational boundaries and develop effective working relationships.
• Excellent leadership skills to motivate and empower the service area workforce to achieve the strategic objectives.
• Organisational skills to successfully prioritise and manage conflicting priorities for services.
• Knowledge of key performance improvement tools and techniques.
• Knowledge of project and programme management techniques and their application in a business context.
• Knowledge of corporate governance processes, best practice in corporate affairs and Governance, including risk management frameworks, information governance and assurance frameworks.

Contact details

For further information about this role, or a conversation about your suitability, contact Laura Butler on for an appointment with Martin Cox (Interim HR Director) email: laura.butler@bradfordcft.org.uk 

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is at the heart of what we do as a Council and the people we support. We have a number of self-directed Staff Networks (Disability, LGBTQ+, Race Equality, Women’s Voice, Working Carers and Young Persons) which assist in providing a voice and support mechanism to colleagues.

The RESPECT Allyship Programme is also available to all staff, which offers opportunity to learn more about the diverse communities & groups and provides additional benefits and resources to its members. This is part of the RESPECT Campaign, which is the Council’s Internal Equalities Vision for staff and its ambition to build a truly inclusive workforce, where everyone can be their true selves at work.

 The Code of Practice on the English language requirement for public sector workers, Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, requires that Councils ensure that all candidates applying for customer facing posts must be assessed in order to establish their fluency in English.