Deputy Director (Operations And Improvement)

Are you an experienced and senior operational leader of services for children and families with the energy and commitment to lead a highly effective service? Our strategic ambition is for every child in family law proceedings to have an exceptional experience, everywhere in the country and every time.

Key to being part of the leadership team and helping us to achieve our ambition, is inspirational, inclusive leadership, a commitment to continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of practice and to do this through developing collaborative partnerships in the family justice system.

While we are proud that Ofsted judged us to be ‘outstanding’ earlier this year, we haven’t come this far only to come this far. There is always more to do to serve the best interests of children in public and private law proceedings across England. Our inspection outcome has energised us to keep getting better at what we do for children and families and to hear feedback from them that tells us we are doing just that.

Due to retirement and confirmation of our senior operational leadership structure, we are recruiting for two Deputy Directors for Operations and Improvement.

If our ambition for children resonates with you, and you are confident you can demonstrate the breadth and depth of experience required for the role of Deputy Director for Operations and Improvement, have a track record as a senior leader in improving the quality and impact of social work practice, and your leadership style and values align with ours, we invite you to read on.

Directly accountable to the National Director of Operations, if you join us in one of these roles, you will share a range of functions, responsibilities, and accountabilities, including:

• Consistent leadership of practice and management quality standards across 4 large English regions.
• The development, delivery, and oversight of annual operational service area improvement plans.
• Oversight and leadership of practice improvement programmes, including the associated arrangements for quality assurance and performance management.
• Membership of the corporate management team, working closely with the Chief Executive, Corporate Directors, the Chief People Officer, and members of the Cafcass Board Leading and working in partnership with the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Education in support of national initiatives and innovations to improve family justice.
• Representing Cafcass with local and national partners Facilitating national leadership groups of Heads of Practice, Service and Assistant Service Managers.
• Coaching aspiring leaders undertaking our Talent Programmes.
• Developing and supporting our flexible workforce.
• Providing operational insights and working collaboratively with corporate colleagues.
• Deputising for the National Director and providing leadership in respect of significant incidents, learning, and complaints.

We are looking for individuals who already have significant experience at a senior level, have successfully led children’s social work services, and are ready to take their next career step.

We are also looking for you to demonstrate the following:

• Well-informed about current social work practice issues and an understanding of the value of a unified model of social work in safeguarding children and promoting their welfare. 
• In-depth knowledge of social work within family law proceedings.
• How to lead a complex and diverse workforce, ideally with a national or large geography.
• A commitment to supporting, inspiring, and safeguarding the s wellbeing of staff.
• Managing resources effectively, Confidence in leading change and Improvement, including giving account of improvement to board members and government sponsors.
• Skilled in interrogating and reporting performance and progress, including being able to evidence change and Improvement consistently.

As a national organisation, we are flexible on your location. However, we expect senior leaders to be visible which will mean some travel and overnight stays in different parts of the country, including our offices in central London.

If you join us, you will be well-supported through induction, supervision, learning and performance review, whether you are already at this level of leadership or are taking your next career step.

We offer an attractive reward package, flexible working to achieve that important work/life balance, and a comprehensive programme of support to maintain your wellbeing at work that includes 4 ‘wellbeing days’ in addition to a generous annual leave entitlement.

We are an organisation valuing, promoting and prioritising equality, diversity and inclusion and we especially welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds. The Chief Executive and Corporate Directors sponsor our objectives in this regard, listening to and encouraging feedback from families, children and our staff about how well we are doing in terms of understanding and celebrating uniqueness.

We encourage you to read the Deputy Director for Operations and Improvement job description and if you haven’t already, to visit our website to find out more about ‘working for us’. You may also benefit from visiting to the ‘professionals’ section.

Next steps

We have set out a timeline here for the recruitment to these positions. We anticipate a two-stage interview process, the first being an opportunity not only for us to find out more about you, but for you to strengthen your understanding of the role and Cafcass.

The second stage will be a panel interview with members of the corporate management team. The Family Justice and Young People’s Board (FJYPB), who always provide an invaluable perspective, will also assist with interviews.

Closing date: Sunday 28^th April

Initial interview: 7^th to 10^th May

Panel Interview: 22^nd to 24^th May

We look forward to receiving your applicatio