Head of Service - Referral & Assessment (Kingston)

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About the role

The Head of Service for the Referral and Assessment team plays a vital leadership role. This senior position is crucial in ensuring that concerns about a child’s or young person’s safety and wellbeing are thoroughly investigated and assessed. You will lead the team in identifying needs, planning care and promoting welfare, taking ultimate responsibility for all case decisions.

Your leadership will be pivotal in creating a cohesive, high-performing team culture, supporting individual development and maintaining high standards of practice. As a key figure during inspections, you will contribute to operational management and strategic planning, working closely with the Associate Director to shape the overall direction of services. The role demands a strong commitment to safeguarding and delivering high-quality services, ensuring assessments, interventions and reviews are thorough, child-focused and in line with statutory and policy requirements.

Within this role, you will be expected to:

• Provide strong leadership and management for the Referral and Assessment team in Kingston upon Thames.
• Ensure robust assessments and investigations into child safety concerns, identifying needs, and promoting welfare.
• Lead the development of a cohesive team culture, ensuring strong staff performance and effective development opportunities.
• Support the Associate Director in operational management, objective planning and priority setting.
• Ensure that all assessments reflect the views, wishes and feelings of children and young people.
• Oversee the formulation, implementation and monitoring of effective intervention plans and reviews.
• Guarantee safe and timely decision-making, in compliance with statutory requirements and local policies.
• Participate in the EDT manager rota.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues and partners to maintain a cooperative team environment.
• Ensure high-quality casework, risk assessments and reports are produced, including Court reports and preparation for the Court process.
• Lead the team through inspections, maintaining high standards of practice and services.

About you

We are looking for a dynamic and experienced leader with a proven track record in managing teams, advocating for children and families and driving high-quality service delivery. You will have a strong commitment to achieving the best outcomes for children and young people, underpinned by your ability to create strong relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders.

You will be a strategic thinker, with a passion for developing others and a deep understanding of relevant legislation, policies and best practices. If you are a confident, adaptable and resourceful leader, with a passion for collaborative working and creating positive change, we’d love to hear from you!

Key requirements for this role include:

• Significant experience managing teams, including recruitment, performance and professional development.
• Strong ability to build and maintain relationships with stakeholders, advocating for the voices of children, young people and families.
• Knowledge of relevant theories, research, and legislation (e.g., The Children Act) that inform practice and service delivery.
• Proven ability to use data, evidence and intelligence to inform decision-making.
• Experienced in casework, safeguarding, record-keeping and providing management oversight of team cases.
• Ability to produce accurate reports, updates, and presentations to diverse stakeholders, including families and children.
• Demonstrated leadership in addressing equality and diversity issues within practice and taking proactive action to resolve them.

About our benefits

We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:

• 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years with an additional day off in your birthday month (Or for term time workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract.)
• Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC.
• Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension).
• Flexible working options – helping to keep a good work-life balance.
• A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme.
• A range of staff benefits and discounts.
• An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway.

Important Information

Start dates: Achieving for Children have set start dates meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.

Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

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