Project Manager Children's Services in Barnsley

Position reference: 50139908

Directorate: Children's Services | Service: Commissioning

Working Arrangements: agile min 3 days in the office

Contract type: Fixed term until 05/08/2027

We are happy to talk flexible working arrangements with you, please get in touch.

The successful candidate will be required to speak English to an appropriate standard. This post requires a Basic Criminal Record Check. Prospective employees will be required to give a reasonable account of any significant periods (6 months or more in the past 3 years) of time living abroad.

When applying, please ensure you are prepared to start work with all the necessary legal documents, such as a valid visa, relevant to the type of work you will be undertaking. Please be aware that our organisation does not possess a Home Office license and, as a result, is unable to provide sponsorship for anyone seeking a visa as a skilled or temporary migrant worker.

Pensions Regulations have provisions to reduce pension payments in certain circumstances for those who return to work within local government service. If you are in receipt of a pension upon commencing employment with the authority, this may affect your pension entitlements and you should therefore seek advice from the relevant Pensions Authority.

At Barnsley Council, you can start a career that makes a real difference to people’s lives, helping our council and residents to be the best they can be. We’re an award-winning council and one of the biggest employers in the borough, supporting around 243,000 people. We put people at the heart of everything we do, and that includes our employees.

As part of the team, we offer lots of benefits and rewards to support you to thrive and grow, like flexible working, employee discounts, support for your health and wellbeing, and opportunities for training and development to grow your career and develop your skills.

Key to our success is working with our residents, partners, businesses and organisations and building these partnerships to bring about change in Barnsley. In Barnsley, we are committed and passionate about helping, protecting and caring for children and young people.

Our Children’s Services are ambitious, values-led and focused on making sure children, young people and families receive the right help, at the right time, from services that continue to learn, improve and deliver well. We are proud to be a local authority rated Good by Ofsted, and we are not standing still. Our next inspection is due later this year, and our ambition is clear: we are striving for Outstanding.

This role will be part of the improvement and transformation capacity that helps us keep moving forward, strengthening practice, supporting safe and effective services, and making a visible difference to the lives of children and families across Barnsley.

As a Project Manager in our service area, you will work within Children’s Quality and Improvement, supporting a broad and changing portfolio of improvement, transformation and service development projects. The projects themselves will vary over time, reflecting local priorities, national reform, inspection readiness, service pressures and opportunities for innovation.

What will remain consistent is the purpose of the role: to help turn ideas, plans and priorities into well-managed, well-governed delivery that improves services for children, young people and families. This is not a back-office project role. You will be working in a complex, fast-paced and highly meaningful environment, alongside operational managers, social care colleagues, quality assurance leads, safeguarding partners and senior leaders.

You will help services to define what needs to change or improve, build clear project plans, manage risks and dependencies, keep delivery on track, and provide the structure and reporting needed to support confident decision-making. You will be part of a small, close-knit improvement and transformation team where everyone’s contribution is visible and valued.

You will need to be organised, resilient and comfortable working across several priorities at once. You will also need to be curious, confident and able to build positive working relationships with a wide range of people, because successful project delivery in children’s services depends on strong communication, thoughtful challenge and a good understanding of the real-world impact of change.

We are looking for someone who can bring strong project management skills, but also someone who wants their work to matter. This is an opportunity to develop your knowledge of children’s social care and safeguarding, contribute to service improvement at an important time for Barnsley, and play a practical role in helping us deliver better outcomes for children, young people and families.

What you’ll need:

• A minimum of a level 6 qualification and relevant programme or project management training.
• Project management experience and the ability to hit the ground running, with strong skills in planning, organising, problem solving, communication and negotiation.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, produce clear updates and reports for senior leaders, and work confidently with managers, internal colleagues and partners.
• Experience in children’s services would be helpful, but it is not essential.

What matters most is that you are values-led, adaptable, able to work at pace, and committed to using your project skills to support meaningful improvement. Here at Barnsley, we live and work by four important values: honesty, teamwork, excellent service, and taking pride in what we do. We want people with a positive outlook and a can-do attitude; people who can work independently, contribute to a supportive team, and bring energy, integrity and focus to the work they do.

Interviews will be held between 16-18 September. At Barnsley Council, we believe in second chances and value diversity. Our recruitment process is inclusive, and we welcome applicants with past convictions. We're committed to fairness and do not discriminate. Join us in building a future where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.