Assistant Head of Service Children with Disabilities in Birmingham

Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of children with disabilities and their families? Do you have the drive to support and empower young people to achieve their full potential? If so, Birmingham Children’s Trust wants you!

As our new Assistant Head of Service for Children with Disabilities you will be passionate about changing the lives of children with disabilities in the city, supporting partnership working and ensuring children’s needs are identified at the earliest point.

• Support the Head of Service in managing the Children with Disabilities service.
• Lead operational delivery and performance improvement across the service.
• Ensure safeguarding standards are met and maintained.
• Drive continuous improvement and innovation in service provision.
• Support staff development and wellbeing within the teams.
• Chair and attend relevant Panel meetings.
• Be a good problem solver supporting the service to make decisions in line with legislative, regulatory and best practice guidelines.
• Collaborate with partners, building strong relationships with health, education, voluntary organisations and providers to create integrated solutions.
• Demonstrate professionalism, leadership and accountability.

As the Assistant Head of Service, you will play a crucial role in ensuring the service safeguards and promotes the welfare of disabled children and young people. We have 3 safeguarding teams who work with children and families from assessment upon receipt of referral and remain with the child whether the plan is Child in Need, Child Protection, or Child in Care. We work in robust partnership with other teams and outside agencies, including the police, health services, schools, and voluntary organisations. We also have a specialist mental health team who work with children in and at risk of Tier 4 admission, a Designated Social Care Officer and team providing social care advice and a Review team supporting children who have long term packages of support.

We are looking for experienced managers who are dedicated and compassionate individuals, committed to making a difference. The ideal candidate will have:

• A degree in Social Work.
• Registration with Social Work England (SWE).
• A strong background in children’s social care, ideally within disability services.
• An understanding of the legislative context for children with disabilities.
• Proven ability to manage teams and deliver high-quality outcomes.
• Experience of performance and service improvement.
• Excellent communication and partnership-building skills.
• Commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.
• Passion for improving outcomes for children and families, with a commitment to trauma informed and strengths based approaches.
• Experience working with children and families in a social work setting.
• Strong assessment and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• The ability to work effectively as part of a team and independently.

In addition to the salary offered, there is an incentive payment of £1,000 paid in full in your first months’ salary (T&C’s apply). Retention payment of up to £5,000 per annum, subject to tax and NI deductions - T&C's will apply. A generous annual leave package of 30 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 5 years of service and 35 days after 10 years of service. Relocation Allowance of up to £8,000 (T&C’s apply). We pay your Social Work England registration fee. We pay your DBS application fee and reimburse your update service fee. Salary Sacrifice Car Scheme offering a range of all-inclusive driving packages. Free on-site parking at our offices with access to on-site electric car charging ports. Full access to internal employee benefits scheme including Occupational Health services, Rewards Schemes, Benefits discounts, Health & Fitness and Personal Wellbeing support and more. Flexible and hybrid working policy with a mix of office and home working and various patterns to support work/life balance. Local government career average pension scheme. Discounted gym memberships with Pure Gym and Nuffield Health. Equal Opportunities Employer committed to diversity and inclusion.

• Impactful Work - be part of a team that makes a real difference in the lives of the city’s most vulnerable children.
• Supportive Environment - collaborative work culture where contributions are valued.
• Career Development - tailored development programs, supportive supervision, and learning opportunities to advance your career.
• Generous Benefits - competitive reward package including generous leave allowance and a Local Government pension scheme.

We approach our work with care and compassion, actively listening to the needs of the children and young people we serve, involving them in decisions that affect their lives. We foster collaboration among schools, health professionals, and the police to create a supportive network for our young people. We believe in working as one cohesive team to enable Birmingham’s children and young people to thrive.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Depending on the role, you may be asked to undergo the appropriate level of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. The level of check is determined based on responsibilities and contact with children and young people. We are committed to fair treatment of applicants, including those with criminal records; having a criminal record will not necessarily bar an individual from working with us. Please note that we reserve the right to close the job early should we reach the required number of applications; therefore please submit your application and supporting statement early to avoid disappointment.