Assistant Director Adult Social Care (Care Management & Learning Disability) in London

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Working hours per week: 36 hours per week

Reference: 1939

Application Deadline: Midnight on Sunday 25th January 2026

Salary: AD1 - AD

Contract Type: Full-time permanent

About Us: Bursting with culture, energy and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work. We are a highly ambitious borough driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, developing new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded, focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

About the role: This key Assistant Director role oversees long-term case management functions covering learning disabilities, transitions, and complex social work. It is a permanent appointment providing strong leadership in shaping a new operating model across adult social care, embedding strengths-based practice and new approaches to maintaining independence and prevention. This is an exciting time to lead the next phase of our service transformation, building on our recent CQC assessment and Good judgement.

Key Responsibilities

• Report to the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care Operations.
• Provide strategic and operational leadership for long-term case management for older people and those with physical, sensory, or learning disabilities, including transitions to adulthood.
• Drive strengths-based review activity and MTFS delivery.
• Oversee our s.75 arrangements with North East London NHS Foundation Trust for Care Act responsibilities towards adults with mental health needs.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Educated to degree level with qualified Social Worker or allied health professional status, holding current Social Work England or HCPC registration.
• Demonstrable experience of managing frontline social care delivery across a wide range of services to diverse communities.
• Substantial relevant experience of managing specialist services which support complex service delivery with expert technical/professional knowledge and experience.
• Thorough understanding of relevant legislation.
• Extensive experience of managing change effectively across a service area.
• Substantial experience of managing significant budgets and resources.
• Significant experience of writing reports, specifications and agreements.
• Authority and credibility to build relationships, influence and engage successfully with colleagues, partners and clients at all levels in complex or politically sensitive situations.
• Initiative, strategic and political awareness demonstrated in problem solving and decision making.

Terms and Conditions

• Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks.
• Satisfactory declaration of interest.
• This role is subject to safer recruitment practices as it involves work with children and/or vulnerable adults.
• Satisfactory DBS check.
• Continued professional body registration.
• This post is politically restricted; therefore the post holder is disqualified from undertaking certain political activities under the Local Government Officers (Political Restrictions) Regulations 1990.
• As a public authority we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles can speak fluent English with confidence and accuracy sufficient for the effective performance of their role.

How to Apply

To request an informal conversation about the role with Alex Chidgey, Corporate Director of Adult Social Care Operations, please contact Lorraine Samuels at the email address provided on the application portal. Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online, including a supporting statement outlining how your skills and experience make you a strong candidate for this vacancy. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications. Submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and integral to both service delivery and employment. We use our statutory duties on race, gender, and disability equality, and best practice in respect of age, faith, and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The council is committed to meeting its four equality objectives: promoting equality of opportunity, opposing all forms of discrimination, ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities at all levels, and providing fair, accessible and excellent services to all. Respecting diversity is a core Council value.