Designated Social Care Officer for SEND in Luton

This role is all about driving strategy, improving services, and leading social care practice for children and young people with disabilities. You will be working across partnerships (including health and education) to shape how services are delivered across Luton.

What makes this role stand out?

• Strategic leadership across SEND services
• Influence real change and improve outcomes
• Work closely with DfE, NHS & key partners
• Strong focus on collaboration & innovation
• Flexible hybrid working

This is ideal for someone with strong post-qualifying experience, leadership skills, and a real passion for improving outcomes for children and families. This is a senior management post and will sit within the structure for the Children, Families and Education Directorate. This is an area of rapid change, and all services are required to respond to new government initiatives, which may require multiagency implementation.

The policy drive from central and local government is for close working with other agencies and better outcomes for all vulnerable children and families to reduce the need for crisis intervention. This operating model will help support a stronger collaborative approach working with families, provide early help, address challenges, and enable a shared practice framework across the whole system. It will support robust decision making and activity to manage the needs and complexities in every family which is aligned to our 2040 vision in becoming a child friendly town.

The aim and task at hand is ultimately to strengthen our statutory social work practice and embed new working together with multi agency safeguarding arrangements working across the council and recognising the interconnectivities in order to improve our children's lives.

As part of the Senior Management Team, you will be expected to make a significant contribution to securing equality of opportunity for children, young people with SEND, and their families, ensuring that policies, procedures, and activities for service delivery are revised and/or implemented in a way that supports equality for all. These activities should also reflect the Council's commitment to work in active partnership with the community to regenerate Luton and to improve the quality of life for all who live in, work in, or visit the town.

On occasion the post holder will also be required to undertake deputising duties in the absence of the Head of Service. The above accountabilities give an indication of the expectations of this post. However there will be variation as services for children, young people with SEND and their families continue to develop within a changing local and national context. A flexible and innovative approach to management is therefore an essential requirement of the post holder together with a willingness to respond constructively to change and challenge.

Because of the nature of this job, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. Therefore, it is essential in making your application, you disclose whether you have any pending charges, convictions, bindovers or cautions and, if so, for which offences. This post will be exempt from the provisions of Section 4 (2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders 1974 (Exemptions) (Amendments) Order 1986. Therefore, applicants are not entitled to withhold.

Connect2Luton is a trading style of Luton & Kent Commercial Services LLP - A joint venture between Luton Borough Council & Commercial Services Kent Ltd. Connect2Luton is an equal opportunities Employment Agency & Business. It positively encourages applications from all suitably qualified and eligible candidates.