Head of Service for Corporate Parenting in London

• Head of Service – Corporate Parenting
• Starting Well | People Directorate | London Borough of Havering

Our People Directorate vision is “Supporting our residents to stay safe and well.” In Starting Well, this means creating the conditions for every child, young person and family in Havering to feel safe, be heard and achieve their best possible outcomes.

We are ambitious for all children and young people, including those who need assessment and safeguarding support, children with disabilities, children in care and care‑experienced young people.

We are looking for an exceptional senior leader who shares that ambition and can help us continue to strengthen practice, partnership working and outcomes for some of our most vulnerable children and young people.

About The Role

As Head of Service – Corporate Parenting, you will provide strategic leadership for services supporting Children in Care, Care Leavers, Permanence and Corporate Parenting responsibilities.

You will play a pivotal role in ensuring that children and young people experience stability, safety, permanence and the support they need to thrive.

This is a significant leadership opportunity to shape services, influence strategic direction and drive excellent outcomes for children and young people who are looked after and care experienced.

You will lead Service Managers and frontline teams to deliver purposeful, child‑centred and relationship‑based practice, ensuring statutory responsibilities are met and that children receive support that is timely, effective and focused on achieving positive outcomes.

What You'll Do

• Provide visible, inclusive and values‑led leadership across Corporate Parenting services.
• Lead services supporting Children in Care, Care Leavers and Permanence, ensuring high standards of practice and decision‑making.
• Drive service improvement through effective use of performance information, audit activity, quality assurance and feedback from children and young people.
• Ensure practice is evidence‑informed, strengths‑based and focused on achieving lasting change.
• Develop and support Service Managers and teams through reflective supervision, performance management and workforce development.
• Champion the voice of children and young people, ensuring their experiences and views influence service delivery and improvement.
• Build strong and productive relationships with partners across education, health, police and the voluntary sector.
• Represent Havering confidently within local, regional and multi‑agency partnerships.
• Manage resources and budgets effectively, ensuring services deliver value for money whilst maintaining excellent outcomes for young people.
• Contribute as a key member of the Starting Well Senior Leadership Team, helping to shape the future direction of Children’s Services in Havering.

Why Join Havering?

We are on an ambitious journey of continuous improvement and are committed to delivering the highest quality services for children, young people and families.

You will join a supportive and collaborative senior leadership team that is passionate about:

• Practice excellence
• Corporate parenting and permanence
• Inclusion and diversity
• Workforce development
• Partnership working
• Continuous improvement

About You

You will be an experienced and credible senior leader within Children’s Services, able to provide strategic direction whilst maintaining a strong focus on practice quality and outcomes.

You will bring the resilience, judgement and emotional intelligence needed to lead complex statutory services and inspire confidence across the workforce, partners and wider community.

Essential Requirements

• Qualified Social Worker (Diploma in Social Work, CQSW or equivalent).
• Current registration with Social Work England.
• Significant senior leadership experience within Children’s Services.
• A strong track record of improving practice quality, performance and outcomes within Corporate Parenting, Children in Care, Care Leavers, Permanence or related statutory services.
• Detailed knowledge of children’s social care legislation, statutory guidance and practice frameworks.
• Proven experience of leading, developing and motivating managers and teams.
• Experience of delivering service improvement through performance management, quality assurance and learning.
• Strong partnership working skills and the ability to influence across a complex system.
• Experience of budget and resource management.
• Excellent analytical, strategic planning and decision‑making skills.
• What Matters Most

Most importantly, you will bring a genuine commitment to children and young people, a passion for improving outcomes and a belief that every child deserves the opportunity to flourish.

You will be ambitious for children in care and care‑experienced young people, committed to supporting staff to do their best work, and motivated by the opportunity to help Havering continue its improvement journey with pace, integrity and ambition.

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