At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead and shape Family Help services to support children and families in Oldham.
- Company: Oldham Council, dedicated to improving outcomes for residents.
- Benefits: Generous leave, pension scheme, wellbeing support, and discounts.
- Other info: Join a passionate team committed to building a fairer, inclusive borough.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in children's lives and drive transformative change.
- Qualifications: Senior leadership experience in children’s services and strong partnership skills.
The predicted salary is between 85956 - 96006 £ per year.
Location: Oldham
Directorate: Children’s Services
Salary: £85,956 - £96,006
Contract: Permanent
Closing date: 12 noon, Friday 11th September 2026
Interview date: Friday 18th September 2026
Lead the next chapter of Family Help in Oldham. Oldham is determined in its mission to achieve the best possible outcomes for its children, young people and families. We are redesigning how we support residents by building a Family Help system that provides timely, purposeful and proportionate support, delivered through an integrated model across all five districts of the Oldham borough.
Building on the successful establishment of our Best Start Family Hubs, we’re committed to ensuring every child in Oldham has the best start in life and the opportunity to thrive. This is a unique and exciting time to join us and help shape the future of family support services.
We are seeking an exceptional Assistant Director for Family Help to lead, shape and strengthen our Family Help services across Oldham. This is a pivotal senior leadership role with the crucial responsibilities of ensuring that children, young people and families receive the right help at the right time, and that our workforce is supported to deliver excellent, child-centred and family-focused practice.
Oldham Council is committed to building a fairer, more inclusive borough that works for everyone, with a focus on improving public services, reducing inequalities and tackling poverty. The Council’s wider priorities include fostering healthier and happier lives, ensuring Oldham is a great place to live, and encouraging green and growing communities. Central to delivering this vision are key pillars of work including prevention and early help, meaning this role plays an essential part in helping the borough as a whole.
About the role
As Assistant Director for Family Help, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across Family Help services, ensuring that support for families is accessible, coordinated, inclusive and effective. You will spearhead a complex system that brings together social work, family support, early help, safeguarding partners, schools, health services, police, voluntary and community organisations, and wider council services to improve outcomes for children and families.
You will be responsible for driving high-quality practice, strengthening thresholds and pathways, improving the experiences of children and families, and ensuring that statutory duties are delivered safely and consistently. You will also play a key role in the wider Children’s Services leadership team, contributing to transformation, improvement, inspection readiness and partnership development.
This is an opportunity to lead with ambition, compassion and professional authority, creating the conditions for practitioners and managers to do their best work with families.
Leadership
- Provide strategic leadership for Family Help services across Oldham, ensuring clear vision, direction, accountability and impact.
- Strengthen the Family Help operating model, ensuring families receive timely, coordinated and proportionate support.
- Lead high-quality social work and family help practice, with a focus on child-centred assessment, risk analysis, planning, review and outcomes.
- Work collaboratively with safeguarding partners, schools, health services, police, adult services, housing, voluntary sector partners and community organisations.
- Champion relationship-based, systemic, trauma-informed, strengths-based, anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice.
- Use performance data, auditing, feedback, inspection learning and quality assurance to drive continuous improvement.
- Provide visible, inclusive and supportive leadership to managers and practitioners.
- Build strong relationships with elected members, senior leaders, partners and communities.
- Contribute to Oldham’s wider ambitions for prevention, family help, inclusion and improved outcomes for children, young people and families.
About you
We are looking for a senior leader who brings credibility, resilience and a steadfast commitment to achieving the best possible outcomes for children, young people and families. You will be:
- A suitably qualified leader with substantial senior leadership experience delivering services to children and families.
- Experienced in leading Family Help, early help, safeguarding, statutory social work or related children’s services.
- Confident in managing complexity, risk, performance and service improvement.
- Skilled in building strong partnerships across agencies and communities.
- Able to inspire, support and challenge managers and practitioners.
- Committed to listening to children, families and communities, and using their feedback to improve services.
- Passionate about reducing inequalities, tackling poverty and improving life chances.
- A visible and values-led leader who can bring people together around a shared purpose.
Why Oldham?
Oldham is a borough with strong communities, bold ambitions and a clear commitment to improving outcomes for residents. We are focused on building a fairer and more inclusive borough, improving services, reducing inequalities and ensuring people have the support they need.
This role offers a unique opportunity to lead and shape this transformation locally, helping to develop services that put families at the heart of everything we do. As Assistant Director for Family Help, you will play a pivotal role in driving this ambitious change agenda, building on Oldham's successful Best Start Family Hubs model and strengthening partnerships across agencies and communities.
About us
We want Oldham to have vibrant, safe neighbourhoods where people are proud to live with opportunities for healthier, more fulfilled lives; and a sustainable, thriving economy. As we look to the future, the challenges may be significant, but so are the opportunities.
We’ve identified three missions with our residents and partners, focusing on what will deliver the biggest impact: A Great Place to Live, Healthier, Happier Lives, and Green and Growing. We’re looking for candidates who will support us to achieve our ambitions.
Our values and behaviours
By driving innovation, investing in our people, and championing our communities, we will ensure that Oldham continues to be a place where everyone can live their best life. To support this, we have three core values which define who we are and how we operate: ‘Proud, Ambitious, and Together’.
We have translated these values into five behaviours which guide our actions and are the standards we hold ourselves to, day in and day out:
- Work with a resident focus
- Support local leaders
- Committed to the borough
- Delivery high performance
- Take ownership and drive change
Our benefits package
At Oldham Council we offer a great benefits package for our employees, which includes:
- 25 days annual leave which increases after 5 and 10-years’ service
- The option to purchase additional annual leave.
- An attractive LGPS benefit pension scheme with the option to make shared cost additional voluntary contributions.
- Discounted gym membership with Oldham Active.
- Staff discount scheme for shopping, entertainment, eating-out, eating-in, travel, motoring and more.
- Salary sacrifice scheme for home and electronics and Cycle to Work.
- Wellbeing support, including a Mental Health First Aider network and an Employment Assistance Programme that provides 24 hours access to advice and support.
- Staff recognition and celebration events.
- Peer support groups.
Inclusive recruitment
We work closely with employees to help them work at their best, including making adjustments such as flexible working, describing available working patterns, providing equipment or making changes to the workplace. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and therefore expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
If you have lived or worked abroad for 3 months or more in the last 5 years or 12 months or more (whether continuously or in total) in the last 10 years whilst aged 18 or over, please refer to the link below for details for how to obtain your Certificates of Good Character.
Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to offer sponsorship. If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application.
If you’re an applicant with disabilities and have previously been in or currently in care, a carer, someone who has served in the Armed Forces, or you’ve participated in the GM Elevate Programme, and you meet the essential criteria of the role, you are guaranteed to reach the first stage of assessment under our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme.
Data and privacy
For details of how we use your data please see our Privacy Notice.
Important information
Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for a current employee at risk of redundancy, it can be pulled back at any point, up to the post being formally offered to a candidate who is not at risk of redundancy.
Assistant Director - Family Help in Oldham employer: Oldham Council
Oldham Council is an excellent employer that prioritises the growth and development of its employees through structured apprenticeship programmes, such as the Level 6 training for Trainee Trading Standards Officers. With a supportive work culture in Lees, England, you will be part of a dedicated team committed to upholding consumer protection laws, while enjoying the benefits of meaningful work that directly impacts the community.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Assistant Director - Family Help in Oldham
✨Dive into Local Community Groups
Social work thrives on community connections, so get involved in local groups or forums specific to your interests. Whether it’s volunteering at local shelters or joining community action boards, these are great ways to boost your visibility and make direct contacts that could lead to opportunities like the one at Oldham Council.
✨Attend Social Work Events and Workshops
Keep an eye out for workshops, seminars, or conferences in social work. These events are fantastic for meeting professionals in the field, learning about emerging trends, and spotting job openings. Plus, you might just bump into someone from Oldham Council!
✨Showcase Your Passion and Expertise
Use platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn to share your journey and insights into the social work sector. Whether it’s writing about your experiences or sharing relevant articles, this helps to establish you as an engaged professional. Potential employers, like Oldham Council, will notice your enthusiasm!
✨Leverage Your Network
Don’t hesitate to reach out to professors, mentors, or even past colleagues who are in social work. They might have inside knowledge about openings at Oldham Council or be able to connect you with someone who’s hiring. Networking is key, especially in a full-time role where relationships matter.
We think you need these skills to ace Assistant Director - Family Help in Oldham
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion for Social Work:In your cover letter, let us see your passion for social work shine through! Talk about the experiences that made you want to pursue this career—whether it’s volunteering, personal experiences, or academic projects. We want to know why this field matters to you.
Emphasise Relevant Qualifications:Make sure your CV highlights any relevant qualifications, like degrees in social work or certifications like a DBS check. If you've done any workshops or training, don’t forget to include those as well. We're keen to see your commitment to your professional development!
Detail Your Experience with Clients:Since this is a hands-on field, detailing any direct experience you have with clients is crucial. Whether it's internships, volunteer roles, or previous jobs, highlight those experiences in your CV to show us you've got the practical skills necessary for the job!
Tailor Your Application to Oldham Council:Before hitting send, make sure to tailor your application specifically to Oldham Council! Research our mission and values, and refer to them in your cover letter. This shows us that you understand our work and are genuinely interested in being a part of our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Oldham Council
✨Understanding the Role of Empathy
In social work, understanding and demonstrating empathy is key. Be prepared to share personal experiences or scenarios where you effectively showed compassion and support. This helps show that you genuinely care about the well-being of others, which is crucial in social work.
✨Demonstrating Knowledge of Frameworks
Familiarise yourself with the frameworks and models used in social work, such as the Strengths-Based Approach or the Ecological Perspective. Be ready to discuss how these frameworks apply to your work, especially if you can tie them into real-world examples or case studies you've encountered.
✨Showcasing Your Multi-Disciplinary Skills
In a full-time social work role, you'll often collaborate with healthcare professionals, educators, and law enforcement. Be prepared to describe your teamwork experiences and how you've effectively communicated with other disciplines to achieve the best outcomes for clients.
✨Preparing for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect questions that put you in hypothetical social work situations, such as dealing with a crisis or managing a complex case. Think through your thought process for these scenarios beforehand, considering how you'd assess the situation and what steps you'd take, as this demonstrates your critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
