Early Help Strategic Lead in Bristol

South Gloucestershire is committed to ensuring children, young people and families receive the right help, in the right way, at the right time. As Early Help Strategic Lead, you will bring together Education, Learning and Skills, Public Health, Children’s Services and wider partners to shape a coordinated approach to prevention, reduce inequalities and improve long-term outcomes.

You will lead the strategic development and delivery of the Best Start Strategy, build a shared understanding of Early Help across the partnership and create the conditions for families to influence the services available in their communities. Through strong leadership, effective use of data and collaborative working, you will help rebalance the system towards earlier, more joined-up support.

This is a highly influential role with responsibility for leading and managing the Best Start Family Hub Team, overseeing delivery of universal help through Family Hubs, Children’s Centres and outreach services, and shaping strategic programmes across Early Help, Best Start in Life and youth services.

This is an opportunity to lead a partnership-wide agenda that reaches across services, organisations and communities. Working with senior managers, partners and stakeholders, you will turn shared ambitions into practical programmes and ways of working that promote prevention and make it easier for families to access support before needs escalate.

A strong focus on co-production, data and collective accountability will underpin the role. You will help partners understand how the Early Help system is performing, ensure family voice shapes local provision and provide clear leadership around Best Start in Life, Good Level of Development, the full Family Hub offer and the Council’s commissioned youth service offer.

In this role, you will:

• Lead and manage the Best Start Family Hub Team, ensuring children and families can access high-quality universal support through Family Hubs, Children’s Centres, outreach and digital services.
• Lead the strategic development and delivery of the Best Start Strategy, building a shared understanding of Early Help so families receive the right help, in the right way, at the right time.
• Work with community, voluntary, school and early years partners to develop the Best Start network, strengthen universal programmes and enable families to shape local services through co-production.
• Use effective data collection, sharing and performance monitoring to improve outcomes, including the Good Level of Development, while managing resources and the Best Start in Life budget alongside the relevant Service Manager.
• Ensure Family Hubs deliver the full range of services required by the Department for Education and champion the Council’s commissioned youth service offer in line with national expectations and local need.

What we need from you:

• Educated to postgraduate level or equivalent, with a relevant professional qualification in areas such as Early Years, Youth Work, Teaching or Public Health, or equivalent professional knowledge gained through continuous professional development.
• Proven strategic leadership and management experience, with the ability to develop and motivate teams and coordinate complex service delivery across Early Help and Best Start in Life.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, influencing and stakeholder-management skills, with experience of building complex partnerships and working effectively at a strategic level.
• Experience of shaping policy and translating strategic ideas into deliverable programmes, including project management, commissioning, tendering, contract setting, service specification and budget management.
• Strong knowledge of relevant Early Help and youth services policy and legislation, equality, diversity and inclusion objectives, and effective parenting programmes.

Although this post is advertised as a full-time position, we encourage and welcome applications from experienced practitioners and managers who may be seeking flexible working arrangements.

Please note that due to the nature of this role, it is a requirement of employment that an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is obtained. You may be required to work from any Council office location and may at times be required to work outside normal office hours.

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 1st September 2026.

As part of our benefits package, you will receive generous annual leave (pro rata), employee wellbeing support and you will have access to a range of staff discounts, including eye tests, travel, shopping and leisure activities.

We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities. We invest in the careers of our people, and we are recognised for the quality, breadth and depth of our training and development offer, which helps our people make the greatest long-term difference in their work.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Ensuring all our staff are given right skills, knowledge and support to recognise and respond effectively to potential abuse or neglect.

Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here. We're building and shaping communities which people are proud of. We've achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference. We’re making a difference, be part of it!