Associate Director - Social Care & Social Work

Responsibilities

• Provide visible professional leadership for the Social Work and Social Care within DCHS, driving high-quality, strengths-based and legally compliant practice across services.
• Lead robust professional governance, including supervision, quality assurance and oversight of complex risk.
• Drive improvements in Social Work and Social Care quality, safety, access, experience and outcomes.
• Provide professional support to Social Work and Social Care teams and set up support infrastructures to support these staff groups appropriately.
• Work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams and system partners to shape responsive, neighbourhood-based care; with a focus on the role of Social Work and Social Care as part of this offer.
• Drive performance, governance and effective use of Social Work and Social care resources, while leading change in a complex environment.
• Influencing and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to empower teams, manage risk and deliver sustainable improvement.

We are looking for a values‑driven, collaborative senior leader with a Social Work background who thrives in complexity, is passionate about neighbourhood health and care, and is motivated to make a tangible difference for Derby and Derbyshire communities.

At Derbyshire Community Health Services (DCHS), we are committed to delivering safe and effective, person‑centred care that supports people to remain independent and well in their communities. Our new operating model brings together care delivery units within neighbourhood and place‑based teams to enable more integrated, responsive and joined‑up services. We are working collaboratively with health, social care and voluntary sector partners to deliver prevention‑focused, strengths‑based care, working with partners to support make the shift from hospital to community, treatment to prevention, and analogue to digital a reality.