Deputy Director of Children’s Services

Hampshire is a fantastic county, home to an increasingly diverse population with justifiably high expectations of their political leaders and public servants. The County Council is, and has been, consistently one of the top performing authorities in the Country in all key areas of service delivery across all externally validated measures.

Not least, Hampshire’s Children’s Services have been judged as “Outstanding” on two consecutive occasions since 2019. It is a well‑led organisation with an eye to the future and an enduring commitment to delivering vital services to the residents of Hampshire.

The County Council is hugely ambitious for the future but also retains a dedicated focus on the importance of upholding quality service delivery for today. Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation present a unique opportunity to secure the best possible outcomes for all of Hampshire’s residents.

For Children’s Services, this means ensuring excellent services during a period of significant change and transformation in Hampshire and with national legislative reforms to be implemented. The scale of the system is significant, with 550 schools and budgetary accountability of £500m. The challenges facing the sector nationally are ever present in Hampshire, with SEND and home to school transport pressures well recognised and addressed.

Across the directorate, services are well‑led and managed, well‑regarded by children, young people and their families, and relationships with partners are constructive.

This means a professionally qualified and forward‑thinking Deputy Director of Children’s Services is essential to ensure the Directorate and its workforce navigate these major changes. As Deputy Director, you will be Social Work qualified and registered with Social Work England.

You will ensure the quality and sustainability of core services, provide leadership across the system and hold and develop key relationships with our partners and stakeholders in the face of change and degrees of uncertainty.

You will make a full contribution to the leadership of the Directorate and the wider organisation, hold strategic accountability for the Children and Families branch, deputising for the Director where necessary, and be skilled at working beyond directorate and organisational boundaries. Critical to this is that excellent services endure and form a key component of a public service system in Hampshire that is fit for future purpose.

You will bring the exceptional ability to lead high‑performing organisations through periods of transformative change, leveraging the strengths of a talented team while effectively managing a substantial budget amidst evolving challenges and financial pressures within the sector and system.

Irrespective of where you are now, you will be a visionary leader with the foresight, experience and leadership attributes to guide Hampshire’s Children’s Services through ambitious and transformative times. This is a pivotal role at a critical moment to shape the future of Hampshire.