The national Families First Partnership Programme introduces Multi Agency Child Protection Teams where Children’s Services, Police, Health and Education will be co-located and work in partnership to respond to significant harm and protect Hertfordshire’s children and families.

You will provide strategic and operational leadership for multi-agency child protection services, ensuring effective safeguarding arrangements that protect children and young people from harm. You will lead collaborative working across local authority services, health, education, police, voluntary sector organisations, and other partners to deliver high-quality, child-centred interventions and achieve positive outcomes.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage multi-agency safeguarding and child protection services, ensuring
• compliance with statutory requirements, policies, and best practice.
• Develop and maintain effective partnerships with key agencies to promote integrated
• safeguarding arrangements.
• Provide professional leadership, oversight, and quality assurance of child protection
• practice and decision-making.
• Monitor service performance, risk management, and outcomes for children,
• implementing improvement plans where required.
• Chair or contribute to complex safeguarding meetings, panels, and strategic partnerships.
• Ensure effective management of resources, budgets, workforce development, and service delivery.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, learning from audits, reviews, inspections, and safeguarding incidents.
• Support the implementation of local and national safeguarding priorities, legislation, and
• guidance.

About you

Essential:

• Social Work Qualified and registered with Social Work England
• Full UK driving licence and regular access to a vehicle
• Proven leadership and management experience (including managing / leading managers or teams)
• Strong experience of working within a multi-agency environment (e.g. education, health, police, probation, or safeguarding partnerships)
• Excellent knowledge of safeguarding practice and multi-agency decision-making processes
• Demonstrable ability to manage service performance, including use of data to drive improvement
• In-depth understanding of lawful information sharing (including data protection and safeguarding legislation)
• Strong strategic thinking and ability to contribute at senior / partnership level
• Exceptional interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills
• Ability to lead and maintain a positive, high-performing team culture
• Experience of supporting and developing staff, promoting accountability and continuous learning
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment
• Experience of working collaboratively with partner agencies to improve outcomes
• Confidence in driving service improvement, transformation, and use of technology
• Promote and model equality, diversity and inclusion across the MACPT, ensuring services are accessible, culturally responsive and reflective of the needs of all children, families and staff.

This is an exceptional development opportunity to join Hertfordshire’s Children’s Services. We welcome you bringing creativity and flair, and we will consistently support you within our high performing management structure.

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is Level 14. Please locate the job profile here: Job profiles – Health and social care

To hear more about this opportunity please contact Caroline Ash (caroline.ash@hertfordshire.gov.uk) or Pretty Mkiwane (pretty.nkiwane@hertforshire.gov.uk) for an informal discussion about the role.

Interview Date: 9th November – Face to Face, Stevenage offices

Benefits of working for us

How to apply

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Additional information

We are changing
Hertfordshire County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by Hertfordshire County on 1 April 2028, it is expected that most roles will transfer to the newly-created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.

LGR is one of the biggest changes we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better. To find out more, visit https://www.hertfordshire-lgr.co.uk/

Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

Safeguarding
This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Driving required
You’ll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.

English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.

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