About the Role

Director Children and Families, Leeds City Council

Salary: £137 – 149k

Leeds is a diverse, vibrant, urban place, with a rich range of communities and life-experiences. Our vision is that we become the ‘Best city in the UK’ by 2030, which means:

• Leeds will be fair, open and welcoming
• Leeds’ economy will be prosperous and sustainable
• All Leeds’ communities will be successful

Candidates need to show that they are capable of operating at this level within major urban areas, with an awareness of what’s going on at an international, not simply national, level. Extensive experience of operating services on a metropolitan scale is essential, and we want to hear from individuals who are able to show that they can lead with genuine innovation, influencing peers, elected members and partners, to embed a progressive agenda across all children’s services.

Our commitment to becoming a true Child Friendly City is significant – we feel proud to be pioneers of major change. We have accepted the challenge of integrating the formative stages of children and young people’s lives into our vision of Leeds’ future, and this culture shift is already producing lasting change in the way we approach major economic and social strategies.

As a consequence, we’re genuinely more interested in your appetite to do things that haven’t been done yet, than simply to adopt best practice harvested from elsewhere. So while your professional background is important to us, its your ability to show that you can speak with authority and nuance on the main agendas of social work, education and child health. Able to forge and sustain relationships both within and beyond the council, you’ll show resilience, sophistication and a high degree of readiness to excel in a culture of high support and high challenge.