Assistant Director Children's Services
We are delighted that you are considering joining our team as the Assistant Director for Children’s Services. This is an exciting time for Medway, as we continue our journey towards excellence in providing care and support for children and families and as we approach local government reorganisation in the Kent and Medway region.
Medway Council has made significant strides in improving our Children’s Services. Following the Ofsted inspection in July 2023, we were proud to be rated ‘Good’ overall. This achievement reflects the dedication and hard work of our team, who have been relentless in their pursuit of excellence. Our journey to Good has been marked by enhanced safeguarding measures, improved early help services, and a stable leadership team. These improvements have had a profound impact on the lives of children and families in Medway.
As we look to the future, our ambition is to achieve outstanding status. We are committed to recruiting and retaining skilled social workers and foster carers, increasing local placements, and continuously refining our service improvement plans. Our Child friendly Medway initiative is a testament to our dedication to putting children at the heart of everything we do. This remains a focal point of our efforts to create a nurturing and empowering environment for children. We believe that every child deserves the opportunity to grow, learn, and thrive in a safe and supportive environment.
Joining Medway Council’s Children’s Services offers a unique opportunity to be part of a dynamic and forward thinking team, where you can make a real difference in the lives of children and families. We are proud of the tremendous strides we have made with our improvement programme since Ofsted first inspected in 2019. Medway’s vision and values put children at the heart of everything we do. Our well managed ‘front-door’ and early help services, along with our good partnership safeguarding approach, ensure that children, young people, families, and carers receive the support they need.
As the Assistant Director for Children’s Services, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our services and driving our journey towards outstanding. Working in Medway offers you experience, challenge, and an exciting career. We provide a great recruitment package, realistic workloads, an outstanding learning and development programme, and opportunities for career progression. Our senior leadership team is visible and accessible, providing robust support to frontline managers and practitioners. We are passionate about continually improving and being the best we can be, and we would love you to join us in making a positive impact on the lives of children and families in Medway.
If you’d like to be part of the next chapter of Medway’s story and believe you can lead this change, we’d love to hear from you.
Download the Candidate Pack now
Indicative Timetable
Closing date for applications: Midnight Friday 9 May 2025
Preliminary interviews (via Microsoft Teams): w/c 9 June 2025
Final interview panel: Monday 16 June 2025
For an informal conversation about this role, please contact:
Rob Naylor
Email: rnaylor@faerfield.co.uk
Phone: 0121 312 3755Helen Sawbridge
Email: hsawbridge@faerfield.co.uk
Phone: 0121 312 3755
To apply:
To apply for this job please click on the Apply button below and fill out the requested information. When prompted, please submit your CV and a Supporting Statement (no more than four sides of A4 each).
With your CV, please also provide the names and contact details of two referees, one of whom should be your current or most recent employer. Referees will only be contacted if you reach the final stages, and we will not contact referees without your permission.
Your supporting statement should express why you are interested in this role and what experience you can bring to the organisation. The statement should tackle the specific requirements of the role; outlining examples and outcomes showing how you meet those requirements.
Please Apply via the Medway Portal
