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Head of Service – Children and Young People in Care
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City of Wolverhampton Council,
Head of Service – Children and Young People in Care
Directorate: Children’s Social Care
Salary: Grade 11 / £73,604 - £78,051 (plus £10k per annum market forces supplement)
Hours: 37
Contract Type: Full Time, Permanent
Location: Civic Centre, Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is seeking to recruit an experienced Head of Service to lead on our services for children and young people in care and care leavers. Our most recent Ofsted ILACS inspection has judged our services in these areas as ‘Outstanding’
The head of service portfolio includes strategic leadership for Wolverhampton’s children in care, which encompasses disabled children, and leaving care teams, fostering services, supported accommodation and children’s homes. If you are an experienced strategic leader with excellent knowledge of care planning, children’s legislative framework, permanence planning and a vision for supporting the continued roll-out of wider social care reforms, we would like to hear from you.
Wolverhampton is at the forefront of innovation and partnership working, this extends not only to the delivery of services for Wolverhampton children and young people, but also to children and young people in the region from our partnership working on various programmes such as, Black Country Fostering, Regional Care Co-operative and Regional Safe Centre and Adoption@Heart. At the centre of all of this is our relational approach to practice, we are a proud restorative Local Authority, with a clear commitment to co-production with children, young people and families. Our most recent ILACS inspection found:
‘Children in care feel supported and listened to. They are involved in shaping policies and influencing forums that make decisions for them. As part of the children in care council, children are actively involved in scrutinising performance, training key stakeholders and co-producing policies and strategies’ (Inspection of Wolverhampton local authority children’s services 26 – 30 Jan 2026)
If this sounds like your next strategic leadership role, with the exciting opportunity to continue to shape our services and if you want to learn more about Wolverhampton and the fantastic opportunities available to all employees, please get in contact.
This post is subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
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Should you wish to discuss the role further, please contact Lisa Preston, Deputy Director for Children’s Social Care, at Lisa.Preston@wolverhampton.gov.uk, or Alison Hinds, Executive Director of Families, at Alison.Hinds@wolverhampton.gov.uk, to arrange a convenient time for a conversation.
Closing date for applications is the Sunday 13th September 2026
Interviews will take place on Monday 21st September 2026
For full details of the responsibilities and requirements of this role please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification
NJC Pay Award for 2026 / 2027:
The annual pay increases for 2026/27 for NJC Local Government Employees are currently being negotiated and, once agreed, will be effective from 1 April 2026.
For more information about working for our organisation including the culture of the Council, the Council plan and vision, staff equality forums, core HR policies and much more please click here.
Our working arrangements
All council roles are allocated to either a fixed, field or flexible work style. Some roles are agile which enable and empower employees to maximise their performance and productivity, whilst maintaining a healthy work life balance. Roles with a fixed workstyle work in a fixed permanent council location. Roles with a field workstyle are usually allocated where employees are required to be out working in the community with a minimum requirement for 'touch down' space at any council location. Roles with a flexible workstyle have a flexible base location to meet the needs of the business and employees can work from a mixture of home or any council office, partner/client, or external location, as required to meet service requirements.
Please refer to the Job Description for further information on the workstyle assigned to the role you are applying for.
For more information about working for our organisation including the culture of the Council, the Council plan and vision, staff equality forums, core HR policies and much more please click here.
Diversity
We are committed to building a workforce that is reflective of the diverse community we serve. We want to attract the best applications from people of all backgrounds and underrepresented groups because we strongly believe in adding value through diversity, inclusion, and equality. Our employees enable us to deliver services that are accessible, inclusive, and reflective of Wolverhampton residents.
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Our status as a Disability Confident Employer showcases our commitment to people with disabilities or health conditions, advocating for their opportunities and potential.
We've received the Stonewall Gold Award, emphasising our dedication to the LGBT+ community by nurturing an inspiring, inclusive, and equal workplace.
As of March 2023, the RACE Code Quality Mark signifies our active engagement with racial equality. These recognitions validate our continuous efforts towards fostering an inclusive work environment that respects and values our diverse employees.
As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the essential criteria for the post.
We encourage, inspire and value an inclusive culture here at the council where employees can flourish, thrive and be themselves. We have four staff equality forums for employees to join. These help to ensure our employees have a voice, they feel empowered to speak up and where everyone is treated with respect - Learn more about the staff equality forums here
Recruitment of Ex-Offenders
We are committed to the fair treatment of all our employees, potential employees, or users of our service regardless of offending background. The Council uses the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for any vacancies that require a DBS check to obtain information about applicants to assess their suitability for employment in positions of trust. We do not discriminate unfairly against any individual on the basis of a conviction or any other information revealed as a result of a DBS disclosure - Learn more here
Employment Information & Support
If you are considering applying for an apprenticeship or a role where the salary is (Grade 2-5), and would like to visit us to learn about the application, interview process and what it is like to work for the council, please click on this link to find out more - Learn more here
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