Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Head of Social Work and Social Care
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Do you have previous operational management experience in a mental health setting?
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust are seeking a full time strategic Social Work leader to head the Oxfordshire and BSW Mental Health Directorate Social Work and social care services.
This role offers the chance to lead transformational change in a Trust known for innovation, collaboration, and compassionate care.
The Heads of Social Work / Social Care will contribute to shaping the future of mental health services by leading change, empowering teams, influencing strategy, and driving service development aligned with local and national Social Work / Social Care priorities. You will work across the Directorate’s pathways (all age, community and inpatient), uphold Trust values, and manage governance across quality, safety, finance, HR, and performance. Collaboration with other service and professional leads and support teams is essential to meet strategic goals.
You will be an experienced operational leader, with previous substantial experience in mental health, seeking growth. Key qualities include adaptability, strong partnership skills, and a commitment to improving mental health outcomes across health, social care, and VCSE sectors. You will be an expert Social Worker with enhanced levels of applied knowledge and legal literacy, able to work with highly complex individual and system level scenarios.
The key responsibilities of the role can be summarised as strategy, policy, and delivery in the following domains:
- Quality
- Workforce
- Finance
- Performance
- Strategic change
- Stakeholder engagement/partnership
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
The Head of Service will own these domains within reporting service(s) as well as being expected to contribute significantly to the Directorate-wide approach across them.
The Head of Service will use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that reporting service(s) comply with the five CQC domains:
- Safe: people are protected from abuse and avoidable harm
- Effective: people’s care, treatment and support achieve good outcomes, promotes a good quality of life, and is based on the best available evidence
- Caring: the service(s) involves and treats people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect
- Responsive: service(s) meet people’s needs
- Well led: leadership, management and governance assure the delivery of high-quality and person-centred care, supports learning and innovation, and promotes an open and fair culture.
Full details can be found at the CQC website by clicking on the link below:
Key lines of enquiry for healthcare services - Care Quality Commission
Please refer to the job description attached for a comprehensive list of duties
Oxford Health is a great place to work. To be able to showcase yourself when making an application you are encouraged to read the “candidate guide to making an application” which is attached to all roles.
Please include details of qualifications (including years these were gained particularly if we need to assess for clinical roles that these are still valid) and tailor your supporting statement to the role you are applying for, addressing the essential criteria found in the JD.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
As a Trust we provide physical, mental health and social care for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset. Our services are delivered at community bases, hospitals, clinics and people’s homes, delivering care as close to home as possible. Our vision is that no matter who or where you are, you will receive: “Outstanding care delivered by an outstanding team”
Our values are: “Caring, safe and excellent”
We offer a wide range of benefits designed to support your career and wellbeing:
- Excellent opportunities for career progression
- Individual and Trust wide learning and development
- 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days with continuous service
- NHS Discount
- Pension scheme
- Lease car scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Mental Health First Aiders
- Staff accommodation (waiting lists may apply)
- Staff networking and support groups
For further details / informal visits contact:
- Name: Catherine Sage
- Job title: Associate Director
- Email address: catherine.sage@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk
- Telephone number: 07769935831
At Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust we want to employ people not just with experience, but with the aptitude and motivation to succeed and whose values resonate with our own.
Therefore, if you don’t meet all the requirements of the role and are unsure about applying but are excited about the opportunity, please do get in touch. We will be happy to discuss the requirements in more detail ahead of making a written application.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location