Suffolk County Council
Inspection Lead
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Inspection Lead
Youth Justice Inspection and Improvement Lead Suffolk County Council
Address: Endeavour House, Ipswich, IP1 2BX – Hybrid Salary: £60,135 per annum (pro rata for part-time) Hours: 37 hours per week (flexible working options available) Contract: Fixed Term/Secondment (estimated 1 year, ending upon completion of HMIP inspection preparations)
About the Role
Suffolk County Council is committed to advancing Children and Young People Services (CYP) through high standards, practitioner collaboration, and evidence-informed practice. We seek a strategically minded and inspirationally driven professional to deliver the Youth Justice Inspection and Improvement Lead role in our CYP department.
In this critical role, you will:
- Ensure the Suffolk Youth Justice Service is fully inspection-ready, compliant, and aligned with Child First principles.
- Provide expert guidance on HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP), Youth Justice Board (YJB) standards, and statutory obligations.
- Collaborate across multiple agencies to foster continuous improvements.
If you are passionate about youth justice, progressive practice, and improving outcomes for vulnerable young people, we encourage you to apply.
Your Responsibilities
You will lead and coordinate the inspection-ready preparation, ensuring:
- Evidence collation and alignment with HMIP expectations.
- Partner engagement, leadership engagement, and multi-agency coordination.
- Audit oversight, data triangulation, and proactive service improvement initiatives.
Key duties include:
- Spearhead inspection readiness coordination, ensuring robust documentation, timely feedback, and compliance.
- Provide SMART and executive expertise on national inspection frameworks for teams across each level of the organisation.
- Review and synthesise inspection evidence, from case reports to partnership documents.
- Synthesise local learning with national benchmarking to improve safeguarding, safeguarding oversight, risk management, and victim engagement.
- Lead data-driven performance analysis, quality assurance workshops, and continuous improvement efforts aligned with Suffolk’s sectoral priorities.
- Facilitate close collaboration with Justice System Partners (police, courts, probation, health, education, and social work), ensuring shared accountability.
- Contribute to wide-ranging quality assurance efforts within Quality Assurance Services, CQI planning, and CYP improvement projects.
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Requirements
To excel in this demanding role, you must demonstrate: ✅ A relevant post-graduate qualification (or equivalent experience) in youth justice, children’s services, quality assurance, or strategic service improvement. ✅ Demonstrable track record in multi-agency environments, driving improvements aligned with inspection imperatives and standards compliance. ✅ Sig strong analytical, data management, and reporting experience—spanning complex data sets, assurances mechanisms, and assurance reports. ✅ Fluency in visionary leadership, balancing frontal challenge, strategic leverage, and empathy, prepared to train all levels of staff and a small partnership board. ✅ Confidence in governance/collaborative environments, having previously managed intricate reputational, regulatory, or performance pressures. ✅ Expertise in regional/local frameworks (or ability to establish credentials rapidly in a short timeframe)**. ✅ Exceptional project management and strategic communication—prioritising stakeholders’ needs across senior authority, operational teams, and external inspectors. ✅ Key sector knowledge in restorative practice, child-centred support networks, monitoring tools, and national youth justice reforms.
Personal Qualities
- Action-oriented, grabbing initiative within multimillion-pound service reform.
- Confident but collaborative—balancing assertiveness with adaptability to transform practice.
- Empathic and inclusive—supporting victims, families, young people, and strategically aligned leaders.
- Gene IO: Early integration with the System Partners ahead of the senior leadership team.
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Benefits
Joining Suffolk County Council means connecting with a forward-thinking organisation that values diversity, flexibility, and personal development. In return, you’ll enjoy:
- Up to 29 days annual leave + 2 volunteering days (pro rata for part-time).
- Flexible working arrangements, exploring work decisions tailored to your preferences.
- Integral to recreation and well-being—access travel benefits, health initiatives, and mindfulness resources.
- Comprehensive training and career progression tied to continuous continuous performance and learning.
- Membership in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and cost-of-living pay adjustments alongside potential monthly progressions.
- Equality-inclusion commitments and statutory Ethnic Minority foundations to reflect our communities locally.
Closing and Next Steps
Closing Date: 11:30pm, 15 July 2026 Application Portal: SCC Applications Portal
Supporting Statement: Required. You must upload and answer at a quote-to-word document template when submitting your application. Please highlight:
- A successful inspection readiness/audit/experience story and anomalies you addressed as your practitioner ensured evidenced capability.
- Analytic insight illustrating data-informed performance improvement leading—describe data sources, your analysis, conclusions, and operational impact.
- Industry awareness on youth-justice practice in Suffolk and how your insight relates to partnership-building and national-level assurance standards.
- Applicants are subject to DBS tier 2 checks.
Reasonable Adjustments: If you require accommodations during the application process, email recruitment@suffolk.gov.uk or call 03456 014412.
For further discussions, or more insights, please reach out to Rachel Cogman (rachel.cogman@suffolk.gov.uk | 01473 264704).
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