Gloucestershire County Council
Service Manager, Early Help and Best Start in Life
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This is a Gloucestershire County Council job.
Job Title: Service Manager, Early Help and Best Start in Life
Job Location: Shire Hall
Salary: £60,532 - £63,895 per annum
Hours per Week: 37.00
Contract Type: Fixed Term
Duration: 24 months
Closing Date: 23/08/2026
Job Requisition Number: 14688
This post is open to job share
Help shape the future for children, young people and families
Are you an inspiring leader with a passion for improving outcomes for children and families?
We are looking for an exceptional Early Help, Best Start Family Hub Service Manager to provide strategic and operational leadership across Early Help, Best Start in Life and Family Hub services on a fixed term basis.
This is an exciting opportunity to lead the development of innovative, integrated services that support children, young people and families to thrive. You will play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering our vision for Best Start in Life Family Hubs, working collaboratively with partners across health, education, early years, social care and the voluntary and community sector.
About the role
Reporting to the Head of Service for Early Help and Targeted Support and the Head of Service Early Years and childcare, you will be responsible for driving the quality, performance and impact of Early Help, Best Start in Life and Family Hub services.
You will lead a small multidisciplinary team, champion relationship-based and systemic practice, and ensure services are responsive, effective and focused on improving the lived experience of children and families.
Key responsibilities include:
- Leading the operational delivery of the Best Start in Life programme and local plan.
- Driving the development and embedding of Best Start Family Hubs as a whole-system, place-based model.
- Providing leadership and line management to multidisciplinary practitioners.
- Maintaining a strong culture of learning, quality assurance and continuous improvement.
- Monitoring performance, outcomes and impact across service areas.
- Building and sustaining effective partnerships across agencies and sectors.
- Contributing to strategic planning, commissioning and service redesign.
- Representing the service at senior partnership boards and governance forums.
- Ensuring effective use of resources and budget management.
- Deputising for the Head of Service when required.
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About you
You will be a skilled and forward-thinking leader with a proven track record of delivering improved outcomes for children, young people and families.
You will bring:
- significant leadership experience within children's services, early help, education, health, social care or related fields
- experience of leading complex programmes, service transformation or system change
- strong understanding of Early Help, Family Hub and Best Start in Life approaches
- experience of working across multi-agency partnerships and influencing at a senior level
- knowledge of relevant legislation, national policy and integrated service delivery models
- excellent communication, relationship-building and leadership skills
- the ability to translate strategic priorities into successful operational delivery
- emotional resilience, adaptability and a commitment to supporting staff wellbeing
Essential qualifications
- degree-level qualification in a relevant discipline
- professional qualification in a relevant field such as social work, education, youth work, health, housing, employment or criminal justice
- Level 5 Leadership and Management qualification, or willingness to work towards one
Desirable
- qualification in coaching and/or mentoring
Why join us?
This is an opportunity to make a lasting difference for children, young people and families while joining an ambitious organisation committed to innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement.
We offer:
- flexible and hybrid working arrangements
- a supportive and inclusive leadership culture
- professional development and career progression opportunities
- a commitment to staff wellbeing
- the chance to influence and shape services at a strategic level
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For an informal chat about this role, please contact Sarah Hylton at Sarah.Hylton@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Interviews are due to take place in person week commencing 7th and 14th September.
Additional Information
To access the Job Profile for this role, please follow the link below: [Service Manager, Early Help and Best Start in Life - Job Profile](Service Manager, Early Help and Best Start in Life - Job Profile)
This position is:
- subject to an Enhanced DBS Disclosure
- requires travel across the county
- may involve occasional work outside normal office hours
- is designated as a politically restricted post under the Local Government and Housing Act
If you are passionate about leading change, developing partnerships and improving outcomes for children and families, we would love to hear from you.
Apply today and help us create the best start in life for every child.
Gloucestershire County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people or vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
We want to be an employer of choice, attracting and retaining excellent people to work for us, so that we can best serve all of Gloucestershire’s diverse communities. Our promise to you is that we will provide an inclusive and supportive working environment that enables you to bring your whole self to work and realise your full potential.
It is a legal requirement, under the Immigration Act 2016, that anyone appointed to a ‘customer facing role’ must be able to demonstrate an ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in fluent English.
Hybrid working arrangements are available for the majority of our roles, giving teams the opportunity to work in a way that suits them, balancing service need and individual choice, with a mix of both remote and office working.
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