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Transformation Lead, Early Childhood Educator - Ark Start John Keats, ROYAL BOROUGH OF KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA, ARK START
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Bring your children's social care knowledge to lead digital transformation and help shape better systems, processes and services for practitioners, children and families.
This is an opportunity for an experienced children's social worker to take their career into a new direction. We are looking for someone who understands the realities of children's social care, is curious about how services can be improved and is keen to develop their skills within transformation, technology, data and AI.
Working Style
We're all in to design efficient, user-centred services that support our frontline practitioners and families.
This is a hybrid role, playing a key role serving the local community. Whether you're working behind the scenes with technical partners or directly with frontline practitioners, you'll be part of a dedicated team supporting our young residents.
What You'll Be Doing
In this fast-paced role, you will lead the project management and delivery of digital transformation initiatives within our Children's Operations and Programmes Directorate. You will manage cross-functional projects from inception through to completion, ensuring milestones are achieved, risks are mitigated, and savings targets are successfully delivered.
Working as the direct intersection of frontline practice, data, and technical design, you will act as a crucial connector, converting your real-world understanding of social work into robust digital project requirements.
Your daily responsibilities will include working with frontline practitioners, digital partners, and internal and external stakeholders to understand service challenges, shape and test practical solutions, support implementation, evaluate impact and identify emerging opportunities.
You will co-produce service solutions alongside frontline teams, map interdependencies, and manage project benefits effectively to improve our practitioner and service-user experience and to enable more efficient ways of working. Additionally, you will build consensus among diverse stakeholders during periods of change.
Although technical expertise is not necessary, your experience in social care will be crucial to understand practice problems, ask good questions, shape requirements, test whether solutions are useful and safe, and help practitioners and technical colleagues work effectively together.
For further details, please review the Job Description and Person Specification
What You'll Bring
You must have a Children's Social Worker background coupled with substantial working knowledge of statutory children's social care practice with a thorough understanding of contemporary children's policy and legislation to ensure our new strategies remain highly responsive to local priorities.
You will have contributed to change, service improvement, practice development or project activity. This might include improving a process, helping to implement a new system or practice model, testing a new approach, supporting colleagues through change or contributing to a wider improvement programme.
You need proven experience of successfully leading transformation or service improvement initiatives within a large, complex organisation. While technical IT expertise is not required, you must demonstrate a genuine interest in how data, technology, and AI can reduce administrative burdens and optimise frontline workflows.
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This role demands strong negotiation and lateral thinking capabilities to manage service risks, guide teams through ambiguity, and build inclusive, high-performing project environments.
Why join us
At RBKC, we're all in - investing in our people, our communities and our future.
You will join a well-established, collaborative Bi-borough team operating across both the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Council, giving you unmatched strategic exposure. This is a brilliant environment to grow your skills in line with our commitment to developing talent.
You will be part of a service that celebrates an exceptional standard of work, with our Children's Services recently being rated Outstanding by Ofsted for the third consecutive time, marking a decade of elite practice. We support your continuous professional development by offering substantial on-the-job development and structured pathways to master strateg ARK START10151727Early Childhood Educator - Ark Start John Keats
Benefits
About The Role
- Ongoing Learning: We are committed to providing the best development for all our staff. We work hard to ensure there are clear career progression routes
- Annual leave: We are proud of our staff and want everyone to feel valued for playing their part. That’s why staff receive 25 days holiday each year, excluding bank holidays
- Wellbeing: Staff wellbeing is incredibly important to us. We know that while incredibly rewarding, working in a nursery can be challenging. We therefore work hard to ensure all staff have the support and infrastructure they need to take care of their wellbeing
- Part of a Network: Ark Start is part of Ark, a charity that aims to transform children’s lives through education. Ark operates a network of 39 schools across London, Birmingham, Portsmouth, and Hastings as well as a number of charitable ventures. Being part of a network means our staff get access to the opportunities, infrastructure, and support of a large organisation.
About Us
Our dedicated team work together to ensure that every child has a joyful, engaging, and secure nursery experience and leaves us ready to start school happily and confidently. We are driven by our values in everything we do: Aim High, Be Brave, Be Kind and Keep Learning.
Ark Start is at an exciting time in its evolution. We opened two nurseries in South London last year and aim to expand our reach over the coming years. As we expand, we are looking for Early Childhood Educator to join our founding team. We are looking for someone with a genuine passion for young children and with the skill, creativity, commitment, and energy to deliver excellent provision at Ark Start.
Diversity And Inclusion:
We aim to build a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone – staff and students – can do their best work and achieve their full potential. We want to reflect and represent diverse perspectives across our organisation because we know that doing so will make us stronger and more effective. To know more about Ark’s diversity and inclusion commitments, please click on this link.
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Safeguarding Statement:
Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.
Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link.
Please note we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this role may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response. We strongly encourage to submit your application at your earliest convenience.
If you would like to hear more about this role or about Ark Start, please contact HR@arkstart.org.uk.
About The Role Benefits Ongoing Learning: We are committed to providing the best development for all our staff. We work hard to ensure there1672London£27080 - £29002 per annumEducation, schools£25,000 - £30,000PermanentFull timeRecruitment consultant16/07/2026 00:01:0015/08/2026 00:01:00Ark CareersAdminYellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road London Greater LondonW11 4AN020 3116 6363External RedirectExternal Redirecthttps://careers.arkonline.org/vacancies/1672/early-childhood-educator--ark-start-john-keats.htmlhttp://jobs.theguardian.com/job/10151727http://jobs.theguardian.com/apply/10151727truehttp://jobs.theguardian.com/getasset/?uiAssetID=21A84001-4B27-4988-978C-A714BA3A6FB2http://jobs.theguardian.com/getasset/?uiAssetID=28D26427-214F-4BD1-9DCA-51328B4A2C63
Safeguarding Statement:
Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.
Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link.
Please note we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this role may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response. We strongly encourage to submit your application at your earliest convenience.
If you would like to hear more about this role or about Ark Start, please contact HR@arkstart.org.uk.
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