Strategic Director: Children, Young People and Skills - Job Description

• take a strategic lead to deliver agreed city wide outcomes and to contribute to the strategic direction of the City Council,
  
  
• work in partnership with other agencies, business sector and the community to deliver outcomes,
  
  
• strategically commission resources and activities to deliver agreed priorities and outcomes,
  
  
• take a "one Bristol" corporate approach with other colleagues on the Strategic Leadership Team to deliver an organisational transformation programme through focussing on delivering quality services and value for money in a timely and interpreted manner,
  
  
• drive through cultural, organisational improvement in customer and community focus, performance, productivity, budget, managerial efficiency and workforce changes to deliver improved outcomes for the people of Bristol,
  
  
• support elected members in undertaking the roles as community leaders and ward members,
  
  
• lead, direct and performance manage specific services, build a valued, confident, developed, empowered and innovative workforce
  
  
• promote and ensure that the City Council's communications, equality and health, safety and welfare objectives are met.

• Statutory responsibility for Children, Young People and Skills Service
  
  
• Learning and achievement, Safeguarding vulnerable children and young people
  
  
• Complex needs
  
  
• Youth Services
  
  
• Corporate parenting
  
  
• Early years and child care
  
  
• Extended schools
  
  
• Early intervention and prevention
  
  
• Joint commissioning with NHS Bristol
  
  
• 14-19 provision and skills agenda

• provide a professional focus for children and young people's services, ensuring that a clear strategy for improving outcomes for all children and young people within the area is developed. In doing so they will listen to and involve children, and champion their interests both across functional boundaries within the local authority and across local partnerships, so ensuring that the needs of children, young people and their families or carers are addressed, and

• drive forward the cultural, workforce and other changes necessary to ensure services cohere around children and young people's needs and to better outcomes for children and young people.
  
  
• establish and maintain a framework for effective working across local authority services (for example working closely with Health and Social Care Services to ensure an effective transition between children's and adult services and joined-up working between the service providers within children's and adult services to meet the needs of communities as a whole).

• Professional responsibility and accountability for the effectiveness, availability and value for money of the local authority children's services;
  
  
• leadership (both within the local authority and beyond) to (a) secure and sustain the necessary changes to culture and practice, so that services improve outcomes for all and are organised around children and young people's needs; (b) ensure transformation of children's services by creating a sharper focus on prevention and early intervention, while strengthening protection and improving achievement and attainment for all children and young people, (c) that adequate systems and protocols are in place for the effective discharge of children's services functions
  
  
• building and sustaining effective partnerships with and between those who provide children's services in order to (a)focus resources (financial, human, physical) on discharging statutory services and improving outcomes for children and young people, particularly in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and (b) establish accountabilities for the effective discharge of their respective responsibilities and the delivery of services, including establishing inter agency governance arrangements required by section 10 of the Children Act 2004.
  
  
• contributing to the planning the provision of related council services and promoting the interests of children,young people and families across the range of local authority services, including planning, housing, transport and leisure.

1. Education services - the authority's functions in its capacity as a local education authority, except those excluded under section 18(3) of the Children Act 2004 (namely certain functions relating to further education, higher education and adult education).
   
   
2. Social services - the authority's social service functions within the meaning of the Local Authorities Social Services Act 1970, insofar as they relate to children and the local authority's functions for children and young people leaving care.
   
   
3. Health services - any health related functions exercised on behalf of an NHS body under section 31 of the Health Act 1999, insofar as they relate to children.
   
   
4. Inter-agency cooperation - the new functions of the Children's Services Authority set out in the Children Act 2004, in particular building and leading the arrangements for inter-agency cooperation

1. directing and leading the operation of the authority's functions in its capacity as a local education authority as the statutory Director of Childrens Services
   
   
2. directing and leading the operation the authority's social services functions that relate to children, including the functions for children and young people leaving care, and working closely with the Strategic Director - Health and Social Care to support young people with social care needs during the transition to adult social services and health systems.
   
   
3. ensuring that any children's service provision contracted out or commissioned from another organisation is effectively carried out ( for example ensuring that health related functions are exercised on behalf of an NHS body insofar as they relate to children.
   
   
4. building and leading the partnership arrangements for inter-agency co-operation to plan, commission and provide children's services, ensuring that partners' plans deliver locally agreed targets and priorities, through local children's trust arrangements and as prescribed by national guidance and requirements

• An effective Children's Trust is maintained to deliver good outcomes for all children and young people
  
  
• Schools and other settings are effectively engaged and involved as strategic partners so that they can effectively contribute to achieving the objectives and priorities for children and young people
  
  
• A Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) is maintained to co-ordinate and ensure the effectiveness of board members' activities for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the authority's area. (Responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children within each agency or body rests with that agency or body. The Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB), which brings together these key organisations, will have a role in evaluating how they fulfil that responsibility and ensuring that their safeguarding work is effective)
  
  
• A Children and Young People's Plan (CYPP) is prepared and published to set out the authority's strategy for discharging their functions in relation to children and young people.
  
  
• The authority's Corporate Plan includes a focus on improving outcomes for children and young people across the range of local authority services.
  
  
• Statements of proposed action are produced in response to a Joint Area Review
  
  
• Government departments and inspectorates know that the principal point of contact for the conduct of the local authority's children's services business is the Service Director.

• Ensuring that all services - whether provided directly by the Council or commissioned from external organisations perform to high standards, delivering good outcomes and value for money.
  
  
• Standards in schools and other settings are improved.
  
  
• The educational achievement and other outcomes for of looked after children are is actively promoted, delivering good outcomes to children and young people
  
  
• Young people with social care needs are effectively supported during the transition from childhood to adulthood.
  
  
• Effective 14-19 policies are delivered to ensure positive economic well being and participation
  
  
• A range of services are commissioned to deliver inclusive learning, participation, early intervention to children, young people and families
  
  
• Services are targeted on statutory requirements and to delivering improved outcomes.
  
  
• Sustainable childcare will be strategically planned and there will be effective investment in the local childcare market.

• Effective systems, protocols and services are in place to safeguard and promote the well being of children and the effective discharge of children's services functions.
  
  
• A database of basic information on all children in the authority is established, maintained and used.
  
  
• Information is being provided to national agencies as required, in particular the Secretary of State, upon request, is provided with information on individual children.
  
  
• The needs of children and young people in the authority's area have been assessed.
  
  
• Arrangements are in place so that concerns may be raised within the local authority that systems and practices may be unsatisfactory.

• This is a politically restricted statutory chief officer post under Section 2 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (as amended).
  
  
• As a member of the Strategic Leadership Team of the Council the jobholder will report directly to the Chief Executive and will participate in the planning of the full range of council services and will support Members in realising and delivering their vision and ambitions for a better Bristol.
  
  
• The jobholder will have direct access to all members of the City Council, including the executive and scrutiny committee members.
  
  
• Financial Responsibilities: To formulate and recommend financial strategy for the directorate to the Executive. To ensure that financial systems are in place to ensure the effective management of the directorate in accordance with best value priorities. To ensure that the directorate meets its and the Council's financial objectives. To make timely reports to the appropriate Executive and/or Cabinet in accordance with the Council's financial regulations and timetable. To ensure financial regulations are adhered to throughout the directorate. To ensure that directorate schemes of delegation are properly developed and maintained.
  
  
• Resource Management: Sufficient human and other resources from the City Council and partner agencies have been identified, are available, effectively used and provide value for money. Employees are developed and supported to enable them to reach required competencies to deliver services to both national and local standards. The conditions for others to perform and innovate are created. All employees providing services, including those of other organisation providing those services, are aware of their shared responsibility for improving outcomes and sharing information.
  
  
• The jobholder will meet the key result areas and competencies within the Bristol Director Competence Framework.