Director of Children's Social Care

A pivotal leadership role at a defining moment

Harrow is on an ambitious improvement journey, and we are seeking an exceptional Director of Children’s Social Care to help lead the service out of intervention in a way that is sustainable, confident and future‑focused. This is a rare opportunity to take on end‑to‑end responsibility for

Children’s Social Care in a diverse borough where you can genuinely see the impact of your leadership.

Children’s Social Care in Harrow is under pressure and there is no let‑up. The expectations are high, timescales are tight, and the need for clear, resilient leadership has never been greater.

Our priorities include:

• Exiting intervention sustainably, without risk of regression
• Driving a whole‑system cultural and practice change, grounded in evidence‑based social work
• Modernising services and reshaping the narrative – this is a service with real potential and we want a leader who can communicate that ambition
• Reducing reliance on external placements and improving sufficiency
• Strengthening outcomes across early help & child in need, safeguarding, children in care, permanency, care leavers and early help

You will lead statutory and non‑statutory services for children and families, with delegated responsibility for a £24.9m budget, and act as the practice leader for Children’s Social Care across the borough. You will work closely with committed and established partners including schools, police, health colleagues across the West & North London ICB (WNL), the voluntary sector and a stable partnership landscape with three family hubs already in place.

We are seeking a compassionate, resilient and credible Social care practice leader who:

• Has significant senior leadership experience in local authority Children’s Social Care
• Brings a strong track record of service improvement under pressure, including inspection readiness
• Is confident leading whole‑system change and has experience of running complex services, budgets and placements
• Is ambitious, innovative and emotionally intelligent, with the strength to lead through challenge
• Believes deeply in evidence‑based practice, inclusion and high‑quality supervision
• Has a sophisticated understanding of SEND, safeguarding and partnership working

You must be a qualified and registered social worker, with extensive knowledge of legislation, inspection frameworks and statutory safeguarding responsibilities.

Harrow is a diverse borough with strong partners and a genuine appetite for change. This is a role for someone who wants to make a difference quickly, visibly and at scale. If you are motivated by challenge, purpose and the chance to leave a lasting legacy for children and families, we would love to hear from you.

Closing date for applications: Tuesday 26th May 2026 at 9:00am

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