Head of Service

Part time role: 30 hours per week

Job Purpose

The Head of Service is a senior leader with overall responsibility for the safe, effective and high-quality delivery of Children's Community Services, including Health Visiting, School Nursing, Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) and associated 0–19 services.

The postholder provides both strategic and operational leadership, ensuring services deliver improved outcomes for children, young people and families whilst meeting all statutory, regulatory, safeguarding and commissioning requirements.

The role holds direct accountability for safeguarding arrangements, clinical quality, governance, workforce performance, service delivery, financial management, risk management and regulatory compliance across services within scope.

As the organisation's senior operational lead for safeguarding, quality and governance, the postholder has authority to set standards, seek assurance, require corrective action and intervene directly where quality, performance or safety concerns are identified.

The postholder will lead the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme (0–19), ensuring services are evidence-based, responsive to local population needs and aligned with national policy, statutory guidance and organisational priorities.

The postholder will act as the organisation's CQC Registered Manager and lead the continuous development, transformation and improvement of children's community health services.


Key Accountabilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across Children's Community Services, ensuring safe, effective and high-quality service delivery.
• Lead the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme (0–19), ensuring achievement of national, local and commissioned outcomes.
• Hold overall accountability for safeguarding arrangements, statutory compliance and organisational assurance relating to children and young people.
• Act as the senior safeguarding lead for services within scope, providing expert advice, leadership and oversight of safeguarding practice.
• Ensure learning from safeguarding reviews, audits, inspections, serious incidents, complaints and investigations is embedded into operational practice.
• Lead safeguarding governance arrangements, ensuring effective supervision, audit, policy development, training and quality assurance systems are in place.
• Hold overall responsibility for clinical quality, patient safety and governance, ensuring robust systems for risk management, incident reporting and continuous improvement.
• Act as the organisation's senior operational lead for quality and governance, with authority to establish standards, commission assurance activity and require corrective action.
• Fulfil the role of CQC Registered Manager, maintaining regulatory compliance and inspection readiness across all services within scope.
• Lead service transformation, redesign and innovation initiatives to improve outcomes, quality, accessibility and efficiency.
• Drive performance against key operational, safeguarding and public health indicators, taking corrective action where required.
• Provide professional leadership and accountability for staff, ensuring effective recruitment, retention, supervision, appraisal and workforce development.

Safeguarding Leadership Responsibilities

• Act as the organisation's lead expert on safeguarding children for services within scope.
• Provide strategic and operational leadership for safeguarding policy, practice and service improvement.
• Ensure robust safeguarding supervision frameworks are established and consistently applied.
• Lead organisational responses to serious incidents, safeguarding practice reviews and complex safeguarding concerns.
• Promote a strong safeguarding culture where risks are identified, escalated and addressed promptly.
• Ensure delivery of high-quality safeguarding training and workforce development programmes.
• Maintain strong relationships with Local Safeguarding Children Partnerships and key safeguarding agencies.
• Ensure compliance with Working Together to Safeguard Children and all relevant safeguarding legislation, policies and frameworks.

Key Outcomes

• Safe, effective and high-quality delivery of children's community health services.
• Strong safeguarding performance and statutory compliance.
• Achievement of Healthy Child Programme and commissioned service outcomes.
• Effective governance, quality assurance and regulatory compliance.
• Positive inspection outcomes and CQC readiness.
• Financial sustainability and effective budget management.
• High workforce performance, capability and retention.
• Successful delivery of service transformation and improvement programmes.

Person Specification

Essential
• Registered health professional (e.g. Nurse or SCPHN) with current professional registration.
• Significant senior leadership experience within children's services, public health, community health or integrated care services.
• Extensive safeguarding leadership experience, including complex safeguarding case management and multi-agency working.
• In-depth knowledge of safeguarding legislation, national guidance and best practice.
• Strong understanding of the Healthy Child Programme and 0–19 service delivery models.
• Experience leading quality, governance, risk and regulatory compliance functions.
• Experience of managing large multidisciplinary teams across multiple service areas.
• Proven track record of leading service transformation and continuous improvement.
• Experience managing complex budgets and delivering financial performance.
• Ability to translate strategic priorities into effective operational delivery.

Desirable
• Experience acting as a CQC Registered Manager.
• Experience working across Integrated Care Systems, local authorities and safeguarding partnerships.
• Experience leading services through CQC inspections or significant organisational change.
• Qualification or advanced training in safeguarding leadership.