Purpose of the post
•To ensure that the people of Gwynedd are at the centre of everything we do.
•Provide operational leadership and lead/manage change for a workforce employed by Cyngor Gwynedd to ensure that children and families in the area have access to the right person at the right time and receive the right support to enable them to continue living their own lives.
•Lead, manage and supervise Officers within the Safeguarding Unit.
Responsibility for functions
• STAFF – professional responsibility for officers who will be working within the team.
• FINANCE – monitor and manage the budget for the area.
• EQUIPMENT– responsibility for all specialist equipment used by the team's staff.
Main duties
MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
•Remove barriers to allow for an effective service provision. Make things happen by taking meaningful decisions and by responding effectively to priorities as they change.
•Leading and Managing People – Motivate, encourage and empower staff by delegating work effectively and by creating a culture of respect, joint working and risk-taking. ⁠Give direction and feedback to staff by communicating the vision effectively, focusing on service provision.
•Performance and Development ⁠- Identify staff strengths and areas for development through regular supervision and evaluation. Focus on improving performance through effective management and development and by measuring, monitoring and evaluating performance. Implement and develop business plans that reflect this.
•Communication – Share and listen to information, views and ideas without presumption by using appropriate communication methods. Increase motivation by using inclusive communication that acknowledges other people’s feelings. Convey information and recommendations to staff and other audiences clearly and confidently. Communicate the vision of the service effectively.
•Awareness of the Context – Understand and work effectively within the Council's political framework and have awareness of issues that impact service provision on different levels. Foster links with others to benefit from good practice in order to improve provision for service users.
•Self Management – Be an example to others by being proactive, honest and consistent and by taking responsibility for your own actions. Ensure compliance with professional standards. Responsibility for self-development.
SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
•Provide professional advice, guidance, support and mentoring to practitioners and develop professional practice within their teams and the service in general. Undertake some direct work with children, young people, families and carers, and supervise the work undertaken by the team in providing outcome and evidence-based interventions.
•Ensure that work is undertaken in accordance with relevant legislation, policy, guidance and good practice received and lead on safeguarding matters within the team in accordance with statutory requirements and the Council's policies and procedures.
•Promote professional, accountable performance by working with social workers and other practitioners to improve the performance and quality of services throughout the department, and develop and provide effective and professional practice within the team. Ensure that the workload, professional practice standards and performance are managed, and that resources are allocated effectively.
•Responsibility for recruiting and managing staff including appraisal, development plans, performance management, sickness and absence and matters relating to complaints and discipline.
•Maintain professional skills and expertise across the children’s service, regardless of the responsibility of the specific service/team, and be able to offer managerial advice and recommendations that are equivalent to the salary level and responsibility level of the post.
•Ensure that the training and development needs of individuals and teams are identified, and work on them with the Workforce Development Unit to identify ways of responding to those needs.
•Supervision responsibility.
•Lead locally to provide services needed by citizens that are sustainable and high quality.
•Lead a range of meetings and processes to ensure effective professional practice.
•Promote effective integration across Gwynedd. Build strong links with external agencies, internal partners and the third sector in order to provide efficient integrated care.
•Convey a sense of working towards the same goal.
•Drive a culture of change, innovation and modernisation to facilitate service improvements.
•Support the team to map workflow processes. Redesign services and implement changes.
•Collaborate closely with the other leaders in the team to remove barriers. Report on barriers in weekly leaders' meetings.
•Engage effectively with staff at all levels within the service and across relevant partner agencies and organisations.
•Lead on ensuring that the team implements the principles of the Social Services and Well-being Act 2014.
•Ensure that 'What matters to me' conversations and setting personal outcomes take place and are implemented across the service.
•Empower staff to make decisions that they can defend.
•Lead on safeguarding matters within the area in accordance with statutory requirements and the Council's policies and procedures.
•Possesses personal values based on principles that enable citizens to live their lives as they wish.
•Promote citizens' rights to live their lives as they wish by providing services to achieve this.
•Influence change and inspire people with a vision for the future. Inspire people by taking action and setting an example, and challenge traditional practices and encourage staff to resolve problems innovatively with an emphasis on results.
•Ensure an effective and open flow of communication within the integrated team to ensure an effective service.
•Deal with complaints and enquiries with the support of the customer care officer, including investigating stage 1 complaints and follow them through until they are resolved.
•Develop a climate of openness and honesty in relation to risk management and governance.
•Work with uncertainty, ambiguity and the inevitable nature of change.
•Develop and review policies, procedures and guidelines.
•Contribute towards operational practices and the strategic development of services.
•Contribute to the Population Needs Assessment.
•Contribute towards shaping the commissioning procedure for children and families social care. Contribute knowledge and ideas to the development of a commissioning strategy.
•Promote public and professional awareness of the service via presentations and provide reports and written information as required.
•Produce a variety of high-quality reports.
•Lead and manage specific work programmes for local areas and across the county.
•An oversight role for the Information, Advice and Support service.
•Represent the Department in local, regional and national meetings as required.
•Represent, lead and manage specific work programmes in local, regional and national situations as required.
•Improve outcomes for service users and be able to demonstrate this within a performance management framework.
•Lead on developing indicators that measure success. Analyse and evaluate the information to ensure that the interventions meet the personal objectives of citizens and that the team's resources are used efficiently and effectively.
•Report on indicators in departmental performance meetings.
•Assist and deputise for the Assistant Head when monitoring the team's areas of responsibility to ensure high standards of professional practice and ensure attendance in meetings (e.g. Committees, Risk Assessment, Audit). 
•Ensure that the workforce's risk assessments are completed and implemented.
•Manage priorities as there is continuous change to the reporting, managing and safeguarding work.
•Work with other services and agencies to ensure an integrated approach to delivering services.
•Transition between strategic and operational policies.
•Facilitate internal change and review/develop services.
•Promote a culture of one Council.
•Contribute to strategic development.
•Lead, manage and supervise Officers within the Safeguarding Unit.
•Ensure that the training and development needs of individuals and teams are identified, and work on them with the Workforce Development Unit to identify ways of responding to those needs. Ensure that each member of the team receives sufficient and regular supervision.
•Promote the professional performance agenda by facilitating the team to fulfil their key performance indicators.
•⁠Complete regular audits on safeguarding practice and submit regular quarterly reports according to a systematic method and draw attention to themes and matters that need to be addressed, as well as learning points.
•Play a key role in contributing to, implementing and monitoring the Department's quality assurance framework.
•Assist relevant officers including Team Managers and senior practitioners to lead, contribute to and review any action plans following audits. Report on any progress or barriers regularly to the Senior Children’s Management Team.
•Develop safeguarding arrangements strategically and operationally, ensuring that those arrangements are robust, acknowledging and guiding good practice: ensure that the Council fulfils these responsibilities effectively, focusing on the individual.
•Support the work of developing robust safeguarding arrangements in the children's services and ensure that they comply with relevant legislation, statutory guidance and the Wales safeguarding procedures.
•Provide critical overview and challenge the role of the Children's Services in terms of their practice relating to Looked-after Children and Safeguarding cases.
•⁠Provide overview and advice as a Child Safeguarding expert.
•Take part in corporate safeguarding processes and support them.
•Undertake the role of Appointed Safeguarding Officer, assisting the Local Authority Appointed Officer when managing allegations made against staff and volunteers who work with children and adults at risk in the Council's area. This includes chairing meetings under section 5 of the safeguarding procedures for Wales.
•Chair meetings when required, and doing so effectively and promptly, following best practice and relevant procedures.
•Prepare reports in the required format for the North Wales Safeguarding Board, the Children and Families Service or other groups, as required.
•Ensure that the work flows effectively and efficiently in the specific areas of responsibility, to ensure that workflow is allocated effectively, and complies with specific standards.
•Support the work of the Regional Safeguarding Board, including providing statistical information, quarterly and annual reports and contribute to the board's other appropriate activities, including but not restricted to Child Practice Reviews and relevant sub-groups, on a local and regional basis. ⁠Advise and contribute towards developing and implementing policies, procedures and practice by being a member of the Safeguarding Children Board sub-committees and other groups within and between agencies.
•Work with colleagues internally and externally to the Service, to monitor, evaluate and develop the quality of the service provided, and to ensure there are systems in operation to enable staff and users to make important contributions to develop the service in the future.
•Lead on ensuring that the department contributes towards efficiency savings plans. The post-holder will be expected to provide written and oral reports, giving details about the team's expenditure, and be able to identify areas where savings can be made by making better use of resources, and highlight cases that would lead to financial implications for the Local Authority.
•Support opportunities to introduce new technology to transform working practices.
•Promote the commitment of the third sector to work in an integrated manner in the area.
•Participate in the management team for your service field.
•Delegate on behalf of the Assistant Heads.
OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES
•Responsibility for self-development which will involve actively searching for current developments within relevant social care policy, practice and research.
•Ensure compliance with Health and Safety rules in the workplace in accordance with the responsibilities noted in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Council’s Health and Safety Policy.
•Operate within the Council’s policies in relation to equal opportunities, equality and sustainability.
•Manage information in accordance with the Council's information management standards and guidance. Ensure that personal information is handled in accordance with Data Protection legislation.
•A commitment to reducing the Council’s carbon emissions in accordance with the Carbon Management Plan, and to encourage others to act positively towards reducing the Council’s carbon footprint;
•Undertake any other reasonable duty which corresponds to the salary and responsibility level of the post.
•Responsible for reporting any concern or suspicion that a child or vulnerable adult is being abused.
Special circumstances
•The ability to work flexible hours is essential for this post, including working some evenings and weekends.