Staffordshire County Council · Stafford, England · £72k–£78k
This is a live UK-based role at Staffordshire County Council, a UK Skilled Worker sponsor tracked by Sponsorly AI against the Home Office register. Posted 18 September 2026. Listed as open until 27 October 2026.
Job Introduction Our Children and Families services and our vision here in Staffordshire is rooted in four core principles that underpin everything we do: Families first – network and community always Right help, right time – proportionate, timely and co-produced with children and families Whole-system responsibility for supporting children and families to be happy, healthy and safe Permanence as belonging from day one To achieve our ambition, we have taken a bold decision to transform our service structure and we’re looking for talented, values-driven leaders who can champion these principles, inspire others and help shape the future of Children and Families services in Staffordshire. We want to create a more resilient, child-centred and future-focused system that enables children, young people and families to receive the right help at the right time. Through this redesign, we are strengthening leadership, increasing capacity and creating clearer lines of accountability across our services. These changes will support high-quality practice, stronger partnerships and better outcomes for children and families, while ensuring we are well positioned to respond to national reforms and future challenges. Main Responsibilities As Head of Residential Services, you will provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for residential care services, ensuring children and young people receive safe, therapeutic and high-quality care. You will lead service improvement, sufficiency planning and workforce development, driving excellence across residential provision while ensuring children’s voices and experiences shape service delivery and decision-making. You will be the Responsible Individual for internal residential provision. You will: Lead the strategic development, performance and continuous improvement of residential services, ensuring children receive safe, nurturing and high-quality care. Oversee residential sufficiency planning, commissioning and market development to ensure there is a sustainable range of placements that meet current and future needs. Provide leadership for residential managers and teams, embedding a trauma-informed, therapeutic and relationship-based culture across services. Ensure compliance with statutory, regulatory and inspection requirements, using performance data, audits and feedback to drive improvement. Build effective partnerships across social care, education, health, commissioning and other agencies to improve outcomes for children and young people in residential care. Lead strategic planning for transitions, permanence and preparation for adulthood, ensuring children and young people are supported to achieve positive long-term outcomes. The Ideal Candidate Minimum Criteria Degree or equivalent level qualification. Qualified and registered Social Worker. Relevant professional or management qualification, or substantial management training and development. Significant post-qualification experience within child…
Listing tracked by Sponsorly AI from Staffordshire County Council's own job posting. Apply directly with the employer — Sponsorly does not process applications.