Job Description

Children North East exists because growing up can be hard.  We work with babies, children and young people through the rollercoaster of growing up in their families, schools and communities.

As Head of Families and Parenting and a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT), you will ensure the successful strategic development, and the effective and safe operational delivery, of all the families and parenting team services across the North East.

As our Head of Families and Parenting, you will report directly to the Operations Director and work with them to deliver and implement Children North East’s new 5 year strategy, this will include:

• Growing and sustaining our families and parenting work, existing and new.
• Reaching out beyond current funded project to establish links with new partners and create new initiatives cognisant with the families and parenting teams work.
• Ensuring that the families and parenting team are actively involved in reporting and monitoring the impact of their work through a range of mechanisms including; Outcome Star and CiviCRM.

You will have designated safeguarding responsibility for the Families and Parenting team, reporting to the Operations Director who is the charities Designated Safeguarding Lead as and when required.

The Head of Families and Parenting will:

• Report to the Operations Director.
• Have direct line management responsibility for the Deputy Manager and the Senior Administrator.
• Participate in the Senior Management Team and all working groups therein.

Main Responsibilities

• Be a member of the Senior Management Team of Children North East and work in conjunction with the Chief Executive, Operations Director and other Senior Leaders and the Board to develop and further the strategic interests of the organisation.
• Lead, develop and inspire others to achieve high performance standards in line with Children North East behaviours and values.
• High level analysis of internal data through use of CiviCRM and other systems i.e. Outcome Star.
• Solution focused response to organisational need to effectively rectify concerns or barriers to best practice standards being met.
• Take a lead role in enabling effective culture by providing a culture of excellence and development.
• Act as senior advisor on early years and families across the organisation ensuring that senior leaders and their teams have access to high quality support and advice.
• Provide strong and inspirational leadership and management of all families and parenting services including the provision of all line management duties for direct reports (including regular one-to-ones, performance appraisals, team meetings, sickness and performance management).
• Support the Head of HR in the recruitment of staff.
• Provide delegated budget management of all families and parenting services to appropriate managers, ensuring that all services are within budget and spend is monitored regularly. Provide explanation on key variances when needed.
• Create, build and maintain positive long term relationships with a whole range of family and parenting stakeholders regionally and when appropriate, nationally.  Develop a significant external presence, through use of social media, as a speaker at events and through networking.
• Represent Children North East at a range of both strategic and operational family and parenting meetings, contributing widely and creatively in discussions and presenting where appropriate.
• Develop Children North East’s family and parenting service portfolio through sales and spot purchase arrangements with a range of partners.
• Working with the Operations Director to support the mobilisation of all new family and parenting services when secured, ensuring that specific contract requirements are fully met.
• Support Team Managers to provide contract management for all family and parenting grants and contracts; reporting back to commissioners/funders on both financial and non-financial information. 
• Ensure the impact of family and parenting services is routinely measured, monitored and analysed.  Sharing widely the findings of individual impact measures across all of our service delivery.
• Acting as the Designated Safeguarding Lead (as delegated by the Operations Director) for the Families and Parenting Service.
• Supporting the Operations Director to create impact reports which not only highlight the completion of contractual agreements but raise the profile of additional social value and the long term impacts of providing high quality services.
• Ensure that the quality of all family and parenting services is as high as possible, with oversight and management of robust quality assurance and case management processes.
• Supported by the Deputy Manager and Team Managers ensure regular observation of safe clinical practise and case file audits to ensure high quality, best practise guidelines are being followed and exceeded wherever possible.
• Perform any other duties within the general scope of this job profile or as reasonably required by the Operations Director.
• Commit to continuous professional development through engagement in specific opportunities agreed with the Operations Director.

For a full candidate pack and to apply, please visit the “Our Vacancies” section of our website.

Please note CVs will not be accepted.

We welcome a diverse range of applications and are passionate about promoting equality, and valuing diversity.  We welcome applications from all suitable qualified persons particularly black, Asian and minority ethnic applicants, as these groups are currently under represented in our workforce.