Head of Service - Family Help

Head of Service, Family Help

Are you a passionate and ambitious leader who believes children are best supported within their families and communities wherever it is safe to do so?

Do you have the vision, credibility and drive to lead high-quality statutory services, strengthen family networks and inspire a culture where children and families achieve lasting positive change?

If so, Reading is looking for an exceptional Head of Service for Family Help to join our leadership team and help shape the future of children's services.

This is a unique opportunity to lead some of the most important services within children's social care, ensuring children and families receive the right help, protection and support at the right time. You will play a key role in delivering Reading's vision for Family Help, Family Safeguarding and relational practice, ensuring children remain at the heart of everything we do.

As Head of Service, you will provide strategic leadership across our:

• Family Help Teams
• Child in Need Services
• Child Protection Services
• Pre-Proceedings and Care Proceedings
• Children in Care Services
• Family Safeguarding Practice Model

Leading Service Managers and multidisciplinary teams, you will bring together professionals around a shared vision that delivers excellent social work practice, strengthens families and improves outcomes for children.

We welcome applications from all sections of the community. We particularly encourage applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management within Children’s Services as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.

We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity and inclusion is the key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.

The Opportunity

This role is about much more than managing services.

It is an opportunity to lead transformational practice, influence strategic direction and ensure children and families receive high-quality support through every stage of their journey.

You will be responsible for services supporting some of Reading's most vulnerable children, from those requiring targeted intervention and protection through to children in care and care leavers. Working closely with senior leaders, health partners, education, police, legal services and the voluntary sector, you will ensure children experience coordinated and meaningful support that creates lasting change.

We are seeking a leader who can:

• Inspire and motivate others through visible, compassionate and inclusive leadership.
• Champion relationship-based, trauma-informed and restorative practice.
• Drive excellence in safeguarding, care planning and permanence planning.
• Build strong partnerships across the children's system and wider community.
• Lead improvement and innovation while maintaining a relentless focus on children's experiences and outcomes.
• Develop a positive culture where practitioners feel supported, empowered and able to achieve their best.

About You

You are an accomplished children's social care leader with significant experience of leading statutory services and delivering sustainable improvement.

You understand the complexity of safeguarding, care planning and partnership working and bring the strategic insight, emotional intelligence and credibility needed to lead through change.

You will be:

• A qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England.
• An experienced senior leader with substantial expertise in statutory children's social care.
• Passionate about improving outcomes for children, young people and families.
• Skilled in leading complex services through transformation and improvement.
• Experienced in working successfully with partners across health, education, police, legal services and the voluntary sector.
• Committed to developing others and creating high-performing teams.
• Resilient, ambitious and focused on achieving excellent outcomes for children.

What You'll Do

As Head of Service, you will:

• Provide strategic leadership and operational oversight across Family Help and statutory social work services.
• Lead the implementation and continuous development of the Family Safeguarding Model.
• Ensure high-quality assessments, interventions and care planning deliver meaningful change for children and families.
• Oversee services supporting children in need, child protection, pre-proceedings, care proceedings and children in care.
• Work closely with legal colleagues to ensure timely decision-making and permanence planning.
• Ensure effective safeguarding arrangements and high-quality practice across the service.
• Build and strengthen strategic partnerships across education, health, police, legal services and the voluntary sector.
• Drive quality assurance, performance management and continuous service improvement.
• Support children in care to achieve positive outcomes through effective corporate parenting.
• Lead and support Service Managers, promoting professional development, accountability and excellence.
• Contribute as a key member of the Children's Services leadership team, helping shape future priorities and direction.
• Prepare services for inspection and ensure children consistently receive safe, effective and high-quality support.

Why Join Reading?

Based in the Civic Offices in the heart of Reading, the Head of Service for Family Help will play a pivotal role in influencing practice, improving outcomes and helping shape the future direction of services for children and families.

This is an exciting time to join Reading. We have established Family Hubs, are embedding Family Safeguarding, investing in motivational interviewing and progressing our Family First Partnership reforms to strengthen how we support children and families.

Recognised by Ofsted in 2024:

"Children and their families are helped by a range of impressive and impactful early help services... reducing children's need for statutory intervention."

"Children are supported to remain within their family and friends' network when it is safe... enabling them to maintain connections with people who are familiar to them."

"Family help assessments are comprehensive and demonstrate curious and insightful work with families."

We are an ambitious, relationship-focused service with a strong commitment to practice excellence. We value curiosity, innovation and reflective learning, creating an environment where social workers are supported to do their very best work.

You’ll be part of a team that relies on each individual to play their part to the best of their ability. As well as the colleagues that you work closely with every day, you’ll also be part of Team Reading, playing your personal part in making Reading a successful and vibrant place.

Our vision is to ensure that Reading realises its potential as a great place to live, work and play, and that everyone shares the benefits of this success. Our values and behaviours guide how we will achieve this:

Work Together as one team - champion and inspire a culture which ensures that all employees across the organisation work together to provide excellent outcomes for Reading

Drive Efficiency - create an environment in which resources are used efficiently and employees’ skills are developed and used effectively

Be Ambitious - aspire to deliver excellence and inspire and support others to reach their potential

Make a Difference to Reading - inspire a culture in which the customer is the focus and where change is welcomed as an opportunity

About Reading

Reading is a vibrant town in Berkshire with a rich history, diverse communities and a strong sense of ambition.

Located on the banks of the River Thames and River Kennet, Reading combines excellent connectivity, thriving business and cultural opportunities with attractive green spaces and strong local communities.

Children and young people are central to Reading's future, representing almost a quarter of the town's population. We are committed to ensuring they can thrive, achieve and reach their full potential.

Our Offer to You

• A warm, supportive and ambitious leadership team.
• Competitive pay and conditions, including hybrid working.
• A rich practice development and leadership programme.
• Access to Family Safeguarding training and development.
• Reflective supervision that promotes wellbeing and professional growth.
• Opportunities to influence strategic direction and system-wide improvement.
• A comprehensive wellbeing and workforce offer supporting you emotionally, practically and professionally.

We are building a culture where practitioners feel valued, trusted and empowered to make a difference. In Reading, children matter, families matter and so do you.

Our offer

We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition is strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.

A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:

• Generous holiday entitlement - 25 days holiday each year plus bank holidays - rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service and 33 days after 10 years' service, with the option to buy additional leave
• A wide range of flexible working opportunities
• Modern working environment at the Civic Offices in the heart of Reading
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Life Assurance - three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
• On-site day nursery (Kennet Day nursery) rated outstanding by Ofsted
• Season Ticket Loan - a loan to help with the cost of your rail or bus journey, to and from work
• Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand new, greener car for three years. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax

To arrange a confidential discussion on this position please contact Nabeel.Chaudhry@reading.gov.uk

Closing Date: Sunday 1st November 2026
Interview Date: 12th & 13th November 2026
Interview Process: To be confirmed