Assistant Director Adult Social Care Northallerton, England
Job description
Assistant Director Adult Social Care
Location: Northallerton/Hybrid
Salary: £91,500- £101,500 plus relocation support (up to £8,000)
Come and Join Team North Yorkshire!
Welcome, and thank you for your interest in learning more about this key role.
This is a hugely exciting time for the county as we bring together eight district, borough and county councils to form a new unitary council, with a common sense of purpose and a shared desire to succeed. The new council will have the largest geographical area in England and will be the 3rd largest unitary. It will be a significant player in the region and nationally.
By creating the new Council, we will be able to streamline services and deliver efficiencies of savings at a time when financial pressures will be significant, whilst at the same time extending our reach to make sure that all residents, businesses, and organisations across North Yorkshire feel fully included, represented and heard.
North Yorkshire one of the most beautiful parts of England, including 2 National Parks and a stunning coastline, great places to eat and drink and relax, good schools and easy access to big cities, culture and sport. It’s a great place in which to work as well as to live, which is why we are looking for someone great to join our team.
And that team is genuinely Team North Yorkshire, stretching across the Councils, the wider public services and throughout communities.
Yes, we have challenges, like any other part of England. However, we also have a wealth of opportunities. As a new Council, building on our predecessor organisations, we have strong political and officer leadership and a willingness to invest, learn and innovate.
Over the past decade, we have focused on prevention, developing our Stronger Communities programme and our Living Well service and doubling our extra care housing provision (which this year celebrates 20 years and now comprises over 1500 apartments to buy or rent), as well as our wider Public Health services. We have improved our joint working with the NHS, with other councils and, crucially, with people who use our services. And we are on a journey to make our social care practice both more confident and more consistent. At the same time, we have managed our resources carefully and done our best to shape new career pathways and become more diverse and inclusive in every sense.
We want to build on these strengths, and, also, on what we have learned from the pandemic, as we bring together 8 councils to create the new unitary North Yorkshire Council in April 2023 and as we prepare for the next steps of national adult social reform, including CQC Assurance. Alongside a series of service developments and workforce measures, we are giving 110% to addressing the challenges that social care faces nationally and locally.
About the Service
North Yorkshire is home to over 620,000 people. Nearly 80% of us are adults and 10% of us are over 75. Life expectancy is at, or above, the England average, although there is a 20-year gap in healthy years lived between different parts of the County.
Our ambition is that every adult has a longer, healthier and independent life. We want people to be able to live their best lives and for our communities to flourish. Living our best lives includes being more proactive about talking about and promoting greater diversity and inclusion: across North Yorkshire and within our own services.
We believe that prevention is better than cure and that is why we have invested for many years in universal and targeted prevention programmes and in extra care housing.
We are striving to ensure that our practice starts with the strengths that each and every one of us have as human beings and that we make commissioning and investment decisions that, wherever possible, build upon the strengths within our towns and villages and countryside. As part of these aims, we want to work more sustainably to make our contribution to addressing climate change.
We want our care provider colleagues, in the independent and voluntary sectors, and in the council, to provide high-quality care and support and diversify their services to meet the choices and requirements that people will have in the future.
And we want North Yorkshire’s health and social care system to work as one, wherever possible, so that people have the right care and support, in the right place and at the right time.
Our net investment in adult social care is £231m (with a further £24m invested in Public Health) and we employ nearly 2000 people within the Council (and 20000 across the care sector) to deliver vital prevention and care services.
Most of us live and work in the County. Colleagues really know our many and varied communities and what makes them tick. There is a very strong ethos of “Team North Yorkshire”.
About the Role
Assistant Director, Adult Social Care
Please note that if the postholder is a qualified occupational therapist or social worker, they will also be designated as Chief Social Care Practitioner.
Salary: £91,500- £101,500 plus relocation support (up to £8,000)
Location: Based at County Hall Northallerton and around the county, including from home.
Contract: Full-time, permanent
Now is an exciting time to play a leading role in North Yorkshire.
We are recruiting for the permanent role of Assistant Director Adult Social Care following the current post-holder’s success in securing a Director post, we have a legacy of providing firm foundations for highly successful careers.
This is a high profile role across the Health and Adult Services directorate, as well as within the wider Council and our partnerships with other organisations and with local communities. We are looking for creative, numerate, team-minded people with a strong track record of getting things done and a real passion for the potential that North Yorkshire offers.
We are looking for someone who will spearhead, jointly with the other operational Assistant Director – Adult Social Care and the Assistant Director – Prevention and Service Development, our Adult Social Care Leadership Team to ensure effective services and strong practice across the County.
With 5 direct reports, circa 800 staff and a £90m budget, this role will be part of a strong corporate and partnership team and will play a pivotal role in leading social care practice and service delivery in the Directorate Leadership Team. The role will involve leading the Council’s work in designated geographical areas, taking responsibility for joint leadership with the NHS and other partners, and you will have significant autonomy and responsibility.
We are looking for someone who is innovative and practical, emotionally intelligent, budget-savvy, and a real change agent. We want you to demonstrate strong personal and professional values and, literally, put those into practice.
If you are a qualified occupational therapist or social worker (not essential), then you will also be designated as Chief Social Care Practitioner.
You will lead the further development of our practice; in developing strong performance in 3 of our localities (Craven, Harrogate and Hambleton/Richmondshire) and in delivering and developing our social care mental health services.
Our expectation of you is that you will be an accomplished team-player who will encourage innovation; be grounded and ensure we deliver practical changes that make a difference and ensure value for taxpayers' money; be a clear and decisive leader, with a robust grip on financial and performance management and service delivery; promote and deliver strength-based, evidence-informed practice; and relate well to people so that together we realise the potential of County and make the best use of the North Yorkshire Pound. An entrepreneurial mind would be an advantage and a willingness to embrace digital technology a huge plus.
If you are interested in being part of our team and in making your mark in North Yorkshire, then we look forward to your application. Whilst the Health and Adult Services directorate (which comprises Adult Social Care and Public Health) is reasonably diverse in terms of sex, sexuality, age and disability, we are keen to encourage applications from all parts of the community and, in particular, from people from a broader range of ethnic minority backgrounds. We would welcome applications from people with social work or occupational therapy qualifications, although neither are essential. And, if you have mental health practitioner or manager experience, that would be helpful.
Find out more and apply
If you are creative and talented, care about people and places and you have a track record of “can-do” delivery, we want to hear from you. We want people who are team-minded, willing to stretch beyond their comfort zones and who are able to step forward and motivate others to make a change. You can make your mark here.
Hear from our Director of Health and Adult Services – Richard Webb, gain more information and to apply now visit: www.northyorks.gov.uk/adasc
Please note that these posts are subject to DBS disclosure and are politically restricted posts as defined by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989
Close Date: 26th March 2023
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: £91,500.00-£101,500.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Flexitime
- Free parking
- On-site parking
- Store discount
- Work from home
Schedule:
- Flexitime
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Northallerton
