Director of Children's Social Care

A pivotal leadership role at a defining moment

Harrow is on an ambitious improvement journey, and we are seeking an exceptional Director of Children’s Social Care to help lead the service out of intervention in a way that is sustainable, confident and future‑focused. This is a rare opportunity to take on end‑to‑end responsibility for Children’s Social Care in a diverse borough where you can genuinely see the impact of your leadership.

Children’s Social Care in Harrow is under pressure and there is no let‑up. The expectations are high, timescales are tight, and the need for clear, resilient leadership has never been greater.

Our priorities include:

• Exiting intervention sustainably, without risk of regression
• Families First programme implementation
• Driving a whole‑system cultural and practice change, grounded in evidence‑based social work
• Modernising services and reshaping the narrative – this is a service with real potential and we want a leader who can communicate that ambition
• Reducing reliance on external placements and improving sufficiency
• Strengthening outcomes across early help & child in need, safeguarding, children in care, permanency, care leavers and early help

You will lead statutory and non‑statutory services for children and families, with delegated responsibility for a £24.9m budget, and act as the practice leader for Children’s Social Care across the borough. You will work closely with committed and established partners including schools, police, health colleagues across the West & North London ICB (WNL), the voluntary sector and a stable partnership landscape with three family hubs already in place.

We are seeking a compassionate, resilient and credible Social care practice leader who:

• Has significant senior leadership experience in local authority Children’s Social Care
• Brings a strong track record of service improvement under pressure, including inspection readiness
• Is confident leading whole‑system change and has experience of running complex services, budgets and placements
• Is ambitious, innovative and emotionally intelligent, with the strength to lead through challenge
• Believes deeply in evidence‑based practice, inclusion and high‑quality supervision
• Has a sophisticated understanding of SEND, safeguarding and partnership working

You must be a qualified and registered social worker, with extensive knowledge of legislation, inspection frameworks and statutory safeguarding responsibilities.

Harrow is a diverse borough with strong partners and a genuine appetite for change. This is a role for someone who wants to make a difference quickly, visibly and at scale. If you are motivated by challenge, purpose and the chance to leave a lasting legacy for children and families, we would love to hear from you.

For more information, please visit www.transformharrow.com

For a confidential discussion about the role, please contact our recruitment partner, Tile Hill:

Helen Alwell 
T: 07931 543 313
E: helen.alwell@tile-hill.co.uk 
  
Anita Denton
T: 07725 554 802
E: anita.denton@tile-hill.co.uk
  
Closing date for applications: Tuesday 26th June 2026 at 9:00am

To apply:
To apply, please submit an up-to-date copy of your CV (four sides of A4 maximum), along with a supporting statement (four sides of A4 maximum) detailing your experience, and achievements and addressing the key criteria for the role set out on this site and using examples to demonstrate how you meet the requirements. Documents should be uploaded via our website, please include and upload the below information in two documents only. If you experience any issues whilst applying, please contact matthew.ashby@tile-hill.co.uk

Applications should include:

• Full contact details;
• Names, positions, organisations and contact details for two referees (we will ask your permission before contacting referees);
• Details of your notice period
• Notification of any dates when you are not available for an interview

At Tile Hill, we are committed to inclusion and accessibility. We champion and support all individuals to ensure everyone feels valued, listened to and motivated to get the very best out of each recruitment process and that processes are designed to meet the needs of individuals. If you have any specific requests and would like a confidential discussion with the Tile Hill team, then please email inclusion@tile-hill.co.uk