Are you passionate about providing the best services to children and families?
Are you a proactive and motivated individual with an interest in the Children’s agenda?
Do you want to make a genuine difference to the lives of children and young people by supporting innovation, transformation, and through local policy shaping?
We are looking for a motivated, adaptable, and enthusiastic individual to join our Strategy & Policy team in Wandsworth Children’s Services. As a Service Development, Policy & Projects Officer, you will be responsible for developing key strategies and policies within the department and supporting services to ensure they are realised. You will use feedback, benchmarking, and best practice evidence to inform innovation and transformation, as well as provide project support on a wide range of projects and programmes across Children’s Services.
At Wandsworth Children’s Services we have the highest ambitions to deliver the very best for our children and young people, and their families. We are passionate about working with partners to deliver excellent services for our residents, and to support our staff to do the very best job they can – to support and encourage every child and young person living in our community, in our care, or leaving care, to aim high and fulfil their own individual potential.
Better never stops, and we are determined to keep furthering our journey of continuous improvement to be the very best we can be.
The Strategy & Policy team sits at the heart of the Department and works with all services on different projects, policies, and initiatives, so there is every chance to get involved in a particular area of interest! We also work collaboratively with other departments within the Council including the corporate policy team, as well as external partners such as Police, Health, and Education, voluntary and community organisations and most importantly with children and their families.
The team works in an agile way, with a mixture of office days and ‘working elsewhere’. We are open to flexible working arrangements and are happy to discuss this with you through the process.
We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic individual with good organisational skills, some experience in project support, and a genuine interest in Children’s policy.
As a Service Development, Policy & Projects Officer, you will:
- Work with a range of stakeholders to develop high quality strategies, policies and plans for the department.
- Provide briefings for senior managers and elected members regarding key policy developments at both a national and local level.
- Contribute to the department’s understanding of the national, local and organisational context in which Children’s Services operate to facilitate decision making, service transformation and commissioning.
- Contribute to projects and programmes within the department to facilitate transformation and improvement.
Current key areas of work include inspection preparation, the development of the borough’s approach to family hubs, and reimagining youth provision to name a few!
At Richmond and Wandsworth Councils, we care more about how you work and what you achieve, rather than where you work on any given day. The difference you can make to our local communities is what really matters most to us, service delivery must always come first. We have carefully considered agile ways of working to provide the best experience for residents, stakeholders and our staff. Our agile working strategy actively supports and encourages a dynamic work environment and daily working experience. Agile working helps put the needs of our staff at the centre of everything we do, so if specific flexible working arrangements helps you with this, feel free to let us know.
Your wellbeing and the flexible way in which you can work is and will remain a key priority for Richmond and Wandsworth Councils. We want you to thrive and feel empowered in your work.
We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working including, working from home, compressed hours and other arrangements.
Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore. We also offer a generous holiday allowance of 40 paid days (pro rata) including bank holidays and a wide range of learning and development opportunities.
In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of staff benefits such as membership of the Local Government pension scheme, childcare vouchers, new technology scheme, interest-free loans on annual travel cards, discounts with many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments.
Indicative Recruitment Timeline
Closing date: 11.59pm, 8th October 2023.
Shortlisting date: w/c 9th October 2023.
Interview dates: TBC but likely w/c 16th and 23rd October 2023.
If you would like a informal conversation about the role, or have any queries, please contact Katie McElligott (Strategy & Policy Manager) at: katie.mcelligott@richmondandwandsworht.gov.uk
Useful information
Please note that these dates are only indicative at this stage and could be subject to change.
The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.
Important Information
This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces then Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).