• Base: County Hall, Taunton (though role suitable for hybrid working)
• Permanent position – 37 hours per week
• Member of Adult Social Care Senior Management Team
• 33 days annual leave

In Somerset we want people to live healthy and independent lives, supported by thriving and connected communities, with timely and easy access to high quality and efficient support when they need it.

We are now seeking a dynamic, ambitious, and highly organised professional to join us as our new Head of Service responsible for Quality, Performance and Assurance.

Working as a key member of the Adult Social Care Senior Management Team reporting to the Service Director responsible for Adults Commissioning, you will be a skilled communicator responsible for:

• Leading on the development of Adult Social Care Strategy and Policy for Somerset Council
• Delivering Somerset Council’s preparedness and response to Care Quality Commission assurance and sector-led improvement activity
• Ensuring Adult Social Care benefits from high quality, visible performance data, analysis and intelligence to inform effective evidence-based decision-making
• Supporting Somerset Safeguarding Adults Board to fulfils its statutory functions effectively and help safeguard adults at risk
• Overseeing assurance and mitigating risks in relation to the quality and sustainability of independent care sector provision.

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be. But it will really help if you:

• Are educated to Degree level with evidence of work-related continuing professional development
• Have considerable experience of developing stable, high-performing multi-disciplinary teams and delivering tangible outcomes
• Have proven experience of partnership working and stakeholder engagement, including the ability to lead and influence multi-agency activity effectively
• Have significant skill and experience in researching, collating, analysing and making accessible complex information, and preparing high-quality reports for a range of different audiences to support scrutiny, assurance and good governance
• Are able to embed quality assurance frameworks and approaches that promote high standards, continuous improvement and the sharing of best practice.

You will ideally have knowledge and understanding of the statutory, policy and strategic frameworks within which Adult Social Care and Health services operate.

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact: Niki Shaw, Service Director-Strategy, Transformation and Performance via niki.shaw@somerset.gov.uk

Interview dates likely to be between Wednesday 14 and Friday 16 August 2024.

When completing your application/CV please provide your full employment history and ensure that any gaps in employment are explained. Please start with your current or most recent employment.

If you have all the information you need, just hit the apply button - we can’t wait to hear from you.

This post requires a criminal background check via the Disclosure procedure.