Vacancy -- Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales - Head of Childcare and Play Inspection
Working for the Civil Service
The Welsh Government's recruitment processes are underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
Vacancy Details
Purpose of Post:
CSSIW is the independent regulator of social care and childcare. CSSIW registers, inspects and takes action to improve the quality and safety of services for the well-being of the people of Wales. Inspection and enforcement are key functions in the delivery of safe, high quality regulated services to the citizens of Wales. Ensuring high quality childcare and play inspections is critical to driving improvement in the sector and providing assurance that only reliable, safe services are registered and robust action is always taken when services fail to provide safe care.
This postholder will provide effective engagement with WG policy colleagues to support the development and implementation of legislation and other programmes to secure improvement in the sector. The post holder will also provide national strategic leadership and management of the organisation’s Childcare and Play Inspection Team, ensuring the delivery of consistent, effective, efficient and high quality services
CSSIW is undergoing a significant change programme involving a change in structures and a move to digital services. The postholder will contribute to and support key aspects of the change agenda.
The postholder will be accountable to the Assistant Chief Inspector (Deputy Director).
Key tasks:
• Contribute to the strategic leadership and direction of CSSIW as a member of the Senior Management Team. Provide authoritative, professional advice and support to the Chief Inspector, Assistant Chief Inspectors and WG policy colleagues.
• Provide national leadership and management of the Childcare and Play inspection team, ensuring work is delivered to a high standard, consistently, in a timely way and that decisions are communicated effectively.
• Take the lead on ensuring full engagement with a wide range of relevant stakeholders including provider associations. Lead on strengthening engagement with Local Authorities ensuring effective contribution towards safeguarding children .
• Provide direction, strong leadership and line management to Childcare and Play team to achieve high levels of engagement and performance including line management of the Senior Manager (EB2). This will involve collaborating and working in partnership, innovating and developing practice to achieve continuous improvement, responding to the changing environment for care and social services in Wales - the implementation of legislation and digital services.
• Provide strong, visible professional leadership to the Childcare and Play inspection team and support staff, demonstrating a personal commitment to the organisation’s values and goals at all levels of activity.
• Lead on ensuring robust arranagements for accountability, legal compliance and management oversight of the standard and quality of all Childcare and Play inspection and regulatory activity.
• Lead on ensuring the effective delivery of quality assurance arrangements to promote continuous improvement in Childcare and Play inspection and regulatory services.
• Take lead responsibility for contributing to and implementing programmes and initiatives to improve the skills, competence, capability, engagement and well being of all staff within the Childcare and Play Inspection Team.
• Take the lead in ensuring the availability and provision of robust support and advice to staff involved with complex cases.
• Lead on the delivery of the Childcare and Play inspection programme pan Wales. Ensure effective reporting on and monitoring of performance and provision of advice about performance to the Chief Inspector.
• Leading the delivery of high quality Childcare and Play regulation across the range of regulated services. This will include being responsible for and carrying accountability for major Childcare and Play regulatory decision making.
• Lead a team of professional staff to provide accurate information on Childcare and Play services across Wales in order to inform Ministers and policy development, and provide a basis for decision making and performance management.
• Lead on contributing to the corporate delivery of CSSIW’s work through leadership and programmed management of national projects.
• Provide senior leadership in developing close collaborative working across Welsh Government and with other agencies including Estyn, Social Care Wales and other inspectorates, including at a UK level and a wide range of public and private organisations.
• Managing own professional development and seeking appropriate opportunities in discussion with the Assistant Chief Inspector.
Development opportunities:
This posts offers the opportunity to work in a dynamic organisation which champions improvements in social care through a citizen focussed approach.
Closing Date:
Eligibility
Posts recruited to as part of this recruitment campaign are broadly open to UK nationals, those with right to remain and work in the UK and those that meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules only. Check your eligibility here:
Prior to appointment, all successful applicants will be required to produce original, acceptable documents as part of the pre-employment checks. If it becomes apparent at a later stage in the process that you aren’t eligible to apply, your application will be withdrawn, or offer retracted.
Equality and Diversity
The Welsh Government is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. This is underpinned by the Equality Act 2010 and will be adhered to at each stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments are also embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our customers, colleagues and partners.
We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and increasing diversity in the Welsh Government by removing barriers and supporting all our staff to reach their potential. We are committed to recruiting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and disabled people who are currently under-represented in Welsh Government.
We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, marriage and civil partnership (both same sex and opposite sex), impairment or health condition, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender identity or gender expression.
We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a Disability Confident Level 3 (Leader) organisation. Key to supporting this work and providing peer support are five Board sponsored Staff Networks (Disability Awareness and Support (DAAS); Minority Ethnic Support Network (MESN); Mind Matters (Mental health and well-being); PRISM (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex +) and Women Together.
Disability Confident
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Welsh Language Requirements
The Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation and Welsh language skills are considered an asset to the organisation. We encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills in the workplace.
The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the line manager on behalf of the Welsh Government of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.
Social Partnership
In Welsh Government, the relationship between the employer and trade unions is based on social partnership. We believe our goals can best be achieved by management and trade unions working together.
Our 3 recognised trade unions are:
• PCS
• Prospect
• FDA
This relationship is underpinned by a partnership agreement. This sets out how our unions work with Welsh Government on issues such as:
• pay
• terms and conditions
• policies and procedures
• organisational change.
Our Welsh Government trade union colleagues work together to give their members a real say in the workplace. They make sure that the interests of their members are promoted and protected. They also help reduce inequalities and improve terms and conditions.
The Welsh Government has an excellent track record of working in partnership with its trade unions. We encourage staff to get involved. We support you to join a recognised trade union, to ensure your voice is heard in the workplace. and to learn more about trade unions and partnership working.
Competencies / Job Specific Criteria
Delivery Results – Delivering at Pace
• Maintain effective performance in difficult and challenging circumstances, encouraging others to do the same.
Setting Direction: Leading and Communicating
• Be visible to staff and stakeholders and regularly undertake activities to engage and build trust with people involved in area of work
Engaging People: Building Capability for All
• Identify capability requirements needed to deliver future team objectives and support teams to succeed in delivery to meet those needs.
Delivering Results: Managing a Quality Service
• Ensure the service offer thoroughly considers customers’ needs and a broad range of available methods to meet this including new technology where relevant.
Job Specific Criteria
1. A recognised Social Care qualification, such as a Diploma in Social Work (or Social Care Wales equivalent), nursing or allied health care qualification or a teaching qualification and/or an ability to demonstrate relevant experience of working within the Childcare and Play Sector and operating at a strategic level
2. Experience of providing effective senior leadership and decision making, leadership and management of staff and involvement in the development and delivery of new initiatives and change in service delivery and provision within a social care organisation.
3. Knowledge and understanding of relevant legislation in relation to the delivery of regulatory services in social care in Wales.
Assessment Process
Other Information
- Unless stated otherwise in ‘actual starting salary’, all candidates will start at the minimum of the pay scale being appointed to (this includes existing civil servants).This is not negotiable.
- Unless stated otherwise in ‘type of opportunity’, this recruitment advert is not open on a Loan or Secondment basis.
- For more information on the eligibility criteria and terms and conditions for Loan and Secondment positions in Welsh Government, please see external recruitment candidate guidance.
- Unless stated otherwise in ‘Location of Post’ the role/s recruited to via this campaign can only be worked in the UK, not overseas.
This vacancy is being advertised on a Permanent basis but a Secondment opportunity may be considered. Secondments are intended to encourage and facilitate the temporary exchange of employees between the Welsh Government and other Civil Service Departments, public sector organisations and other sectors of the economy, for mutual benefit.
If the successful candidate wishes to accept on a Secondment basis, they will remain an employee of their current employer for the duration of the secondment and will return to their employer on completion of the secondment. This arrangement will be agreed via a secondment agreement between the successful candidate, their employer and the Welsh Government.
If the successful candidate wishes to accept the position on a Secondment basis the Welsh Government will seek to match a successful applicant's current salary.
The post holder will need to be based in one of our three offices - Merthyr Tydfil, Carmarthen or Llandudno Junction.
For those seeking employment on a permanent basis, a starting salary of up to point 3 (£66,650) may be considered where the essential skills, knowledge and experience are demonstrated.
How to apply
All applications for this vacancy should be made online via the Welsh Government's online application system. If you have a disability which would prevent you from applying on-line, please e-mail SharedServiceHelpdesk@wales.gsi.gov.uk to request an application pack in an alternative format, or to request a reasonable adjustment related to a disability in order to submit your application.
To apply, you'll need to have an account on our online application system. Click the 'Apply' button below, and you'll be asked to 'Log in' if you already have an account, or 'Register' if you don't yet have an account. Registration takes just a few minutes to complete. You'll need an e-mail address to be able to register. Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form, which you'll need to fully complete and submit before the deadline on the closing date.
If you’d like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.
For further information regarding the Welsh Government recruitment process, please see the Recruitment Guidance for External Candidates (link).
When evidencing your suitability for the post, it is recommended that you refer to the Civil Service Competency Framework (link)
Grievance and Complaints
This vacancy is closed to applications.