Vacancy -- Head of National Office for Social Care

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

Health and Social Services Group
Social Care Futures
Grade 6 - £67,100 - £76,990
Starting pay up to Point 3 of the Pay Scale
Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)
Permanent
Pan Wales
'Pan Wales' means that the location in which the vacancy can be based is flexible, subject to the needs of the business. Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location, but requests will be taken into consideration.
TBC

Purpose of Post:

This post is the key leadership role in the new National Office for Social Care within the Welsh Government, building on initial concept described in the Rebalancing Care and Support White Paper.

The National Office, to be fully established by April 2024, will provide clear direction and support for the development of social care services to meet changing population needs.  In the context of the principles of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act and the priorities and ways of working of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, it will do this is three main ways.

Firstly, through the development and the implementation of the National Framework for Care and Support.  The new National Framework, which will be the subject of public consultation over the coming months, will enable improvements in the commissioning of care and support.  The National Office and National Framework is therefore an important step towards the establishment of a National Care Service for Wales, which is a significant Co-operation Agreement and Programme for Government commitment. 

Secondly, the office will support the Chief Social Care Officer as a national professional voice for the social care and social work workforce.   This will include delivery of the CSCO’s priorities including ensuring the ‘active offer’ of social care though the Welsh language and measures to increase the diversity of the social care workforce.

Thirdly, the national office will develop and maintain an overview of care and support provision, including the stability of the social care market, in order to facilitate greater system-wide learning and improvement.  As such it will be a basis for driving the delivery of key national policy initiatives.

The Head of the National Office for Social Care is a senior post in the Social Services and Integration Directorate in the Welsh Government. The post holder will work directly with Welsh Government Ministers and also with external stakeholders at a senior executive level. 

The National Office is being developed alongside the new NHS Wales Executive. The postholder therefore will need to build joint working practice and promote the ethos of integration. 

Positive working relationships must be developed with other national bodies such as National Commissioning Board, Social Care Wales, Care Inspectorate for Wales, Children’s Care Commissioning Collaborative and National Adoption Service.

Key tasks:

  • Establish the National Office for Social Care, as a step towards a National Care and Support Service for Wales. In doing so, the post holder will draw on experience of influencing, change management and programme management across multi-stakeholder programmes.
  • Develop a culture within the National Office that promotes the use of the Welsh language in social care services and is reflective of the diversity of Wales.
  • Lead the development and implementation of the National Framework, working closely with partners to improve the quality and effectiveness of commissioned services. As such, the post-holder will ensure delivery of the corresponding regulations and statutory guidance. 
  • The post holder will work effectively with local authorities, health boards and other key partners to guide delivery of the National Framework. In doing so the post holder will demonstrate strong leadership skills and a knowledge of working within social care and health services. 
  • Maintain the impetus of the Rebalancing Care and Support Programme by effectively motivating a team of staff and providing guidance and expertise around programme management skills as well as identifying priorities and delivery requirements.
  • Providing support to the Chief Social Care Officer for Wales, in being a strong voice for social care and the social services profession, amplifying good practice and increasing the public’s understanding of social care.

Development opportunities:

This prominent role is an opportunity to make a positive difference to the lives of people in all our communities in Wales.  The post holder will work closely with the Chief Social Care Officer for Wales and Welsh Government Ministers in shaping the role and workplan of the new National Office.

The role will provide considerable exposure to a dynamic political and service development environment, working closely with senior colleagues in partner organisations.  The post holder will then have many opportunities to develop new skills and knowledge amongst a network of senior leaders and practitioners.

Closing Date:

17/04/2023, 16:00

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

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

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.

Desirable
Can read some routine work-related material with support e.g. dictionary
Can hold most work-related conversations
Can understand most work-related conversations
Can prepare most written work in Welsh

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

Competencies

Seeing the Big Picture 

  • Create policies, plans and service provision to meet citizens’ diverse needs based on an up-to-date knowledge of needs, issues and relevant good practice.

 Changing and Improving 

  • Effectively capture, utilise and share customer insight and views from a diverse range of stakeholders to ensure better policy and delivery.

Collaborating and Partnering 

  • Actively build and maintain a network of colleagues and contacts to achieve progress on objectives and shared interests.

 Building Capability for All 

  • Ensure that individual and organisational learning and talent development opportunities are fully exploited in order to enhance organisational capability.

Job Specific Criteria 

  1. An in-depth operational understanding of social care and health care services and ability to identify and overcome potential challenges within policy development and delivery.

  2. Demonstrable leadership skills in establishing diverse and inclusive cultures, showing awareness of the varying service needs of communities across Wales.

  3. Evidence of experience in negotiating, influencing, change management and programme management in a complex partnership environment.

Assessment Process

Applications will be sifted, successful candidates will then be invited to an interview.  At interview they will be asked to do a presentation to address "How would you make a difference as Head of the new National Office for Social Care?" and asked a number of competency based and job-specific questions that relate to the job role.

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.
Candidates have the opportunity to hear from and ask questions recruiting manager at 1.30pm on 13 April.  If you would like to register for this session please email: FuturesAndIntegration@gov.wales
Matt Jenkins - FuturesAndIntegration@gov.wales

How to apply

All applications for this vacancy should be made online via the Welsh Government's online application system.  If you have an impairment which would prevent you from applying on-line, please e-mail SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales to request an application pack in an alternative format, or to request a reasonable adjustment related to an impairment 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

Anyone who believes they have been treated unfairly, or has a grievance or complaint, about how the process was conducted should either write to the Head of Resourcing, Welsh Government, Cathays Park 2, Cardiff CF10 3NQ or email SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales.  If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaint raised with the Welsh Government and feel that the principles of appointment on merit through fair and open competition have not been met you have the right to pursue your grievance with the Civil Service Commission.

This vacancy is closed to applications.