Vacancy -- Appointment of Chair - Social Care Wales

Background

 

Social Care Wales was renamed under section 67 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016, having initially been established as the Care Council for Wales under section 54 of the Care Standards Act 2000. As a public body, its primary role is to fulfil its statutory responsibilities set within the context of the Welsh Government’s strategic aims.

 

Social Care Wales has the following statutory functions with a view to promoting and maintaining:

• high standards in the provision of care and support services;
• high standards of conduct and practice among social care workers;
• high standards in the training of social care workers, and;
• public confidence in social care workers.

 

Social Care Wales also:

 

• Maintain and publish the Register of social care workers;
• Prepare and publish codes of professional practice;
• Regulate social work and social care training;
• Make rules to secure appropriate education, training and learning provision;
• Develop qualifications and national occupational standards; and
• Lead and support service improvement.

 

As well as:

 

• Collect and analyse data to inform policy and planning at national and regional level; and
• Undertake the functions of the Sector Skills Council - Skills for Care and Development (SfCD) including workforce information and planning.

 

To see what Social Care Wales achieved in its first year read their impact report 2017-18 making a positive difference to social care in Wales.

 

Further background information on the work of Social Care Wales can be found here: www.socialcare.wales

 

Social Care Wales Board

 

The Social Care Wales Board is made up of a Chair and no more than 14 Members, all of whom are appointed by Welsh Ministers. The Board is lay led which means that there will always be more people who use services, carers and members of the public, on the Board than professionals from the care sector. 

 

All the members need to be committed to making sure that Social Care Wales works well so that people working in social work and social care have the right skills and training. 

 

The Social Care Wales Board provides leadership and direction to the organisation. The Board does this by setting plans, agreeing how and where money is spent, and by reviewing the progress and delivery of Social Care Wales’ work. The Board works closely with the executive management team in carrying out their role.

 

The Board must make sure that the aims and objectives set by the Welsh Ministers are met. The Board must make sure that the organisation is run well and is accountable. 

 

Board members:

 

• make sure Social Care Wales is working in line with procedures and policies
• make sure Social Care Wales is spending money well and in the right way
• listen, ask questions, join in discussions and contribute to ideas on what Social Care Wales will be doing in the future and how this can be done
• make decisions as part of the Board and be responsible for these decisions
• work with passion and enthusiasm with other Board Members and Social Care Wales staff
• represent Social Care Wales with its customers, other organisations and communities

Role and responsibilities 

The Board of Social Care Wales collectively are responsible for making sure that Social Care Wales’ strategic direction is focused on the well-being goals for Wales, the principles of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 and the Regulation and Inspection (Wales) Act 2016. The Board is expected to adhere to the Nolan seven principles of public life and show the leadership values of the Welsh Public Service.

 

The Chair is accountable to the Minister for Children, Older People and Social Care for the performance of the Board and its effective governance, upholding the Welsh public service values and promoting the confidence of the public and partners throughout Wales.

 

The Chair of Social Care Wales will:

 

• Provide strategic leadership and vision for Social Care Wales to drive forward its purpose in building the confidence in the social care and early years workforce, leading and supporting improvement, and providing confidence in the regulation of the workforce and the effectiveness of Social Care Wales. 
• Make sure the Board works together to meet the strategic aims of Social Care Wales through its strategies, policies and governance.
• Ensure that Social Care Wales policies and actions support the Minister’s wider strategic policies.
• Be accountable and responsive to the Minister for Children, Older People and Social Care for the activity of Social Care Wales.
• Be responsible for leadership of the board and ensuring its effectiveness in all aspects of its role. Promoting effective relationships and open communication, between board members, the executive team and staff within Social Care Wales.
• Work effectively with the Chief Executive and the Executive Team who are responsible for the resources and delivery of the organisation.
• Hold the Chief Executive to account across the breadth of his/her responsibilities; making sure the development of an effective Executive Team is focused on delivery and outcomes for the sector.
• Support Board members to actively participate in collective decision-making, and chair, or participate, where required in one or more committees of Social Care Wales.  
• As an ambassador for Social Care Wales promote its profile and wider relationships with the public, stakeholder organisations.
• Work effectively with relevant organisations at regional, national and UK level in order to further the objectives of Social Care Wales and of stakeholder organisations. 
• Provide the assurance and governance for the proper stewardship of public money and other resources for which the Board is accountable.
• Make sure all Board Members are clear on their roles and responsibilities.
• Make sure all Board Members are trained, developed and that and that their performance is formally reviewed on an annual basis. 
• Make sure the Board show a positive culture and promote the well-being, values and standards of conduct for the organisation and staff.

The Welsh Government acknowledges the importance of developing and growing bilingual capabilities in public appointments in Wales, and welcomes applications from candidates who demonstrate their capability to work in both English and Welsh.  The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the recruiting body of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

Knowledge and experience: 

We are looking for a person with experience of:

 

• being a leader and strategic thinker
• operating at a senior level in a strategic capacity
• relationship management, building and maintaining strong, open relationships with stakeholders
• analysing data and evidence to inform decisions
• being innovative in approach
• focusing on the issues that need to be dealt with
• decision making skills that allow informed decisions to be made on a variety of matters
• Reviewing and scrutinising organisational performance
• Developing and maintaining constructive relationships
• providing knowledgeable, impartial and balanced perspective on a range of sensitive and complex issues

 

We are looking for a person with knowledge and understanding of: 

• the public sector
• working in partnership
• equality issues, both promoting diversity and challenging discriminatory practices.

 

Essential Criteria 

Personal attributes and skills: 

• Strategic perspective, vision and ability to work positively within a team;
• Drive and determination, with the ability to instil vision and develop defined strategies to pursue long and short-term goals;
• Good understanding of a Welsh Government Sponsored Body governance issues and public-sector finance issues and the political landscape in which it operates.
• Ability to lead and inspire staff, to look ahead and identify key issues for the Social Care sector;
• Strong interpersonal skills with personal impact and credibility to be an effective advocate and ambassador for Social Care Wales with strong influencing and negotiating skills;
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to be clear and succinct, and to be able to engage with people at all levels;
• Ability to facilitate, understanding of complex issues while demonstrating respect for the views of others;
• Ability to ensure a board works together effectively through their active involvement in a robust and transparent decision-making process;
• Ability to motivate and develop the board to define roles and responsibilities to ensure ownership and accountability
• build mutually supportive working relationships with other board members and the executive.

04/01/2019, 16:00

Contacts:

For further information regarding the selection process, please contact:

 

Public Appointments Unit

Tel: 03000 61 6095

Email: publicappointments@gov.wales

 

For further information regarding the role of Social Care Wales and the role of the Chair please contact Llinos Bradbury, Board Secretary, Social Care Wales:

 

Tel: 029 2078 0540

Email: llinos.bradbury@socialcare.wales

 

To apply for this role, click on the ‘Apply’ button below. The first time you apply for a post, you will need to complete a registration form for the Welsh Government’s online application system.  You will only need to register once, and you will be able to keep yourself updated on the progress of your application, and any other applications you make, via your registered account.

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be able to access the application form.  To apply you will need to submit two supporting documents. The first, a document outlining how your knowledge, skills and experiences meet the criteria for the role as outlined in the information for candidates.  This document should be no more than 2 sides of A4.  Your application may be rejected if you exceed this limit.  The second document is a full, up to date CV.  The two documents should be uploaded to the ‘Reasons for applying’ section of the online application form.

In your application, you will also be asked to provide details of any activities which have helped you to develop skills that would be useful in a public appointment role, and list the organisations for which you undertook these activities.  We also need to know about any political activity that you’ve undertaken over the last 5 years. 

It is recommended that you register for an account and access the application form as soon as possible so that you see how the application form is structured, before starting to prepare your evidence.  You don’t have to complete the application form all in one go.  You can save your responses, and log in and out as required, until you’re ready to submit – just follow the guidance in the application form.

If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please contact the Welsh Government’s Public Appointments Unit on 03000 616095 or PublicAppointments@gov.wales

For further information about Public Appointments in Wales, please visit www.gov.wales/publicappointments.