Head of Service - Adolescent Support Services

Are you a highly motivated and experienced social work leader passionate about making a difference to vulnerable adolescents. Bury is seeking to appoint a dynamic Head of Service to lead our Youth Justice Service and review our existing services to adolescents ensuring we are maximising opportunities to deliver positive outcomes.

This is a pivotal leadership role with responsibility for delivering high-performing, innovative, and continuously improving services that safeguard and empower young people facing complex challenges.

You will lead the design, delivery, and development of services that reduce care entry, re-offending, and exploitation, while promoting safety, resilience, and positive futures. Your strategic insight, operational expertise, and partnership skills will help us shape the future of adolescent support in our community.

What You’ll Do

  • Provide inspiring leadership to multi-disciplinary teams across youth justice and adolescent services.
  • Drive continuous improvement and innovation, including designing and embedding new service models.
  • Lead robust safeguarding and risk management for vulnerable adolescents.
  • Build and sustain effective partnerships across statutory and voluntary sectors.
  • Champion a culture of excellence, professional development, and inclusion.

What We’re Looking For

  • Qualified Social Worker with current Social Work England registration.
  • Proven senior leadership experience delivering high-performing adolescent-focused services.
  • Experience in setting up and embedding new services and leading continuous service improvement.
  • Strong knowledge of adolescent safeguarding, youth justice, exploitation, and trauma-informed practice.
  • Excellent strategic thinker, communicator, and partnership builder.

This is an exciting time to join Bury, reporting to the Director of CSC and Early Help you will work within a supportive and forward-thinking team.

About Bury
The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. Appointment may be subject to a satisfactory disclosure at the appropriate level under the Disclosure and Barring Service.
In line with safer recruitment, please ensure that your application/CV covers your full employment history and there is a reason noted for any gaps in employment. Successful candidates will be asked to provide relevant references for the past ten years and character references will not be accepted.

Please note we are unable to support with sponsorship at this time.

As a Corporate Parent, ensure that the work and services you deliver considers our care experienced young people, promotes their life chances empowers them to influence the policies, services, and decisions that affect them, champions their rights, and ensure they grow up in the best possible way

Benefits of working for Bury Council
To hear about the benefits for working with Bury Council, please visit Bury - Home | greater.jobs
We support employees to work with agility, where appropriate for the post and service requirements.
We are committed to Bury being an equal society that recognises values and embraces all people, regardless of any difference, for the skills, abilities and experiences they bring into the workforce and the wider community. Therefore we guarantee an interview for disabled people, looked after children/ care leavers, armed forces personnel (including reservists and veterans) and carers of adults or disabled children if they meet the essential criteria.

Employee Benefits include:

  • Re-imbursement of the annual £90 Social Work England registration fees (conditions apply).
  • Pay increases in line with your continued professional development.
  • Free parking where you work - worth £860 a year for qualified Social Workers who work from town centre locations where there is no ready access to free parking, plus car mileage.
  • Opportunities to develop new and specialist skills.
  • Innovative training and development opportunities.
  • Supportive integrated teams and a friendly working environment.
  • Professional supervision to a high standard.
  • Local Government Pension Scheme.
  • A range of attractive work/life balance policies.
  • 26 days annual leave (rising to 31 days after 5 years), plus an additional day of leave over the Christmas period and the option to buy an additional 10 days on top of that.
  • Employee discount scheme which provides discounts with local business within the borough as well as a cycle to work scheme and car lease scheme.
  • Employee Assistance Programme, to support you through difficult times, with things like free counselling, financial or legal advice.
  • It all adds up to an exciting package.

Come and join Team Bury #TeamBury

Next steps

If you would like an informal discussion about this role please contact Linda Evans, Director of CSC and Early Help at l.evans@bury.gov.uk.

Closing date: Monday 16th March 2026.

Supporting Documents

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Location

Knowsley Street, , Bury, BL9 0SW, United Kingdom

Job ID

11877