Head of Service - Foster hub (North London)

Overview

At Camden, we’re building somewhere everyone can thrive. We are committed to making our borough the best place to live, work, study and visit, while leading bold and innovative approaches that improve lives. Hosted by Camden on behalf of the North London boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey and Islington, this is an exciting opportunity to lead one of the country’s most ambitious regional fostering partnerships. Together, we’re transforming fostering services to ensure more children can grow up in safe, stable and loving homes closer to where they belong.

Responsibilities

As Head of Service, you will provide strategic leadership for the new North London Fostering Hub, bringing together six local authorities to deliver a seamless fostering recruitment, assessment and support service. You’ll lead the development of a high‑performing regional service, managing a £2.2 million budget and working closely with Directors of Children’s Services, elected Members, the Department for Education and regional partners to deliver lasting change. This is a unique opportunity to shape fostering services at scale, increasing the number and diversity of foster carers, improving placement stability and ensuring the best possible outcomes for children and young people across North London.

Qualifications

We’re looking for an experienced and inspirational leader with significant senior management experience in fostering or children’s social care. You will be a qualified social worker with a proven track record of leading service transformation, building successful partnerships and influencing senior stakeholders. You will be confident using data to drive improvement, able to navigate complex environments, and committed to delivering high‑quality services for children and foster families.

If you’re an ambitious, collaborative leader who wants to shape the future of fostering across North London, we’d love to hear from you.

Diversity & Inclusion

We want Camden Council to be a great place to work and to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and those of Other Ethnicities, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities so that equalities and justice remains at the heart of everything we do.

Benefits

At Camden, you’ll receive a host of benefits. From flexible working to 27 days annual leave (plus bank holidays). We also know that a work‑life balance is extremely important so we also offer family leave, loan schemes and access to our incredible staff networks. We also have an incredible pension scheme.