Manager - Hillside Secure Children's Home

Social Services, Health and Housing

Post Ref: HRA997/7768

MANAGER – HILLSIDE SECURE CHILDREN’S HOME

Permanent

37 Hours per week

Salary £64,891 - £67,079 per annum (inclusive of 17K Market Pay Supplement at each Spinal Column Point).

Based at Hillside Secure Children’s Home, Burnside, Neath, SA11 1UL

Do you believe that young offenders should be treated as children first and offenders second?

Due to the retirement of the current manager we are looking to appoint a motivated, creative and experienced manager for Hillside Secure Children’s Home in Neath Port Talbot.

You will be educated to degree level and require a professional qualification in a relevant discipline such as social work, education, social care, health, business or youth justice.

Hillside provides 22 places for young people from across Wales, confined to conditions of security. It operates a full range of educational, vocational and recreational activities within a nurturing and secure environment.

This is an opportunity to make a positive difference to young people who have fallen into difficult circumstances. The successful candidate will have a supportive and non-judgemental outlook and be committed to the practical and positive rehabilitation of young people, without labelling or prejudice. They will also have the management skills to lead a large staff team and the ability to operate successfully in a local authority context.

If you are dedicated to working with young people and helping them to build up the life skills, confidence and self-control to live successfully within their communities we want to hear from you.

Neath Port Talbot Council is totally committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Our employees are equally committed to ensuring the safety and protection of all children and young people and will take action to safeguard their wellbeing.

The recruitment process for this post will be underpinned by rigorous safer recruitment assessment to ensure that children and young people are protected.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Disclosure (Children’s Barred List).

For an informal discussion please contact Keri Warren, Head of Children and Young People Services on 01639 763329 or email k.warren@npt.gov.uk

You may apply online, download an application pack or contact the HR Employment Support Team by e-mail at jobs@npt.gov.uk or by telephone (01639) 686837 quoting the post title and reference number.

Closing Date: 12.00 noon Thursday 10^th December2020

Welsh: Not Required

Further Information on Hillside Secure Children’s Home – supporting young people to achieve their potential

Hillside Secure Children’s Home in Neath makes a really positive difference to the lives of the young people in its care.

The only one of its kind in Wales, Hillside is a secure children’s home. It provides places for up to 22 young people from across the principality and England who are confined to conditions of security.

A commitment to giving the residents of Hillside the same life chances and opportunities as other young people is at the heart of the service. Effective planning and purposeful, achievable actions are used to enable positive change and outcomes.

The Home operates a full range of educational, vocational and recreational activities, within a nurturing and secure environment. Its unique approach to providing education in affiliation with a leading local comprehensive school is paying dividends in helping young people to achieve their full potential.

In recent times, the number of Youth Justice Board beds has been reduced. This is a welcome reflection of a general decrease in youth offending and of fewer young people in the criminal justice system. This has led to a change in Hillside’s offer, as the drop in Youth Justice Board places has meant that more places at the Home are taken up by those on secure orders.

This, plus the need for modernisation has led to a major repurposing of the service to enable it to adapt its offer to continue to provide a high level of care and outcomes for both groups of young people.

Hillside is managed by the Children and Young People Services division of the Council’s Social Services Department, which also includes the Youth Offending Service for the county borough. This means there is a strong youth justice function within Children’s Social Care in NPT.

The Council is looking for a progressive leader to manage the Home. One with the right level of experience, skills and drive to build on the excellent reputation that Hillside has established over the years and move the service forward to its next stage of development.

This will mean the ability to provide leadership in order to translate goals and strategies into change, at pace.

The successful candidate will combine a high level of professionalism with a passion for securing the best possible outcomes for children and young people.