A new beginning for Bradford District with Children at its heart

Bradford is seeking to recruit an ambitious, dynamic and experienced leadership team for the new Children and Families Trust for Bradford District and a new Strategic Director of Children’s Services.

The Children and Families Trust for Bradford District will be an independent Trust whose sole focus will be on improving the lives of vulnerable children across the district and providing a step change in the quality and delivery of those services.

The Trust is being set up jointly by Bradford Council and the Department for Education with support from PwC. It follows the report from Children’s Commissioner, Steve Walker, to the Secretary of State last year on how best to drive improvement across Children’s Services.

The new leadership team, along with the new Executive Director of Children Services, will bring fresh impetus to drive that improvement and make a real difference to children’s lives across our district. The Council's leadership team will work closely with the Executive Director of Children Services, who will play a crucial role linking both the Trust and the Council’s services.

The Executive Director will need to have a whole systems approach to delivering high-quality services for our young people – from pre-birth to young adults. An experienced leader with a detailed grasp of the Council’s statutory duties will work closely with partners across the district to lead in the development of an innovative, efficient, and effective long-term vision for children and young people’s services.

The team will be in at the start of the Trust’s journey and will have a key say and opportunity to shape its formation. It represents a unique opportunity for the right people to make their mark in Bradford and deliver transformational change.

Critical to the Trust’s future success is how it builds partnerships with the key partner agencies who support it, along with the voluntary sector, schools, and other partners.

But the most important factor will be listening to our children, so their needs are put first and we can transform services into ones that really deliver the best services possible for them.

We are the fifth biggest Metropolitan District in the country and the UK’s youngest city, with more than 140,000 children aged under 18.

Our district is alive with energy, enterprise, and potential and is home to some of the finest cultural assets and landscapes in the country. It is a great place to live and work. Bradford offers a unique blend of opportunity, challenge, and exceptional quality of life to outstanding and ambitious leaders.

Our overarching mission is to secure an inclusive and sustainable district where everyone can reach their potential. We are looking for motivated, innovative professionals who are committed to helping us achieve that goal and the new Children and Families Trust for Bradford District will have an important role to play in that agenda.

Like every big city, we face challenges. We must improve educational attainment, strengthen productivity and skills, tackle inequalities in income, opportunity, and health, and secure the infrastructure investments that will unlock our growth potential and deliver better services for vulnerable children.

We want people who think big, set high standards, and lead high-performing teams; people who can work effectively in partnership across organizations, systems, and communities to harness the district’s assets and resources and unlock its full potential; people with the will to succeed and deliver the transformational change needed to improve and sustain outcomes.

If this sounds like you and you want to lead or be part of a high-performing team in one of the country’s biggest, most diverse, vibrant, and enterprising cities then we’d love to hear from you.

Eileen Milner, Chair of Bradford Children and Families Trust, said:

Let me begin by thanking you for your interest in joining the Bradford and District Children and Families Trust (BCFT). We will take over responsibility for key critical services for our most vulnerable children and young people from April, throughout the process of establishing the Trust both I and Board colleagues have been clear that Bradford both needs and deserves the very best talent to commit to joining us. This is a place where your leadership will make a positive difference and where you will feel supported to make that difference. You will need to be clear-eyed about the challenges we face but also optimistic and excited to want to be part of the team who will deliver ever better services. This is an amazing opportunity; I hope you will want to seize the chance to explore it further with us.

 

Charlotte Ramsden, Chief Executive of Bradford Children and Families Trust, said:

It has been a great privilege to be appointed as Chief Executive of the new Bradford Children and Families Trust and I can’t wait to welcome the best possible Executive Director for social care and practice as part of our senior team. I have already discovered Bradford to be a place of exciting opportunities as well as having challenges, and the dynamic, passionate and highly skilled leader we appoint will have the opportunity to shape the future for children’s services, working in partnership with the council and key partners in Bradford. The children, young people and families of Bradford deserve the best possible services and coproduction with them will be at the heart of our partnership. If you have the right skills and experience for this newly created role and like me, you have a burning desire to make a difference then please do get in touch.