Job Introduction
Are you a dynamic, forward-thinking strategic leader with a passion for delivering outstanding adoption services? Aspire Adoption, the Regional Adoption Agency for BCP and Dorset Councils, is seeking an experienced Head of Service to lead the agency into its next phase of growth and development.
About Aspire Adoption
Established in 2017, Aspire Adoption is a well-performing and embedded partnership, leading adoption policy, strategy, and operational delivery across Dorset and the South West region. We are committed to achieving the best outcomes for children and families, and we take pride in our dedicated team and the impact we make.
The Role
As Head of Service, you will:
- Provide strategic leadership to drive best practice and continuous service improvement.
- Oversee adoption policy, operational delivery, and regional partnerships.
- Support and develop staff through change while fostering a culture of inclusion and collaboration.
- Manage demanding budgets to ensure effective and efficient service provision
BCP Council host the RAA and will be the employing local authority.
About You
We are looking for a proven leader with:
- Significant strategic leadership experience in adoption or children’s services.
- A strong understanding of national and regional adoption systems.
- A track record of leading teams and driving improved outcomes for children and families.
- Experience in managing budgets and ensuring financial sustainability.
Why Join Us?
At Aspire Adoption, we are proud of our dedicated and supportive team. This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the lives of children and families while leading an established, high-performing adoption agency.
If you’re ready to take the next step in your career and lead Aspire Adoption through its exciting future, we’d love to hear from you!
For an informal discussion please contact rachel.gravett@bcpcouncil.gov.uk
About BCP Council
BCP Council provides services to a diverse community of 400,000 residents and employs more than 5,000 people. Our area includes over 15 miles of beautiful world-renowned coastline. We can offer career defining roles to transform and improve services. By working with us, you can help deliver a vision of a thriving, word-class, prosperous and inclusive place for generations to come.
Our Benefits
We offer an excellent benefits package for further details see here
As a result of the creation of BCP Council in 2019, we are working on simplifying our terms and conditions of service and will be creating a single pay structure which is to be applicable for all employees. It is important to us that we offer benefits that our colleagues value as part of their total employment package and we are reviewing these to make sure we have it right. We have been in a process of collective bargaining since 2019 and have positively worked forward to reach an agreed position with the unions for the new contractual offer. This has taken longer than we hoped and therefore we are having to consider all alternative avenues available to enable us to remove inequality in the organisation as a result of bringing together 3 councils.
We are in the process of establishing a timescale for implementation, and all colleagues joining us will be included in these changes. We want to reassure everyone that whichever route is taken to reach the new terms and conditions, we can honour continuous service and there will not be any job reduction as a result of the implementation of Pay and Reward. If you have any questions at all about this process, please feel free to raise this with the hiring manager.
DBS
BCP Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the community and expects all staff and volunteers to share the same commitment. Applicants to this post will be required to complete the appropriate level of Disclosure & Barring Service Check. Please refer to the Job Description or Role Profile for more details.
Attached documents
