Deputy Director – Adult Social Care Data, Assurance and Improvement - ref. d22491823

This is an exciting time to join our Directorate to lead on key aspects of the Government’s reform ambitions for adult social care and support the development of a National Care Service.

You will be responsible for transforming the Department’s oversight of the sector and improving outcomes for people who draw on care and support, supporting the Government’s three intended shifts from hospital to community, treatment to prevention and analogue to digital.

You will lead a multi-disciplinary team of over 30 people across various sites and be responsible for a multi-million pounds budget.

This directorate is a stimulating, supportive and friendly place to work and the successful candidate will be an active member of my senior leadership team. An empowering leader who can nurture diverse, high performing teams and is adept at collaborating successfully with counterparts in central and local government and partners in the adult social care sector.

We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates with an excellent understanding of the adult social care sector and a track record of delivering change with limited levers.

Having a diverse senior leadership team is important for this role and would particularly welcome applications from underrepresented groups.

The role can be based in Leeds or London.

As Deputy Director – Adult Social Care Data, Assurance and Improvement you will lead a large, multi-disciplinary team, responsible for transforming the Department’s oversight of the sector and improving outcomes for people who draw on care and support, supporting the Government’s three intended shifts from hospital to community, treatment to prevention and analogue to digital.

Overall, this programme of work will transform our understanding of how services are delivered and provide the levers to improve outcomes for people who draw on care and support.

This work attracts significant attention from Ministers and senior officials across central and local government, and the wider adult social care sector.

The ability to see the big picture, collaborate and build consensus, and establish credibility at senior level is essential.

Key Responsibilities

As Deputy Director – Adult Social Care Data, Assurance and Improvement your key responsibilities will include:

• Build the Department’s oversight capability and develop a deep understanding of the effectiveness of local systems in commissioning and delivering adult social care – overseeing the implementation of the new Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessment of local authorities’ adult social care functions and developing robust approaches to gather and assess key data and intelligence.
• Maintain close oversight of the work of the CQC to drive quality improvement in adult social care services, with particular focus on the relevant elements of its recovery plan and the implementation of the recommendations of the Dash report - ensuring it delivers improvements in quality and supports the implementation of Ministers’ reform priorities.
• Drive improved outcomes for people who draw on care and support – developing and implementing partnership programmes to support local systems in commissioning and delivering adult social care, and if appropriate, using for the first time Secretary of State’s new intervention powers where failure is identified.
• Work in close partnership with Departmental analysts and NHS England to lead the implementation of a data strategy which will transform our knowledge about the people who draw on care and those who deliver it - delivering greater value from existing data sources and digital technologies by improving access and data capability across the sector.
• Work with sector partners and those who draw on care and support to develop innovative and ambitious policy and legislative proposals to feed into the next Spending Review - ensuring comprehensive option appraisals are developed; that plans, risks and budgets are tightly managed and that excellent governance arrangements are in place.
• Be an active and visible member of the Directorate and wider Adult Social Care Group’s senior leadership team – leading a multi-disciplinary division, you will help shape an environment which allows those from all backgrounds to thrive and encourages staff to actively contribute to the delivery of the Department’s corporate priorities, including those related to learning and development, diversity and inclusion.